Bare patches on green... Southern Star
 

Played Southern Star Sunday and there were several green with bare lots
of bare patches. Why does this happen and how can these be
repaired?

Amazing you drive by Palmer Cane and any of the the other championship courses and the greens are outstanding.
Perhaps the powers to be should put more effort into the Executive greens
My opinion for whats its worth executive golf is the foundation of this wonderful lifestyle

This guy can answer your question. Let us know what he says.

Eric Van Gorder, Director Excutive Course Maintenance

eric.vangorder@districtgov.ord

753-3396

This isn't brain surgery...the courses get played... a lot...they get regular maintenance, but mother nature sometimes has other plans...greens may get to dry, to wet, to much play, etc. Considering all the variables maintenance does a great job(no I don't work for maintenance)and if you want perfection then pay $5K/yr at a private club. Otherwise expect that it won't always be perfect and enjoy the journey...

This is the time the greens transition from the overseed to the base hybrid bermuda. This will result in a patchy appearance with thin spots until the bermuda gets going. It takes soil temps in the 50's to stimulate the bermuda well.

That said, I have also noticed some greens with bare spots that seem more than just transition. Since these greens occur on courses where there are other greens that look good, it would not seem to be a maintenance issue. In that case I would expect all the greens to be somewhat affected. Perhaps it has something to do with the position of the green with regard to shade, or a low lying green where the water table is higher. Some weeks ago I noticed the 7th green at Southern Trace was particularly sparse, yet others were fine. Recently we saw the 5th green at Bonita Pass looked poor in one area.

The advice to contact Eric is good. He has responsibility for the courses north of 466 plus the Pimlico group, but he also is aware of those south. He also knows his stuff and will give an honest response.

Redfish Run is shut down and the greens are unplayable. They were out working on them on Sunday so you know they are in bad shape.

We played Yankee Clipper today and it's in bad shape too. They have aerated and sanded but it probably should be shut down to give it a rest. Many of the exec courses are in bad shape this year....possibly winter kill???

We played Bonifay on Sunday. Destin to Ft Walton. It was in very bad shape.

Southern Star will be closed indefinitely as of close of business today. The turf people are working on a fix.

Good to hear they are working on it. We played there a few weeks ago, and it was horrible. Certainly not the usual transition from oversees to bermuda.

I guess no call has been made....................

Played Sandhill today and the greens were awful. Many bare spots, sand spread all over greens, and aeration holes made putting impossible.

It is that time of year. Aeration of the greens. Sand on the greens. No mowing to let the aeration work. Putting goes downhill. In a few weeks all will be well again.

Z

"Southern Star golf course is closed for maintenance until May 31."

according to the on-line source of villages news!

The greens on Bonifay were recently aerated.

The condition of the course is not good even considering the aerification.

You have to wait...
 

until the process is complete...that takes awhile and requires some patience..."patience"...something is in short supply by many long lived people....*sigh*...

played Bonifay today. From tee to green just awful! Burned out tees and fairways,greens a joke. A cow pasture. An embarrassment to those who play and pay for these "championship" golf courses.