News and Updates

I am writing this on the last day of summer, and it certainly feels like fall is in the air. The temperatures have dipped into the high 40’s over the last several nights and the summer seems to be officially behind us. The course came through this season very well and is set up for another great fall golf season.

However, one area that takes a step back this time of year is the driving range tee. The tee is warm season bermudagrass. The recovery that this turf demonstrates during the summer is perfect for the busy, undersized tee we have. The trade-off is that when the soil temperatures get below 60 degrees, the grass stops growing and eventually goes dormant.

This past spring, our range conditions were less than ideal. We had some early warm weather, and I made a gamble on that trend continuing and opened the tee, believing that we would get the temperatures we needed for recovery. What happened instead, was that we had one of the coldest, driest May’s in recent history. So, between fall of 2022 and early spring 2023 we had essentially used all the grass and were getting little to no healing. To top it all off, our range mats, which had been ordered in June 2022, were still on backorder.

To avoid the same scenario next spring, we will be managing the tee differently this fall. First, the new range mats were installed in June. They have two heights of cut and a slot to put a tee in. Because the growth rate of the tee is slowing and will soon be stopping, there will be more days when the range will be “mats only”. To prevent people from going on the grass, which wears the turf down to the dirt, as well as poses a safety issue, you will see the back area of the range covered in screening this fall. You may have seen something similar to protect tees and landing areas before a professional golf tournament.

Additionally, we will be heavily overseeding the tee this year as well as covering it this offseason. This will give us a better surface next spring and ensure that at least some play can take place on the grass when the weather starts to warm-up.

I am aware that most people prefer practicing and warming up on grass as opposed to mats—I do as well. Unfortunately, the size of the tee that we have cannot accommodate this on a daily basis even when the grass is growing vigorously, much less when the weather cools down. It is necessary to get more conservative with our management during the shoulder seasons to avoid the situation that we faced last spring. I can assure you that every decision we make is centered around providing the most positive experience we can to the largest number of members possible and this is no different.

We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. Looking forward to seeing you out here soon!