Back in Action.

      June 2nd!! The sun is shining and the temperature is, for once, above 10!!  Finally it seems as though summer has started.  The turf is growing like mad and we're putting in extra shifts to try and stay on top of it, as I write this (5:00 pm) Gord and Dave are arriving at the golf course to catch up on the rough.  You may see the mowers out more often and we're trying our best to avoid disturbing your day, but if left for too long the rough will get away from us.  Bluegrass, by nature, thrives at this temperature and given the amount of rain we have had, it has basically exploded in growth. To help combat the extreme growth (and clippings) we have been using a tractor mounted blower to disburse the clippings.  It was originally purchased to be used in the verticutting process, but it works just great for this purpose as well. Here's what it looks like from the operators point of view.

      The aerification process is complete and the greens are recovering well.  Although slow today, we can now begin taking steps to reduce the height and increase the speed.  We understand the frustration with the lack of play this spring and how that is compounded by the poor conditions produced by the aerification, but it is a necessary process to keep the playing surfaces healthy.  Please be patient and understand that the greens will return to normal conditions shortly.


Stewart King planting in the rock garden on 6 tee.

        Stewart King, our horticulturist, has been busy cleaning out the gardens and planting new material.  With the advice of Scott Mosher, a member of our greens committee and owner of Terra Nova Landscaping, Oakfield has invested in 25 new trees.  We have purchased a few new varieties, mostly specimen trees that will replace some of the fifty stumps we removed last year, and some of the trees we lost over the winter.  Stewart, with the help of Dave and Phil are planting them when time allows.