GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
NEWS LETTER
MAY 2020
Dear Member / Property Owner,
As you will be aware, in accordance with the “State of Alert” (SoA) announced on Saturday 14th March by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Desert Springs Resort has been closed.
As a direct and mandatory consequence of the SoA, the difficult, but unavoidable action, of suspending the employment contracts of the majority of the work force, was taken on 18th March. This included the reduction of the staffing level of the golf course maintenance team.
However, I am pleased to report that maintenance of the golf course has continued and that we have taken advantage of the closure to perform some important works that otherwise we would not have been able to do when there would have been play on the course.
Our objective is to ensure that when we are permitted to re-open the Indiana, that you will be able to see the improvements made with respect to the playability of the course.
Following on from the Golf Course Superintendent’s News Letter sent to you in March, which was designed to keep you up to date with all of the important maintenance procedures which were scheduled to take place on The Indiana Course, we are pleased to be able to give you an update on the works carried out and to inform you of the schedule of works which shall take place in May 2020.
APRIL COURSE MAINTENANCE UPDATE
Verticut and Topdressing Greens
The greens have been verticut in two directions and then heavily topdressed to promote a more vertical growth and remove the grain from the greens.
Pre-Emergent Herbicides
The entire course has been treated with a pre-emergent herbicide for crabgrass control. Included with the herbicide was a wetting agent that will help maintain moisture for a longer period of time in the upper soil profile.
Greens Aeration
The greens have been aerated with solid tines to help promote drainage and air movement to the soil profile.
Vertidrain Fairways.
The fairways have been aerated with deep tines to help reduce compaction and increase drainage.
Championship Tees Aerated
The professional tees have been aerated with hollow tines and topdressed to help reduce compaction and promote new growth.
Fairways and Roughs Seeded & Fertilized
The Fairways and roughs have been overseeded with Ryegrass and fertilized to create a denser turfgrass for play.
MAY COURSE MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME
Bunker Face Renovation
Many of the bunker faces/slopes on the golf course need to be renovated to improve grass density. Over time sand is deposited on the bunker faces from windy weather conditions and bunker shots. This continuous topdressing of sand creates a deep sand profile where grass cannot thrive during the summer months due to the accelerated drainage rate within the sand profile. The excess sand will be removed, the bunker faces reshaped back to the original soil profile and turfed. The work will continue through May before the summer heat prevents successful turf establishment.
1st Tee Landscaping
Further to the introduction of the new rockwork to the Men’s Tee complex, the repair of the artificial rocks around the Professional Tee complex, and the extensive clearing of both old and dead plant material, the golf maintenance team will complete an additional fine clean of the area and reintroduce new plant material.
Verti Draining Fairways
The aeration of the fairways by verti-draining will be completed to increase soil drainage to remove excess salts from the soil profile.
Fairway Sand Topdressing
The fairways and roughs will be topdressed with a sand and soil amendment mix to improve the quality of the root zone both from a drainage and growing environment perspective.
2020 Greens Hollow Coring Dates
In the knowledge that all Property Owners and Members need to have as much notice as possible concerning particular aspects of the golf course maintenance schedule that may temporarily affect the playing conditions of the green’s surface, thus enabling them to plan particular holidays accordingly, please see below the hollow coring dates in 2020.
Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd June
Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th September
You will be able to keep up to date with the full tournament and social calendar, format and any additions, information of how to enter, and much more, by visiting either our official website www.desertspringsresort.es or by contacting the golf reception at Desert Springs.
We and the staff at Desert Springs are looking forward to seeing you on The Indiana course in the near future.
Kind regards,
Zachary LaPorte
Golf Course Superintendent
