Greetings golf members. As we look ahead to the dog days of summer the staff is actively preparing for the upcoming season. Foretees should be completely updated with all member events by the end of this month. Group leaders can check their email inboxes as we've just sent out Group Play Request Forms for November - April. Requests are due in no later than October 1st. These forms are also available on the Foretees golf home page.

Thanks to all of those who participated in the Summer 2-Man match play event and the 4th of July Flag Game. The following is a summary of winners:

Summer 2-Man

1st - Mike Sankey and Mike Morehouse 52.5 pts.

2nd - Phil Pier and Greg Lebeck 48.5 pts.

3rd - Steve Casella and Jim Uffelman 44.5 pts.

4th of July Flag Game "Winners Circle"

Chris Demma, Donna Watson, Charlie Cooper, Dave Pendergraft, Wil Lewis, Phil Pier, Garry Madaline, Steve Radermacher, Tom Daly, Jack O'Connell, Mike Sankey

Remember to set your alarm clocks early this weekend to tune in to the Open Championship at St. Andrews. There are plenty of intriguing story lines aside from the historic venue. Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler both enter the fray coming off of victories. The future looks bright for American golf and I personally hope that the leaderboard is lit up with red, white and blue. Until next time, keep em' flying long and straight!

The heat is on at Tonto Verde.  And with the heat comes transition, which is the conversion of one type of turfgrass to another.  This is a struggle to say the least, and it is hard to compare one course to another because so many factors come into play.

For most members at Tonto Verde, the main playing surface for two-thirds of the year is Ryegrass.  This turfgrass is used as it provides a dense surface and grows fairly quickly. It survives in cooler weather and is an excellent playing surface.  But it can not tolerate high temperatures and shuts down and dies during the summer.  The other type of turfgrass at Tonto Verde is Bermudagrass, which is only around for 4 to 5 months as a playing surface.  It thrives in high heat environments, and really likes high humidity to grow.  This turfgrass is always present in the soil as roots, and emerges once the soil temperatures average around 65 degrees. We have to overseed the Bermuda as it goes dormant in cooler weather and would resemble the roughs throughout the winter.  Although it is a good playing surface, the color is not aesthetically pleasing to most golfers, and there is no regrowth during the winter months.

So we come to transition.  And from history, it has not been very good at Tonto Verde.  This year, the spring had been abnormally cool and wet.  The Rye thrives in this type of weather, and was going strong up until mid June. I had to apply an herbicide to kill the Ryegrass to allow the Bermuda to emerge, grow and fill in.  Bermuda needs at least 90 days of good weather to get established.  During this period it is strengthening its root system.  The roots are storage centers of carbohydrates which the Bermuda uses during the winter dormancy period.  At Tonto, we have just started getting monsoon weather, which typically brings higher humidity and temperatures.  But we have not seen much rain in Rio Verde.  And currently, the monson dried up and we are back to a hot a dry weather pattern.

We also have soils that do not play in our favor when it comes to transition.  The soils at Tonto Verde are basically crushed rock, but with proper amendments, it can work as a growing substrate for turfgrasses. Once I arrived at Tonto Verde, my 1st order of business was to take several soil samples to see what I was working with, and the results were a bit shocking.  Almost all fairways on both course had pH's in the 5.0-5.5 range, where ideal would be 6.5-7.0.  All that means is that we have an acidic soil and can be detrimental to roots.  We also had elevated nitrate levels in the fairways which can suppress Bermuda growth due to small root systems.  So we are limiting our applications of nitrogen fertilizers and applying lime to raise the pH.  We are using organic fertilizers to feed the turfgrass and the microbes in the soil, which in turn helps the overall soil health.  I am also applying microbes to do the same.   Also to help transition along, we are aerifying all playing surfaces to reduce compaction in the soil, and also allow water infiltration.  We also apply sand to the surface to encourage the Bermuda to fill in bare areas.  In the past few weeks, the Bermuda has responded and is starting to move into thin areas around the property. So my hopes are that we continue to get monsoon humidity and allow for Bermuda growth.   

Moving forward, I plan to alternate which course is overseeded 1st, as I think this is why the Peaks is in much worse shape than the Ranch.  The Ranch has been overseeded later for the past few years, and this has allowed the Bermuda to get stronger before dormancy, and it shows in the summer.  The Bermuda is healthier during transition and fills in better.  I also plan to spray the Ryegrass out earlier to allow more time for the Bermuda to flourish.

Other projects we have completed:  #8 Peaks both the fairway and green side bunkers have had new sand installed.  The bunker on #16 green had the thin grass strip removed making 2 bunkers into 1.  This makes it an easier bunker to maintain and is more golfer friendly.  #9 Ranch greens side bunker had new sand installed, and we also installed steps in the wash between the fairway and green on this hole.  On #15 Ranch we also removed the thin grass strip between the 2 bunkers making 1 large bunker.  We have also edged all grass areas that come in contact with the desert.  This is done for two reasons, makes the property look good, and stops the golf course from getting bigger by outward growth of the grass.

So we continue to stay busy, and will do so as we prepare for overseeding which is 2.5 months away for the Peaks.  How time flies.

Keep it in the short grass,

Travis Blamires

Golf Course Superintendent