Keith Bartlett, superintendent for the St. George’s Golf and Country Club, will be a key man in the weeks leading up to the 2010 RBC Canadian Open. As the Open gets closer, Keith will be contributing a regular blog on GNN, describing his experiences and what goes into preparing the course for a PGA Tour event.
Considering that we just went through record hot temperatures last week that followed hot and dry temperatures in April and May, and my staff is working until 8 p.m., I’m very pleased with the golf course as advance week begins.
We’re seeing some odd things happen in some of the annual bluegrass, but nothing serious. Every poa reacts differently in the heat. We’ve managed to maintain consistent conditions throughout the golf course on greens, tees and fairways and I’m pleased where we are at this point.
On Thursday, we saw a spot of Tythium, which is a disease that spreads very quickly through the golf course with mowers, traffic and drainage swales. It’s been spotted on different golf courses and we saw a little bit in the rough in one little spot.
We’re playing a very double-edged sword with turf management and record heat. You’ve got to be on your toes. You may not see Tythium one day and it’s doing damage the next.
We did some applications to areas that I would be concerned about. Knowing that it was going to rain on Friday, if it stayed humid like it was, it would have been a worse problem, so it’s important to prevent what can hurt you and I’m confident we did.
The PGA Tour is in this week and membership play ends on Sunday, which will give it a break from play for the week leading up to the tournament.
All the best to you Keith and your entire team! Great information being shared. I will be glued to the tv! Cheers, Kerry
All the best Keith in the next couple of days. St. Georges is a great old lady and I’m sure you’ve got her sparkling for the week. May the golfing ‘gods’ be with you.