In November, the golf course is closed on Mondays. This allows us to get quite a lot done with the course to ourselves. Today we are taking advantage of the time by aerating the practice tee and approach, the two chipping greens and turf nursery. It's important to accomplish these tasks within the next week and a half because our season team members leave the second week of November.
In addition to that, greens are being topdressed and we have a large leaf crew out in full force. Tomorrow, we will be fertilizing fairways and approaches. You might be curious as to why we would fertilize in November, right as the grass is shutting down for the winter? The reason for fertilizing now, is that it will enhance and speed spring green-up. Fertilizing cool season turf during this time of year, allows the grass to use the nutrients to produce carbohydrates and also grow additional roots. The air temperature is much cooler now but the soil temperatures are still supporting growth below ground. Many believe that this is the most important fertilizer application of the year. In fact, if I could only make one fertilizer application over the course of year, this would be the timing I would choose.
