As another Super Bowl weekend has come and gone I’d like to remind everyone that the time has come for us to gradually lower the mowing heights on the tees, aprons, and fairways. I do not expect many to notice the change but lowering the height of cut will insure that our Bermuda grass will transition well this spring. In the past we waited until early to mid April to lower the mowing heights. This resulted in a poor spring transition and the need to purchase thousands of dollars of sod. After consulting with the USGA agronomists and other superintendents that have adopted this program it seems we have developed a plan that helps avoid the Bermuda transition pitfalls.

The gradual lowering of the mowing heights is just the first step of the process. Once temperatures reach the upper 80s – low 90s consistently, we will apply a herbicide that will slowly remove the winter rye grass. We expect this to occur in late April but in my 7 years here the arrival of these temperatures has never occurred on the same date. That is why the application date of the herbicide will vary from year to year. Both golf courses will be fertilized heavily two weeks after the herbicide to stimulate Bermuda growth. The fertilizer applications will continue throughout the month of June as needed. I would like to remind everyone that once the fertilizing begins it will be absolutely necessary for us to increase the amount of water applied to the areas that are transitioning. Without the extra water the Bermuda grass will not aggressively fill any thin or sparse areas. Although much of this will occur several months down the road I feel it is best to let everyone know about our game plan.

With that been said I hope everyone continues to enjoy their time here at WBVGC.

David Escobedo, GCS