As hard as it is to believe, summer is very near. It will not be long before the 100 degree temps will be here to stay. With that been said I would like to remind everyone we will begin our transition between winter Rye and Bermuda at the end of the month (April).

What are we doing?
We will be spraying a herbicide on the Winter Rye grass at the end of this month (April).

Why?
The herbicide will gradually eliminate the Winter Rye while allowing the Bermuda grass to take over and prevail.

What should we expect?
The transformation will take between two and three weeks. During that period, there will be areas on the golf course that will look stressed or dry. As the transformation is occurring we will water heavier than normal to increase the growth of Bermuda grass. We will then follow up the process with heavy watering and two fertilizer applications a few weeks apart to push the Bermuda grass even harder.

Can't this wait until June when everyone is gone?
As stated in the USGA agronomical report, waiting until June would decrease the amount of healthy Bermuda grass that would return, forcing us to deal with bear spots and sod work. 

This “transition” practice has been adopted by many courses in the valley. We used it last year and saw great results with it. I anticipate us having an even better transition. I truly appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation and hope you enjoy the rest of the spring.

Sincerely,
David Escobedo GC