The Forest Country Club became an Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.

FORT MYERS, FL– On July 1, 2019, The Forest Country Club has achieved designation as a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. John Gallagher, Director of Golf Course Maintenance, completed the effort to obtain sanctuary designation on the property. The Forest Country Club is one of over 900 courses in the world to hold the title of Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.

"The Forest Country Club has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program. They are to be commended for their efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course property," said Christine Kane, CEO at Audubon International.

Please click the link below:

https://www.winknews.com/2019/07/22/lee-county-golf-course-achieves-audobon-international-environmental-certification/

Unexpected Visitor

We had a soft-shelled turtle walk into our maintenance shop Memorial Day weekend.

 After further inspection of this strange animal by Nacho, our shop cat...

 He was relocated to the nearest pond on #3 Bobcat.

Bobcat Greens Reclamation

One of the processes during the first closure of the Bobcat course this year is to reclaim areas of the green that were lost due to encroachment.  The grass on the collar is more aggressive than the greens grass warranting this to have to be done every few years.

In the picture above you can see the area around the green where the unwanted grass has been removed.  Afterwards, the greens are aerified and the plugs are then pushed to the trenches.  This keeps our original grass in the reclaimed areas without bringing in sod from an outside source that may not match up exactly. 

 Here you can see the finished product.

An up close view of the reclaimed area shows the grass that will fill in over the next few months.  

The American Golfer Magazine circa 1915

An interesting perspective from famed amateur golfer and golf course architect Walter Travis. 

Bobcat Tee Amendments

During the closure on the Bobcat course, we will be doing numerous maintenance tasks.  In the one you see above we are amending the tees with a compost type material.  When the tees on the Bobcat were originally constructed, straight sand was used.  Sand does not hold water or nutrients very well causing them to dry out more rapidly than normal.  A program of incorporating the compost over the next few years will help this tremendously.

Found on Twitter

A little Twitter humor......or not!!

2020 Rain Totals

Our 2020 Rain Totals so far are as follows:

January  .4"
February  2.05"
March  0"
April  1.41"
May  0
TOTAL  =  3.86"

Average Rainfall for Fort Myers is:

January  1.9"
Ferbruary  2.2"
March  3"
April  1.4"
May  3.8"
TOTAL  =  12.3"

As you can see we are 8.44" below the average rainfall.  This is a huge deficit.  Last year at this time we had 19.45" of rain Year-to-Date, over 7" above average.

Because of the lack of rainfall, South Florida Water Management District has imposed water restrictions on everyone, including golf courses.  They do this in order to protect drinking water supply.  What this means for us is that our monthly allotment of irrigation has been reduced. 

We normally can spray about 28 million gallons of water on the golf course in May.  Because of our restrictions our allotment is around 21 million gallons.  We figure each golf course uses approximately 500,000 gallons a night. That's enough water for 21 days leaving 10 days with no water at all. 

We are in serious need for rain.  Until then both golf courses will remain very dry with some brown spots and thin turf forming.  We have a program implemented to counteract the drought, but as with everything it has its limitations.  When it starts raining again on a consistent basis you can expect the golf courses to green up and those dry areas start to recover.  Until then, please be patient and enjoy the extra ball roll!!

Lee County Water Restrictions.......Quick Facts

What this means for homeowners....

• Even-numbered addresses (based on the last number of the address), may only irrigate on Sundays.

• Odd-numbered addresses (based on the last number of the address) may only irrigate on Wednesdays.

• All landscape irrigation is prohibited between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to reduce evaporation.

What this means for the golf course....

Golf courses within Lee County shall implement a management plan that reduces the total irrigation by 15% of their monthly allocation.  Until we get rain on a consistent basis, golfers may experience more dry spots on the golf course than normal resulting in brown turf.

The why....

It’s important to protect aquifers in Lee County because they provide the drinking water supply. Limited rainfall throughout the dry season has led to decreased groundwater (water beneath the surface) levels in aquifers in Lee County. 

• From September 2019 through March 2020, Florida's southwest coast received only 14.72 inches of rainfall, 66% of average, for a deficit of -7.64 inches.
• More specifically, the southwest coast of Florida received 0.27 inches of rainfall in the month of March, only 12% of average.
• The U.S. Drought Monitor report published on April 14, 2020 indicates that Lee County remains in “Moderate Drought.”
• Groundwater levels at most monitoring stations in Lee County have continued to decline over the past seven days.
• The current rainfall deficit, extreme heat and decreasing surface and groundwater levels are expected to continue throughout the remainder of the dry season, which typically ends around the end of May.

Here is a link to all the details of the current order:  https://www.sfwmd.gov/content/lee-county-irrigation-restrictions

Frisky Fairy Ring Friday

If you happen to see these rings at the beginning of 18 Bear fairway, these are a turf disease called fairy ring.  It is caused by decaying matter underground.  I have seen it in the past in areas where trees had been buried during construction and after several years went by, the trees started decaying.  When they decay they release gases that cause the fairy ring.  Decaying organic matter from the turf does the same thing.  Have a great weekend!!