Mowing Rough

A challenge in the spring is keeping up with mowing the rough. We have 5 rough mowers operating 10 hours a day and 6 hours Saturday and Sunday ... if the ground conditions permit. Losing 1 day to weather makes it virtually impossible to reschedule those lost 50 man-hours and so we find ourselves playing "catch up" most of the time.

Combine that lost mowing time with the annual seed head production of bluegrass and ryegrass  and you have very thick, long rough and difficult playing conditions.

The bottom line is that rough grows aggressively in the spring, even in the absence of fertilizer applications. The result is difficult playing conditions, and this occurs every year. The only solution is to hit the ball in the fairway, play hard when it is in the rough, and know that the growth rate of the grass will slow down as spring progresses into summer.

We'll keep the blades turning as frequently as we can and drier weather will be here soon.