Dear Stonebriar Members,
The Agronomy Team kicked off this aerification closure with great food and camaraderie. Club Manager, Chris Marioni, coordinated a taco truck to feed the team. The food was excellent, and it was a welcome break from the summer grind. A special “Thank You” to Chris for doing this for our Agronomy Team. 
The Dye Course aerification closure has been very productive. We received 0.25” of rain, which caused a minor setback, but we were able to get back on schedule. The greens are healing quickly and look great. They were aerified with 5/8” side eject tines, the largest coring tines we use at Stonebriar. Cores were removed at a 2” x 2” spacing, which calculates to 7.67% of the putting surface affected. In our three core aerifications in 2025, we have affected 17.49% of the putting surfaces. Theoretically, we are replacing the top 3.5” of the green's soil profile every 5.7 years.  
We are following the same aerification schedule that was implemented on the Fazio Course. Tees, fairways, approaches, aprons, greens, collars, roughs, and intermediate roughs will all be aerified. During these closures, we have the opportunity to perform other necessary tasks that often get pushed to the back of the priority list due to unforeseen items that require immediate attention. We will highlight a few of these items in this update.
Mowing Lines
Throughout the growing season, mowing lines on tees, greens, and fairways get moved in or out from the original lines. This happens all the time and needs to be corrected before the bermuda goes dormant later this year. Here are a few pictures to illustrate how we correct incorrect mowing lines and how we add new mowing lines. 
We simply paint an orange line so the operator knows exactly where to mow. This tee was mowed to point directly toward the green. Over time, the mowing line shifts and alters the direction of the tee. This is due to the original construction of the tee, but we can adjust mow lines to help the visual. 
A similar issue is observed here, and the same approach is taken to correct the line. We paint the orange lines to show where the fairway line ends, and the intermediate rough line begins. Both operators will mow to this line. When marking these lines, we want long sweeping curves that frame in the fairways and create definition. 
The intermediate rough has been extended around greens and greens complexes. This will provide more shot options and definition around the greens. The grass will be off colored for a week or so until it grows out in the scalped areas. Nothing to worry about here. It will green back up quickly.
Bunkers
The Agronomy Team spends more labor hours in bunkers than in any other area on the golf courses. During this closure, we distribute sand as needed within each bunker or add sand if necessary. This is a very labor-intensive process, as it is done almost entirely by hand, using shovels. Once the sand depth is corrected, the bunker is edged, bermuda runners are pulled, and then raked. 
Tree Work
Additional tree work was completed on Dye 12, 13, and 14 (also Fazio 2 and 11). These areas appear much cleaner, and this work will continue in the fall and winter, as time allows. 
Sod Projects
Several tees have received sod work due to transition issues. We mowed and topdressed the sod, and these tees should be ready for play in about 7-10 days. We will be working on a small sod project on Dye 9 to ease the transition from the cart path and the short game fairway this week.
As a reminder, due to the transition issues we have seen over the past couple of years, we will only be overseeding the par 3 tees and range tee this year. We have proved that overseeding is not necessary to provide desirable winter playing conditions, and no one wants to hear about transition anymore. Including me.  
We also completed a drainage project on Dye 17. We were able to tap into an existing drainage pipe to help move water off of this hole.
Early Opening – Dye Course
Typically, the weather in August is extremely hot and dry. One of the main reasons for this extended closure is to allow the Agronomy Team sufficient time to supply the necessary irrigation to the golf courses, preparing them for the busy September and October tournament season. Due to the overall mild summer conditions and welcomed rain events, we have decided to open the Dye Course on Wednesday, August 27 at noon. The Agronomy Team will have completed tasks that are more intrusive to play and will be working on aerifying the rough and some detail jobs.
Cheers to fall weather and, of course, football season!
See you on the courses! | 
