Closing the golf course is solely intended to benefit our members and enhance their experience playing at their course. During the five days the course is closed the maintenance staff core cultivates, or aerifies, 4 acres of greens, 5 acres of tees, 30 acres of fairways/approaches, and approximately 15 acres of rough. Additionally the greens are verticut in two directions to alleviate as much as possible the grain on the putting surface. After cultivating the debris then has to be picked up and removed from the respective surface and transported to a designated area. Greens and tees are topdressed with an 1/8" of sand and promptly rolled as many times as possible to assist in smoothing the surface before opening again for play.During this week the maintenance staff will attempt to complete many other tasks that often take place during normal hours such as edging bunkers, cart paths, and irrigation heads.

Putting this in words simply does not do justice the amount of work that takes place over these five days. Work that would otherwise would be performed in and amongst golfers as they play. I assure every member of Colonial Country Club that these practices take place at over 99% of golf courses not only in the area, but the world to some degree or another. Clubs in the area such as Kensington, Forrest Glen, Old Hickory, Old Florida all close for at least 3 days and are 18 hole facilities as well. To another extreme Calusa Pines and Naples National close for the entire summer. The practice of aerification is crucial to proper turf health in reducing compaction from carts, mowers, feet, etc., removal of thatch, the organic layer between what you see on the surface and the soil that may harbor various pest, and creating pore space for the exchange and movement of water, oxygen, and nutrients.

The principle idea behind closing is to impact golf as little as possible. Performing these tasks during one time period only makes the course better the weeks between aerifications. If you were to attempt to stretch each aerification out over longer periods and not shut the course golfers would become very frustrated and become overwhelmingly upset that the golf course is always "torn up".

I would like to think our members for their patience and understanding that this work will continue to make their club one of the best conditioned courses in the area. It is one of many goals set forth by Troon Golf to enhance every members pride and golf pleasure at their home course.