Monday, June 30, 2014

Course Update

Today we took the opportunity to vent the greens using a solid tine that is less that .200 of an inch on a 1 inch spacing. This practice gives the greens the chance to breath and re-leave a little compaction. This is a very popular practice because it is not as invasive as our typical aerification of which can be very disruptive and messy.  Along with this practice we top dressed the greens. Top dressing is a very beneficial practice to keep the health of the greens. It helps smooth out the surface for smoother putting, firms up the surface and mainly helps us dilute the organic material in the top profile of the green. Organic material comes from dead leaves and spent roots from the plant. Over time this can clog the surface and be harmful to the over all play ability of the green.


Other notable but small details around the club house is the removal of pavers that were placed on corners of walk ways. Although a temporary fix, this is not really what we want our look to be. So we removed these and poured concrete in its place for more consistent look and one that will last.






The aerifiers are to slow so the top dressers quickly move
in front of them. 


Finished product, solid tine, top dressed and dragged in.

Existing pavers to be removed.

Removed soil to a depth of 4 inches









Sunday, June 22, 2014

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Course Update

Summer and the heat is finally hear and the management staff is out and about looking for signs of stress or areas to cool down. With that said please be on the look out for them checking greens in particular, they will try to avoid your round but at times they will have to sneak in and check or water the greens. Please allow them the time to do that if you see that, the process doesn't take long and we will be on our way after that.

Yesterday we finished the last phase at the practice facility and this will complete the rest of the targets. This is the same grass as used for the lower tee and will contrast very nicely for you to hit at.

prepping for sod removal



The hill was brought down and angled toward the tee

Target complete














Saturday, June 14, 2014

Fore the Golfer: Golf Cart and Pull Cart Etiquette

Common Bermuda and Roots

The golf course has been holding up well against the storms that we recently have, with close to three inches we have been busy cleaning up cart paths, mulch beds and small wash outs on select bunkers that sit on hill sides. The common bermuda has been actively growing and we have started to actively spray and control this weed on the golf course and this is the whiteness that you see. From a play ability stand point this will not affect the way the golf course plays but only how it looks.

We are behind on mowing rough because of all of this rain. We do plan to catch back up next week and we have a demo mower coming into look at and help us in the process. On Monday we will finish the Practice facility target greens to complete the look we are going for. The Practice Tee that was recently re-grassed is rooting very well into the sand profile.

With the addition of adding water bottles on the golf course this year we received another cooler that was placed near the Tee box on #5. At this point there are water bottles stations at the front of the club house, the Practice facility gazebo,  #5 Tee and #14 Tee. On the side of the water bottle coolers in the small compartment we have converted this for ice only to add to your cup, along with the ice station on #8 bathroom. Speaking of #8 bathroom we are experience a gremlin that likes to trip the breaker for the ice machine usually around rain events, long story short is there is a nick in the wire near the pump house that supplies power to the bathroom. Do not worry, we have electricians working diligently to find the nick, imagine trying to find a needle in a hay stack is where we stand with this issue. So please bare with us if you happen to come across the machine not working.

Common Bermuda turning white 

Can't complain much when you pop out a 8 inch
 root this time of year and for it to stay intact
is something I have never seen.  






Friday, June 6, 2014

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

The Practice Range Tee is Complete

With the help of the practice facility being closed today we were able to grass the lower portion of the tee with great success. Our sod came in on big rolls which allowed for a smooth process during this project. With a few rolls extra we decided to add some targets out on the range around the new fairway markers. This looks so much better and something to aim at, they look so good that we will look at doing the other four so that everything matches in the future.

I did some side by side comparison and it is very hard to tell the difference from the untrained eye. Never the less this will be a great addition to the golf course practice facility.

Big roll sod

Applying fertilizer for the new grass

laying the first pass


Please watch the video to see the process

A freshly grassed tee. 

One of two targets that are more defined with the extra sod. 

This is an example of the comparison I was talking about.
The samples are surrounded by rough grass, can you tell
which is the bermuda and which one is the bent grass?







Monday, June 2, 2014

Practice Tee Grass Conversion

Beginning this morning we had our golf course construction crew return to start and finish a small project at the practice facility. If you have already seen the email blast yes we are laying Latitude 36 hybrid bermuda grass that does not even come close to what we try to control on the golf course, a wirey weed. This grass will be a huge benefit because of its ability to recover and fill in quickly. In the end, our goal is to have more time to hit of real grass instead of mats and this grass will help us get there.  At the same time we updated our range markers to better help you see the distance that you are hitting to.

For completion of the tee sod, we are receiving the sod tomorrow and we are hopeful to have the practice facility back open Wednesday morning.

Sod prep

Cutting for removal

Ready to be laser graded

One example of the new markers