Monday Morning

Monday morning weather is foggy and in the mid 60's. It has been slightly misting rain all morning. The rainfall for the weekend totalled 1.2 inches.
We have recieved a total of around 4.5 inches since last Monday.

The rainfall has really worked in the topdressing and we hope to cut the greens for the second time on Tuesday morning. All the grass is getting deep as the roughs and fairways have not been able to be cut since last Monday.

The carts will need to remain on the paths until we get dried back out. This weather has been unfavorable for golfers but great for the golf course itself.

Course Condition Update

Being held hostage by the weather is nothing new to golf course superintendents and their staff.  Long range plans involve hoping for windows of oppurtunity that may arrive earlier or later than would be othewise desired.

The sand on the back nine greens finally dried out enough to brush-in on Thursday evening.  That night it rained another 1.3 inches and really washed in the sand well.  On Saturday morning we were able to mow greens for the first time.  The greens will be fertilized in the coming weeks and we hope we have nice weather for quick recovery.  The tees will be aerified during the coming week, the weather looks good now but we all know how that goes sometimes.

Last week was a wet and dreary week at the golf course, however this weather was nice for the seed we have spread, and it also gave the fairways a nice break from traffic.  While we were unable to mow because of the wet ground, we did use those days to put out more seed and topdressing all over the fairways.  The sand we are using is 100% recycled bunker sand from 18 greenside bunkers. 

I have been working with some new video editing software and would like to share with everyone the first video I have edited with it.  I made the video on Saturday morning while I rode around the golf course.  All footage was taken using my cell phone.  I hope you enjoy.

Weather conditions cause delay in aerification

On Monday we aerified and topdressed all greens.  The weather was overcast and it did not allow the sand on the back nine to dry enough to drag in well.  The front side was completed and will be opening up to play on Wednesday morning.  The back side will remain closed and hopefully the sand will dry out enough on Wednesday to broom it all in.

Earlier in the week the forecast predicted we would have good weather and sunny skies on Monday.  This was not the case and we will get the entire course back open to play as soon as possible.

Fall Aerification Schedule

Fall Aerification Schedule

This is our plan for Fall aerification.  Please keep in mind that weather conditions can change any of the dates I have listed below.  The forecast looks very good for the greens dates.  This process is very important to the health of our golf course and I look forward to everything going smoothly and getting the golf course into great condition for the Fall season.

Greens - Monday 9/19 - Tuesday 9/20, Golf Course open to play on Wednesday morning.
Greens will be aerified using 5/8 tines and pulling out cores, the greens will be topdressed.

Tees - # 10-18 on Thursday 9/22 - Friday 9/23 , #1-9 Monday 9/26 - Wednesday 9/28 
Tees will be done in groups of 4-5, we do this process during play and you may encounter holes that are in progress.  Please leave tee markers off to side of the tees, we will put the markers back when we are finished.

Fairways - Starting first week in October
We will only work on a few fairways at a time, cleaning up the cores before continuing to the next group of holes.  We are borrowing an extra machine to make the process go a little quicker.  The fairways that are in progress will be closed to cart traffic.

Its Official!

Summer Was Hottest in 75 Years
Superintendents felt it from coast to coast

Golf course superintendents will vouch for this: In 2011, the country endured its hottest summer in 75 years and the second-hottest summer on record, according to data released this week by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C.

The average U.S. temperature during the summer of 2011 was 74.5 degrees, which was 2.4 degrees above the long-term (1901-2000) average. Only the Dust Bowl year of 1936, at 74.6 degrees, was warmer. Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana had their warmest summer ever recorded, the climate center also reported.

Texas had its driest summer on record and is in the midst of its worst drought since the 1950s. More than 81 percent of the state is listed as experiencing "extreme drought," according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

It was a challenging summer for superintendents in many places, especially those whose courses have bentgrass greens.

Seeding Has Begun!

We have started to seed the areas of dead and brown bentgrass in the fariways. The process involves first verti-cutting the area which removes some dead thatch and creates slits for the seed to fall into. The seed is then applied using a drop spreader and lightly raked in. The area is covered with a light topdressing and is then watered.

A short video of the maintenance crew starting to prepare an area for seed on #18 fairway.



There has been new seed put out on a number of different spots around the golf course and it pretty clear where those spots are. We will be keeping a few fairways closed during the seeding, while other spots we will just utilize small signs to help with traffic.

We will be watering the spots nightly and also during the middle of the day to keep them moist.

The forecast for the next couple of weeks looks pretty good and we are hoping to see lots of good germination. The seeding combined with applications of fertilizer to the fairways will erase the scars of this summer very quickly.

Please take a free drop for ground under repair if you find your ball lying in one of these seeded areas.