Moving Some Air

You may have noticed we have turned on our fans on the greens. This week we got over 3.5" of rain with more forecasted over the next 5 days. We decided to turn on our fans to help dry the greens down and cut down on the disease pressure. We continue to preventatively spray fungicides, but our fans are another big tool we can use in these situations. 

If you haven't been out in a while, the entire course is in excellent condition right now. The fairways are lush and the greens are rolling very good and consistent now. We are even allowing carts off of the paths. Hope to see you out here soon. 

Repairing bunkers

Last night we got 1.5" of hard rain. This puts us just over 3" for the week. With the hard rain, our bunker edges washed in a lot of areas. 

We are concentrating all of our labor today on fixing these edges. It is a time and labor intensive process, so we will be behind some golfers all day. Sorry for the poor bunker conditions today, but when you are dealing with Mother Nature, you have to play the hand she deals you. 

Spiking Greens

This winter we repaired an old piece of equipment that we are starting to use now. Tomorrow morning we will be spiking our greens. We use a Toro Sandpro with a spiking attachment instead of the rake attachment. This is a very good tool for our greens during the summer. This allows us to open the top half inch of the green without disrupting play.

If the greens get wet or sealed off, this will allow them to dry a little better or take in water a little easier. After the wet period we have just been through, we have noticed a little algae on some of the greens. Hopefully using this spiker along with our light topdressing will help alleviate this algae. 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Captain Creech and the red team on their victory this year. After playing to a tie on Saturday's four ball matches, the red team pulled ahead in Sundays individual matches and won 64 to 50. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Thanks for all of the positive comments on the course conditions. 

2013 Red and White

This weekend we have our 2013 Red and White. Chuck Hill is captaining the white team while Cliff Creech is heading up the red team. We set up the course very fair. I wanted to add a picture of our range tee as it was set up before any players got there. This is what right looks like. Great job guys. 

Pond Levels

If you have been on the course over the last week or so, you've probably noticed the pond levels on #13 and #15 being way down. This is being done intentionally. The drain lines for these greens exit into the ponds. They are under water if the ponds are full. We have found over the last 2 years that these greens perform better if the water level is below the outfall of these drain lines. This allows any water to exit the pipes but it also allows all of the gasses that build up in the lines to exit the pipes. This is very important to the greens health in the summer. Unfortunately we do not have a better way to run the drain lines where they won't be in the ponds. This was a bad design during construction and unfortunately we have to pay the price now. We feel having half full ponds is better than having half living greens. 

Thanks for your understanding. 

Utilizing our tools

Now that the warmer weather is upon us, we have to really stay on top of our greens moisture levels. Every one knows if the greens dry out it can lead to them stressing and eventually dying. The same is true if they are too wet. One of our best tools in attaining the perfect moisture level is our moisture meters. You will see us out with our meters checking the moisture levels throughout the day. We mainly use them in the mornings and afternoons so we know where we start the day and where we end up. This allows us to know if we need to run the overhead irrigation on the greens or just supplement certain areas with our hose. 

So when you see us out with our moisture meters, you will know what we are doing. If you are interested in knowing more about them, just ask and we will show you how they work. 

New Fence on #7

We put up a fence on #7 today to help people see the drain pipe that daylights on the right side of the fairway. Since the fence is an immovable obstruction, it is covered under rule 24-2. If it interferes with your lie, stance, or the area of your intended swing, you can take relief with no penalty.