Agronomy Department and Course Weekly Update

February 24, 2016

Medalist delivered equipment, we walked through the planning/concepts with Billy Fuller (Architect) and then Mother Nature red lighted our project by dropping over 3” of rain this week. The saturated turf conditions have shut down the project for the remainder of the week. However, work is scheduled to start February 29 (Monday) on the 17^th hole, move to 16^th, the 8^th and finish on the 6^th.  See the attached PDF design for the new look to the 17^th.

The Horticulture team had to remove the winter annual flowers from a few of the flower beds this week. The deer on property have feasted on the blooms/bulbs which have devastated the plants. Typically, the deer repellent we use keeps the blooms safe; however, with the excessive amount of rain this winter it had washed the repellent off the flowers and therefore not successful in repelling the deer. Summer annual planting is right around the corner, so the plan is to leave the beds bare until the new plant material arrives in April. Definitely a bummer! Considering we typically produce a fantastic tulip display around Easter.  

We will keep it conservative in regards to the greens this upcoming weekend/week. This mild/wet/overcast weather is perfect for disease development and turf damage. We have already applied a wetting agent/fungicide and we will be out needle tining the greens this week. This culturally practice opens channels for air/gas exchange and water infiltration. It feels like it is shaping up for an early spring and hopefully that will bring on warmer temperatures and lots of sunshine!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at kmacdonald@valleycrest.com and for more information and plenty of pictures and videos follow us on Twitter @stivescc_vcsup and the Blog: http://vcgmstivescountryclub.blogspot.com/

See you on the course,

Kyle Macdonald, GCS, Class A

Agronomy Department and Course Weekly Update

February 17, 2016

The weather looks as though it will take a turn for the better this weekend, so I hope you booked a tee time as we are hoping for a great golfing weekend. The main ticket item on our list this week is converting the large pine straw areas on the main drive into a tall fescue lawn. The gorgeous Water Oaks along the main drive have created a dense canopy that restricts sun light. The turf was originally Bermudagrass; however, with the dense canopy the Bermudagrass has significantly thinned from not receiving enough sunlight to remain viable. Tall Fescue does not require the same amount sun light and will thrive in the shady environment especially during the Georgia summers. Once the soil is tilled, it will be prepared with pre-plant fertilizers and seeded at a rate of 10 pounds per 1000 ft2. The irrigation is being adjusted and repaired to provide sufficient water for the germinating seeds. It will take approximately a month to establish the Tall Fescue lawn and begin mowing, weather permitting. In the winter and fall, the contrast of cool and warm season grasses with provide an aesthetic “pop” when you pull into or out of property. This conversion will also provide a budget friendly alternative to bulk pinestraw applications.  

Jamie Perez, Irrigation Technician, has started repairing a few irrigation breaks/leaks throughout the property. During the 40”+ of rain from Sept-Feb, it was hard to identify leaks versus wet soil saturated from rainfall. However, last week provided some relief from the saturated soils (you noticed because we were off the paths!) and a lot of our leaks stood out. Jamie will be repairing this week and possibly into next.  

Medalist will start the bunker renovation on holes 6, 8, 16 and 17 on Tuesday February 22, 2016. Weather permitting we expect this construction to be completed by April 1^st. In order to reach this goal, Medalist will work during play.  The Agronomy department in conjunction with the Proshop will modify the hole for the day (ie #16 will play as a Par 3) and these changes will be communicated to the membership. Medalist will only work on one hole at a time to minimize disruption. We are excited to continue the Master Plan that was developed in 2009, this construction will tackle some of our most problematic bunkers and provide new look to the golf course (What an exciting time!). Feel free to reach out to me with any questions on the bunker construction project.  

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at kmacdonald@valleycrest.com and for more information and plenty of pictures and videos follow us on Twitter @stivescc_vcsup and the Blog: http://vcgmstivescountryclub.blogspot.com/

See you on the course,

Kyle Macdonald, GCS, Class A 

Agronomy Department and Course Weekly Update

February 9, 2016

With the ice cold wind biting my face and a steady falling snow, it was easy to sneak away and type this Weekly Update! Yesterday the team pulled covers over the greens in front of this advancing arctic front. The forecast calls for high winds, light snow and extremely low wind chills. It appears the covers will be in place until Thursday morning; however, we will monitor the forecast and will communicate any changes to the Proshop and Membership. As always, when the greens are covered, we have temporary greens available for play.

With the greens being covered for a part of the week, the staff has plenty of projects to keep busy. Leaf removal on #1, #12, main drive and parking lots, under brushing on #11 and #13, laying pine straw under recently trimmed Miscanthis grasses and dredging #12 water feature. On Monday, we finished the sod work left of #15 cart path and are eagerly awaiting the Pink Muhley Grass to finish the project, I believe this project provides drastic improvement. We also completed our Pre-Post emergent application! This is one of the most frustrating applications we apply each year due to the weather. It typically takes a month to complete because we are battling wet turf and low temperatures. However, we completed it this year in 26 days, which is hard to believe considering the amount of rain that fell.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at kmacdonald@valleycrest.com and for more information and plenty of pictures and videos follow us on Twitter @stivescc_vcsup and the Blog: http://vcgmstivescountryclub.blogspot.com/

See you on the course,

Kyle Macdonald, GCS, Class A 

 Agronomy Department and Course Weekly Update

February 3, 2016

The rain continues as I type this update…. We have already seen over 26” of rain since November 1^st and it appears February is going to stay on the same track, thanks El Nino! Every time we discuss the El Nino, it reminds me of the Chris Farley SNL sketch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkSRUf02gu8 ).

On to more important matters, the team started under brushing in front of the red tee box on #11 this week, what a dramatic improvement already and we still have a ways to go. Once all of the dead Indian Hawthorne and briars are removed the team will weed eat and put a hard rake on the slope this will prepare the hillside for seed. We have subcontracted a hydro seeder for April to install, Weeping Love grass on the bank, this is a low maintenance native grass that is excellent on creek bank stabilization. Weeping Love grass will allow our team to keep the hillside weed free. The team is also prepping right of the cart path on #15 for sod and Pink Muhley Grass, this will provide a much needed improvement to #15 tee complex. If the weather would break and give us about 10 days of no rain, we could wrap up a majority of our small projects and finish the last 15 Acres of the Pre/Post emergent application.

On Monday, the greens were needle tined in front of the storms that were predicted for Wednesday morning. This process open channels in the greens surface to increase water infiltration, this is a non disruptive cultivation practice to the player. Once we roll the surface smooth after the tines the holes are barely noticeable.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at kmacdonald@valleycrest.com and for more information and plenty of pictures and videos follow us on Twitter @stivescc_vcsup and the Blog: http://vcgmstivescountryclub.blogspot.com/

See you on the course,

Kyle Macdonald, GCS, Class A