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