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