Grounds/Maintenance Update

March 23, 2017

·         Tuesday Night Storm:

o   The course held up well to the storm on Tuesday, however, it did leave a lot of small debris on the course. The team spent all day Wednesday blowing off playing surfaces and picking up limbs. We are raking all the bunkers this afternoon (Thursday) and will continue to blow and pick up debris. There were a few tree casualties, which, have been cut up and stacked (out of play), once the course is clean we will remove the trees.

·         Bulk Fertilizer Spread:

o   The application was completed this morning and our team will finish tying in all the greens/tee complexes on Monday and Tuesday (weather permitting).

·         Greens:

o   The greens held up well to last week’s cold snap and we are pleased with the condition coming out of winter. We applied a granular slow release fertilizer on Monday afternoon; this application will promote growth and begin feeding the turf as it comes out of dormancy.

o    The temperatures still are not optimal for pushing the greens for speed, but we will find a good balance between faster green speeds and turf health over the next few weeks.

o   #13 green is lagging behind all the rest, so we are taking it easy. You will see a significant decrease on #13 compared to the rest of the course. We don’t want to push it and risk losing grass during this spring transition period. 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions: kyle.macdonald@brightview.com

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Agronomy Update

October 18, 2016

Greens:

            The weather continues to fluctuate and the greens aren’t quite sure how to respond. Over the last 20 days, we prepped the greens for winter/fall by slowly raising our HOC (height of cut) and increasing fertilization to promote root growth. Our program was working great, as we were achieving green speeds around 11.25 consistently without a lot of inputs (extra mowing/rolling). Approximately 7 days ago, the weather warmed up significantly (we will even see record highs over the next few days). During this time, the greens flushed a lot of new growth and it caused a dramatic decrease in green speeds. However, the forecast is calling for 40 degree nights this weekend.  These low temperatures will slow the growth of the greens and we will see our speeds pick back up.                          

Drought:

            Atlanta is in an extreme drought and we are not expecting any significant rainfall over the next 10-14 days. The positive side is that we have not been Cart Path Only for weeks!

Bunkers:

            The sand installation is under way. We have completed the following areas:  #18 greensides, 1 pot bunker on #10, #13 fairways and are starting #14 greenside. We are anticipating working on this project into the spring, so we ask for your patience. You will see GUR signs in any/all bunkers that are under repair, please take relief from these bunkers.

#11 Red Tee:

            Back in the spring, we hydro seeded the hill side in front of the red tee on #11 with Weeping Love grass. Unfortunately, we had a poor germination and did not achieve the look we desired. Therefore, we started installing Pink Muhley Grass, this grass has been used on the hillside behind #13 green and it has a great look. It will take a year for the grasses to mature but the area will be much improved.   

Annual Flowers:

The beds will be prepped next week and new flowers will be installed on the 1^st and 2^nd of November.

             

Agronomy Update

May 10, 2016

Bunker Renovation Update:

            The 2016 phase of the bunker renovation has been completed and in doing so it completes 50% of the total project. This summer we will be working with Medalist on bidding the 2017 phase. Medalist is also finishing up a few drainage projects on the driving range and #18 tees, expect completion by Thursday afternoon.

           

Spring Sodding:

            The next two weeks we will be working on painting, cutting, prepping and laying sod in areas that did not transition from winter.  A majority of the damage is typical cart path edges and high traffic walkways. Overall, the course did well considering the extremely wet fall (50+ inches) and the wild temperature swings during the winter (75F on 12/26/16).

Greens:

            The greens lost a good bit of color this past weekend; the morning lows dipped into the low 40’s and the greens went off color. Warmer temperatures and abundant sunshine over the next few days will have everything greening back up. As always, evaluating our programs is critical and there was drastic improvement from the spring of 2015. However, critical analysis both internally and externally is a must. One of the unique ways of analyzation in BrightView, is by inviting Dr. Todd Bunnell Ph. D, to visit and review our processes. Dr. Bunnell oversees the agronomic programs of over 80+ courses throughout the county, so his information is a great tool for our course.

 

Agronomy Update

April 27, 2016

Bunker Renovation Update:

            Medalist finished shaping and grassing the bunkers on #6, during the next few days will be installing gravel, glue and new sand. Currently, Medalist has started demo on the 8^th hole. They will be reshaping the green side bunker and softening the landing area at the greens entry. This will allow players to hit a shorter iron and bounce the ball onto the green.  #8 will be closed all day Wednesday, until 1:30 pm Thursday and all day Friday. The closure is needed to complete the scope in a few days. Once completed, Medalist has been contracted to complete drainage work on the Driving Range.   

Annual flower installation:

             The Summer Annual Flowers are being installed this week at the Clubhouse/Front Entrance and Tennis Center. We expect to complete everything over the next few days.  We spent last week preparing the beds, so install will go smoothly.

Zeon Tee Boxes:

            A few weeks ago I briefly discussed the tee boxes and I am circling back with our progress. Since I last wrote, we have applied a few extra fertilizer/fungicide tanks and coupled with temperatures reaching the “140 rule” we have seen drastic improvement over a majority of the tee boxes. There still are a few tee boxes, however, that are lagging and slow to transition. A majority of these ”slow” tees are in heavy afternoon shade. Warm season grass is at its best when it gets full sun in the afternoon. We have taken samples into the shop and there is a lot of green grass down deep. We are aerifying and adding another shot of fertilizer to these “slow” tees and expect to see recovery over the next few weeks. If and when, it is necessary, we will re-sod any spots that do not transition and we anticipate the sodding to be minimal.   

Green Speed:

            During the last 10-14 days, we have pushed the greens for growth/recovery.This spring we have seen fewer weak areas on the edges compared to last year. Our goal is to have these areas filled in before we hit our tournament stretch. Therefore, we have taken a “grow-in” approach to the greens this spring. We are seeing the results in our density, but the downside, we have seen green speeds fall under our target. Please be patient as this is only temporary and once we are grown in we will do what is necessary to hit our target speeds consistently.

Agronomy Update

April 20, 2016

Bunker Renovation Update:

            Medalist is finishing rough shaping the new bunkers on the 6^th hole today. We have a site visit scheduled with Billy Fuller tomorrow to review the changes. Billy will make any necessary changes and give his approval to begin installing drainage. Once approved, Medalist will move a crew to the 8^th hole and begin demolition of the current greenside bunkers.  At that point, Medalist, will be working on #6 and #8 simultaneously which will expedite the final stages of the project.   

Annual flower installation:

            We will take delivery of the summer annuals on Monday, April 25^th. It typically takes approximately 2 days to complete the installation at Clubhouse, Tennis facility and Front entrance.  We are looking forward to putting summer color back into the beds, since the deer and Mother Nature were hard on winter annuals.

Cart Path Repair:

            Wall to Wall Golf finished the cart path repairs over the weekend. The repairs are much easier on the carts and will make your round more enjoyable.  The Maintenance Team is backfilling the edges, leveling and re sodding along the repaired areas and expected to finish this task by early next week.   

Topdressing Greens:

            The weather is finally turning towards growing Bermuda grass (140 rule). Yesterday in the “maintenance gap”, we applied light topdressing to the greens. This weekly application is critical in maintaining the thatch level in the greens. The sand dilutes the thatch build up in the greens cavity which in turn increases firmness. The topdressing also smooths the putting surface and increases ball roll (speed). The goal is to find the perfect amount of sand each week; typically we aim to reduce visual signs of sand 3 day after application. We will continue with this weekly application until the weather is consistently dips below the “140 rule”.   

Tree removal #16:

            We removed a section of trees on the 16^th hole that was providing too much shade to grow Bermuda grass. We have the scheduled the stump grinder for this coming Monday and then we will begin removing the dead turf and resodding the area. After removing the trees, it really opens up the right side of #16 and does not appear to be quite as narrow.

Agronomy Update

Bunker Renovation Update:

            Medalist has completed the 16^th and 17^th holes and will lay new bermuda sod along the creek bank on Thursday.  Medalist is currently working on the 6^th hole we are waiting on the new PDF rendering of #6, which will show the improvements from Billy Fuller. Once completed, Medalist will be moving to the 8^th hole and we have requested the PDF rendering of #8 as well.  

Tee Box color and density:

            The Zeon tee boxes are currently showing a semi dormant look. We applied a fungicide application based on soil temperatures for, Zoysia Patch and Fairy Ring, in late February. The fungicide applied can cause a slight growth regulation effect on warm season turf. Shortly after the application, we also had a light frost on property. The frost coupled with the PGR effect has delayed green up. We are confident the tee boxes will green up nicely once we get into 80/60 degree temperatures.

Cart Path Repair:

            The contractor is on property and beginning to repair areas that were marked as “Urgent” this will cost approx. 40k. The work will be done on #2, #3, #6, #11, #18 and we are getting a bid on #15/#16 spillway.

Greens/Weak Areas:

            We have a few weak transitioning areas on the greens ( #11, #12 and #13) this is typical with UD’s transitioning in the spring, especially after the El Nino and record rainfall this fall and winter. There will be plugging in a few areas but once it warms up we get aggressive with our fertilizer program this spring.  Overall, we are pleased with the conditions of the greens but also recognize we still have some work on a few small areas going forward. The good news is once we hit the “140 Rule” (Daytime + Nighttime temps =140) we can start growing grass. The last 10 days the average has been “123” so we are in a holding pattern with all the warm season turf, it is green but not actively growing.

Agronomy Department and Course Weekly Update

April 5, 2016

The bunker renovation on #16 is finished and I believe it turned out great! In my opinion, removing the back two bunkers that were seldom played from was an excellent decision. Medalist did a fantastic job blending the area to create swales and bailouts for the golfer. Once the sod knits, we will begin mowing out new approach lines and expanding the fairway height of cut around the green. Medalist is also finishing a few improvements to the fairway bunkers on #17. These improvements are expected to be completed on Wednesday. Once the work is approved by Billy Fuller and 16 and 17 are buttoned up we will move to the 6^th hole. Be on the lookout for the updated PDF, which will show all the improvements and changes coming to #6.   

It has been a crazy busy spring! The team is going full bore on finishing up winter projects and beginning to grind on the weekly maintenance. On Monday, the team went “Beast Mode” on the bunkers and I have never been more impressed. They took great pride in producing a superior product by edging, fly mowing and raking the bunkers I can’t remember when they have looked better in my 7 years. I know we still face our challenges with fabric in the bunkers that were constructed 27 years ago. But, we are slowly tacking those problems too. A group of team members have repaired the fabric in the big fairway bunkers on the right of #3 this past week and it is a drastic improvement. If you see the guys around the course, please give them big thumbs up, as they have been getting after it lately!

Next week, we are Hydroseeding the slopes in front of #11 red tee and the tee complex on #15. We will be planting “Weeping Lovegrass”, this particular grass will mature around 12-14 inches tall and its density will crowd out a majority of the weeds. This grass’s resilience to herbicide makes treating for weeds a breeze. Caution, It will take 1 to 2 years for everything to mature and produce the look I envision.

We really need some 80 degree days and night time temps in the 60’s to get all the Bermuda and Zoysia moving. We had a short run in Mid-March that popped everything to wake up but we continue to have a low-mid 40 degree night which doesn’t speed up growth and we are green but not growing.  The spring of 2015 was tough as it remained cool and cloudy until late May. We have already applied one of our fertilizer applications and once the weather breaks for good we will be applying a 2^nd application to the fairways and stressed areas. Once this application is applied we will be able to determine what grass is slow in transitioning and what needs to be re-sodded.

A few quick bullet points/reminders:

1.      Tarps and temporary cups will be removed Monday, April 11^th

2.      Annual Flowers will be delivered the 3^rd week of April

3.      Cart Path work will begin Monday, April 11^th (All work to be done is marked by green paint on paths)

This is my best Masters/Jim Nance photo

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