With a Servant’s Heart

Ladies & Gentlemen,

Governor Nathan Deal has offered an opportunity for the Weir Foundation and Scholars (http://www.weir-foundation.org/) to participate in his With a Servant’s Heart initiative on January 10, 2015.  The Governor has taken an interest in the Weir Foundation after the passing of Mack Burgess and sees this as an opportunity to promote the Weir Scholarship opportunity.

With a Servant’s Heart was launched in 2011 as a way for Nathan and Sandra Deal to give back to their supporters and community.  Serving others has been a cornerstone of their lives, and it’s fitting that this is the first in a series of inaugural events.  This statewide service day, in which the Deals partner with organizations in different areas, is an effort to mobilize volunteers and groups and get them involved in their respective communities.  Elected officials will participate across the state in hopes of raising awareness, supplies and funds to help those in need in their local neighborhoods.

The Governor would like the Weir Foundation to head up a golf equipment drive for The First Tee of East Lake.  The items the First Tee is in most need of are ladies clubs, but will appreciate any equipment donations … men’s clubs, shoes, bags, putters, etc.

You can drop off any donations to the St Ives Country Club Maintenance Facility and we will get the items delivered. Thank you in advance!

Kyle Macdonald, Class A , GCS
Georgia GCSA, Board of Director

Azalea Rejuvenation

The grouping of azaleas to the left of 13 green has been pruned back to 6 - 12 inches off the ground. This practice is commonly known as “rejuvenation pruning.” Below, are the reasons why this was the best solution:

1.) Over all, the aesthetics of the azaleas were unattractive and overgrown.

2.) The plot was heavily contaminated with invasive vines. The only option to completely eradicate is hand manual removal of large unwanted plants and herbicide applications. The unwanted plants were not accessible due to the density of the shrubs.

3.) Several factors contributed to the poor design:

a.) Azaleas planted too close to the cart path. The crew and I removed any azalea within 5 feet of the cart path to anticipate future growth.  In order to keep the Azaleas off the cart path they had to be sheared and Azaleas cannot tolerate routine shearing. The prolonged stress will eventually cause the shrub to become unattractive.

b.) Azaleas planted too close together. We selectively removed some azaleas to create two groupings instead of one. This will give the bed more interest and help with future manual weeding occurrences. There will be less shrubbery obstructing weeding.

c.) In hindsight, the variety of Azalea originally chosen was too big for the area it was planted. Instead, an azaleas that grows to three-four feet in height would be ideal. This would allow the observer to see over the top of the azaleas and look upon the green and other areas of the golf course.

I have done this in the past and I am confident this is the right decision. The pruned azaleas should reach two-three feet in height by the end of the first season. We will also be shrinking the size of the bed and creating a cleaner/crisper bed line. See the before and after pictures below!

-Mike Klaskala, Horticultrist / Assistant Superintendent

Painting Turfgrass

On Monday, December 1st, we painted the Driving Range Tee (DRT) for the first time this winter. There will be a 2nd application in 8-10 weeks. The club made the decision skip over-seeding the DRT this will provide optimum growing conditions for the DRT heading into next years golf season. In lieu of over-seeding, we are testing out paints to see how they look and hold up to traffic. So far, I am impressed with the color!  We have a few other paints to test and will finish the range by early next week.  

 Below are some photos we took on Monday. 

 First pass looking towards #1 Tee Box

 First pass looking towards Putting Green

 A view from the outside/upstairs patio

 One of the Target Greens receiving its final pass

This picture is from the Putting Green. The light colored area in the center of the picture is a check plot, this is what the greens would look like if we didn't use pigments/colorants.