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 

Agronomy Department and Course Weekly Update

January 26, 2016

It has been busy over the past few days, despite the “Snow” storm that crippled Atlanta! The team was able to paint our greens/driving range tees/driving range targets, cut miscanthis on #4 and continue spraying our Pre/Post Emergent herbicide application. They accomplished all these tasks during breaks in the weather. The Pre/Post Emergent spray is approximately 75% completed and depending on the weather this week, we should easily have it wrapped up by next week. Once all the spray is completed and the grasses are trimmed up we have leaf removal and #12 creek dredging on our agenda. These jobs are a challenge as they require heavy equipment on the turf, so, it is absolutely necessary that we wait until the turf is dry before we start. The staff understands the importance for both leaf removal and creek dredging and the impacts to playability and aesthetics; therefore it is on the top of our priority list.

I have spoken a lot about the “why’s and when’s” in regards to greens covers. When deciding to pull covers, we study the forecast, network with peers and look at our current weather data.

Our typical rule of thumb is the following:

1)      25 degrees or colder for two consecutive nights

2)      Soil temps less than 40 degrees

3)      Daytime High less than 50 degrees

However, soil temperature duration is the most crucial element in dealing with greens covers. Our protocol is to check AM and PM soil temperatures daily; this allows us to know how soil temperature reacts to weather patterns. As an analogy, you would not expect a steak placed in the freezer for 10 minutes to become frozen solid because the duration of the exposure is too brief. We will always make the right call to protect our greatest asset, our MiniVerde Greens.

Rugby just turned 9 months and is a certified Goose Nut. He lives for chasing the geese and the money I spent training him “off leash” is paying dividends. On our morning ride, after checking on the staff, he is off to find any geese on property. It is a thrill to see how much he enjoys chasing them out of the pond at #7 Tee complex; I know he will have his work cut out for him this spring as he continues to remove all the unwanted geese from St Ives CC. Go Rugby!!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at kmacdonald@valleycrest.com and for more information 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

January 20, 2016

We are waiting on the weather to cooperate so we can begin to re-paint the Driving Range Tees and Targets, as well as, the first paint application on the greens. These applications provide definition from the surrounding dormant turf grass. Our Spray Technician, Fernando Plata, has spent the last two weeks spraying over 45 acres for Pre/Post emergent weed control. Personally, this has been an application that I have been chomping at the bit to apply. We will see great weed control out of this tank in the coming weeks and months.  Good bye Poa!

We also took advantage of the cold weather on Tuesday and Wednesday to repaint all the tee markers, entry/exit posts and pressure wash equipment. Due to the sub freezing weather, we removed all the ball washers from the course and will touch up the paint before returning to golf course, so keep a towel handy to clean your golf balls over the next 10-14 days.

Next time out, hopefully, you will notice the repairs to #5 and #15 cartpath. They turned out great and we will be detailing the edges shortly.

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

See you on the course,

Kyle Macdonald, GCS, Class A 

Cover Refresher....

Forecast for pulling covers:

1)      25 degrees or cooler for two consecutive nights

2)      Soil temps less than 40 degrees

3)      Daytime High less than 50 degrees

As always when dealing with Mother Nature there will need to be some flexibility. We understand the greens are our most valuable asset and will make all our decisions based protecting our asset.

The forecast is trending for  pull on Monday afternoon and a removal on Wednesday. As always, temporary greens will be available for play on Tuesday, if necessary.