Preparing for a busy Winter

Friday, November 16, 2012

The final winter preparations have been made to the irrigation system and all other electrical components on the golf course.  Our team has covered the fans and disconnected all irrigation satellite boxes.  We are beginning to replace missing or damaged yardage caps on sprinkler heads and have drained the system to prevent freeze damage.  The professionals from ProPumps and Cannon's Service were on site last week to break down the more complex components of the irrigation pumps and control panel.  They remove any components that are prone to freeze damage and inspect the pumps.  This can be a very cold process.

One of the divers from Cannon's Service went under water to inspect the irrigation pumps.

The system is drained to prevent any freeze damage.

The rest of the golf course is changing as the temperatures drop.  The bermudagrass is going dormant and our focus has really been on leaf removal.  This will continue until the leaves are gone.  Our main goals this winter will be to trench in the power lines needed to run new fans on the golf course.  Fans will be installed on #3, 4, 6, 10, 11, and 13.  This will greatly improve air flow and turf quality.  This work will begin next week.  Our goal is to have the fans installed and operational by April 1 so our wire goal is to have the wire completed by March 1, 2013.  The fans on #1, 4, and 15 have already been covered for the winter.  The small fan on the on deck putter was very successful this year and it has been removed for winter maintenance.  Our other winter projects include drainage, plant installs, and tree work.  The tree work this year will really be limited to dead trees and undergrowth.  Removing undergrowth helps improve air flow through the golf course. 

The new fans must be operational for next season.  The benefit from the current fan on #1 has been huge this year.  This easily went from our worst green to one of the best greens.  The fans have been covered for the winter.

This is the first reminder that carts will be limited to the path starting December 4, 2012 through the winter.  This helps protect the turf as it is not growing or recovering from traffic during dormancy.  Contact the golf or green committee for information regarding handicapped accessible flags.  Another email will be coming out with greater detail.  

Over the past few seasons, the TifSport bermudagrass collars have struggled coming out of dormancy.  Heavy traffic, wear, and compaction are the driving factors affecting the poor performance of these areas.  Our team has made great strides to improve these areas this year and one of the new ways of reducing traffic will be the implementation of riding mowers on greens during the winter months.  These tire driven machines will greatly reduce the PSI and the amount of traffic on the collars and really help reduce wear and tear.  This maintenance change during the off season coupled with multiple aerations and other agronomic practices will greatly improve the collars.  The finance committee approved the purchase of the necessary reels for the change of mowers and these parts have already been ordered.  We will be mowing the greens with riding mowers from December 3 - the beginning of April.  Putting quality should remain the same throughout the winter.

As traffic slows on the course, keep your game and fitness sharp with a golf lesson, fitness class or through the use of the new indoor fitness courts.  The club will be very busy over the next few months with holiday celebrations and I for one look forward to the upcoming events.

Have a great weekend and Thanksgiving,

Jordan Booth
jbooth@willowoakscc.org