We are currently in the process of topdressing fairways with sand. This process improves drainage, surface conditions and our quality of cut. Here are some pictures of our new fairway topdressing in action as well as our old machine.
Willow Oaks Country Club Golf Course Updates
Our goal is to keep the membership informed about projects, agronomic practices, and upcoming events on the golf course.
Navigating this Webpage
Maintenance Calendar, Follow us via Email or Social Media, and ways to find more information
Spring Aeration
Golf Course Closed March 27-31
February Golf Course Update
Winter Projects, Bunker Maintenance, and Greens Aeration Schedule
Air Movement and Fan Video
I took this video to show the efficacy and performance of our new Turf Breeze portable 50" Fan.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Intern Class of 2011
Two student interns from Virginia Tech's Turfgrass Management Program are wrapping up their second full week with us. These two young men are local to Richmond, eager to learn, and ready to work. They have already done a myriad of jobs at the club including course setup, walk mowing, hand watering, fertility applications, chemical applications, and core aeration.
Hunter Long is going into his second year at Virginia Tech and was a high school golfer and eagle scout. Hunter has a couple seasons of experience on a golf course but has already learned a lot of new techniques in the first two weeks. Hunter has been a great addition to the crew and is working on mastering course setup and greens hand watering as well as the business end of a walk mower.
Ben Longest has completed his first year of general education courses at J. Sargeant Reynolds and is entering his first year at Virginia Tech. Ben was also on his high school golf team and is an avid hunter and fisherman. Ben brings a lot of interesting experiences from his work at a garden nursery. He has done a great job with core aeration, chemical applications and fertility applications here at Willow Oaks.
We are very excited to have these two young men with us to help improve the golf course and provide quality playing conditions. Their eagerness to learn and desire to put in a lot of hard work and long hours to do so will pay dividends both to them and the club. Hunter and Ben will be joined by two more student interns from Michigan State's International Turfgrass Management program this August.
Hunter Long is going into his second year at Virginia Tech and was a high school golfer and eagle scout. Hunter has a couple seasons of experience on a golf course but has already learned a lot of new techniques in the first two weeks. Hunter has been a great addition to the crew and is working on mastering course setup and greens hand watering as well as the business end of a walk mower. 
We are very excited to have these two young men with us to help improve the golf course and provide quality playing conditions. Their eagerness to learn and desire to put in a lot of hard work and long hours to do so will pay dividends both to them and the club. Hunter and Ben will be joined by two more student interns from Michigan State's International Turfgrass Management program this August.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Saturated Golf Course
The course has received well over 2.5" of rain since Saturday and more is expected throughout the week. We will try and mow the greens everyday in an effort to have good green speeds for the weekend but as of right now they are too wet to mow today. Luckily, our USGA spec greens drain very quickly but continuing rain will prohibit us from doing much else on the golf course except cleanup from these storms. Because these systems are approaching from the south east, there are no expected flooding concerns.
Two of our interns started yesterday and they have had a baptism by fire into golf course management. They will be joined by two more interns in August. I will post more information on these two young men from Virginia Tech when I get a chance.
Have a great day.
Two of our interns started yesterday and they have had a baptism by fire into golf course management. They will be joined by two more interns in August. I will post more information on these two young men from Virginia Tech when I get a chance.
Have a great day.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Construction wrapped up for the week
The front left greenside bunker on six, the first fairway bunker on eighteen and the first left fairway bunker on nine have been removed and the fairways have been reshaped to allow for a natural transition. The work was completed by McDonald and Sons with Andrew Green as the lead architect and Erik McDonald as the project manager. The work really turned out well and these areas will be played as ground under repair for the next few weeks. We will be changing the fescue line to the left of the disturbed area on number nine to Tifsport next week and over the next few weeks we will be taking the area to the left of six green to T10 bermuda. We have used T10 on the perimeters of the golf course like right of ten and right of fourteen. Both of these improvements should compliment the work that has already been accomplished.
Here are some before and after pictures.
Here are some before and after pictures.
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| Old #6 |
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| New #6 |
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| Old #9 |
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| New #9 |
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| Old #18 |
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| New #18 |
USGA update
Here is a good article from Stan about dryjecting. We are hopefully going to employ this process this year.This picture is an example of a Dryjected column of sand. This is done by blowing sand into the profile of the green as a firming technique. It technically raises the bulk density of the profile and can get firmer sands into the mix. This is not a substitute for core aeration.
http://www.usga.org/course_care/regional_updates/regional_reports/midatlantic/Preparing-Congressional-CC-For-The-U-S--Open---May-2011/
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Positive Turnover
Tree work, construction and herbicide applications
Work began yesterday on the 6th green complex. We also.removed 4 trees on the right side of 9 cartpath to allow for more sunlight to the fairway and allow for the transition from the cartpath to the new fairway line to be softened.
We also began work spraying out all of the weeds in the tees and fairways.
We also began work spraying out all of the weeds in the tees and fairways.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
New chipping area around clubhouse putting green
We completed this project this week. The new irrigation and new turf varieties should make this area a success. Should be ready for play in three weeks.
