Quick Update

Saturday, June 30, 2012

I only have a minute to write this.  The greens held up great yesterday despite a recorded on-site high of 106.3.  A large system hit Richmond last night and the entire state of Virginia and the club is currently without power.  We anticipated the storm by renting a large generator that we were able to hook up to our pump system.  When it is supposed to be over 100 degrees, not having water would be devestating.  The club only received .2" of rain which was great because too much water in the greens could cause wet wilt...

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Bringing the Heat

Thursday, June 28, 2012 Projects, Putting Greens

The next 6 days look brutal.  The weather looks perfect for bowling or traveling north.  The current forecast is something like 102/71, 103/76, 102/76, 99/75, 97/74, and 98/73.  These numbers represent the high and low forecast from Friday June 29 - Wednesday July 4.  This is outrageous and extreme but we have been prepping for this summer all season and all week.  The putting greens were vented this week and sprayed with preventative fungicides per our normal schedule. ...

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Rain Totals or Lack Thereof and Sprigging

Monday, June 25, 2012 Fertility, Projects, Putting Greens, Questions

It has been a dry spell for the golf course with variable temperatures.  If we don't get rain today, I don't see any promising rain chances until next Sunday.  The golf course is showing signs of this mini-drought.  Areas around trees, ridges or knobs in fairways, and the fescue is all showing signs of drought stress.  You will see our staff hand watering these specific areas on tees and fairways and around trees to prevent damage to the turf and trees.  If you see a staff...

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Growth Regulators

Sunday, June 24, 2012 Questions

Question:  Why do we use growth regulators on the greens if we are trying to grow grass on them? Answer:  A growth regulator is a hormone inhibitor.  Growth retardant or regulator is a misnomer.  It restricts the giberillens (hormone that directs carbs towards the production of top growth) in the plant.  This reduces shoot or leaf growth and saves carbohydrates to be used for stress management or root growth.  We use growth regulators to control the direction of the plant growth.  In other words, the plant...

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Two Large Projects coming to an End

Thursday, June 21, 2012

My time has been scarce this week and so have my posts.  We are wrapping up the install of the fans on #1 and #15 today.  Those should both be turning very soon.  The trenching and install has gone well and you will see that if you decide to challenge the heat today.  Today's forecast calls for highs near 100 so we will be on high alert to syringe if necessary.  Greens held up excellent yesterday and I expect the same thing today.  The other project that is coming to...

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Time Lapse Video of Member Guest Setup

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 Tournaments

This video was created on Saturday morning of the Men's member guest.  It condenses about an hour of work into 1 minute so it is a little busy.  The lighting and clarity is a little poor but I will look to improve that in the future.  We have to start early from 9:30 shotguns.  What you will see is our team double cutting the 18th green, mowing the approach, raking the bunkers, mowing the fairway, rolling the green, setting the pin, and hand watering the green.  Everything is pretty straight forward but I want to explain...

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Two Productive Closed Days following Men's Member/Guest

Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Projects, Putting Greens, Tournaments

The weather over the past week and hopefully the next 6 days has been fantastic.  Our team pushed hard last week through Men's Member Guest and even harder over the past two days.  Member Guest went very well in my opinion.  The golf course held up well and looked great.  Our team worked a split schedule from 4:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m or 10:00 a.m. and then back at night to mow out the golf course again.  Thank you to our management team and staff for all of the long, hard hours...

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Course Tour

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

The last two days have been great.  On Monday night, the golf course was host to a course care event.  The event had a great turnout despite the rain of over 50 members.  The event detailed bunker care and etiquette, divot care and etiquette and putting green etiquette.  We also toured our golf course maintenance facility and had dinner at the clubhouse.  The night ended with a great overview of our department and questions and answers with Eric Frazier, our Director of...

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Tournament Prep

Friday, June 01, 2012 Projects, Questions, Tournaments, USGA Green Section Updates

The golf course has been busy and so has our team.  We are in full preparation mode for next week's Men's Member Guest tournament.  On top of that, we are excited about our course care walk on Monday and our USGA Agronomist Visit on Tuesday.  If you haven't signed up for the event on Monday, it is not too late.  Just let me know by Sunday night. We will start on Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Pro Shop.  The walk will be focused on the care and etiquette of the golf course...

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