Fan Research Update

Wednesday, December 04, 2013

This year has been full of weather anomalies and tomorrow's forecast high of 74 is no different.  One thing that helps us control the temperature of our putting surfaces is the use of large TurfBreeze fans.  These fans come with years of anecdotal evidence and the proof has really been on display here at Willow Oaks.  With the addition of fans on greens with poor air movement such as 1 and 4, turf quality has never been better.   Over the last few years, Dave McCall, turf...

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Changing of the Seasons

Thursday, October 24, 2013

The cool weather has finally arrived and this morning we had the first frost of the season.  The golf course is really maturing well and will soon be headed into dormancy.  This time of year is dedicated to daily maintenance, readying the course for winter, and leaf removal.  Our team does a great job of keeping the golf course clean of leaves especially when we are dry.  Above average rainfall has made leaf removal difficult but has caused other problems.  Earthworm castings...

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First week of Fall

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

The Fall season is here with cool, dry weather.  The golf course received a wonderful, slow soaking rain Saturday night which helped some turf rebound from the dry conditions.  Irrigation will never 100% make up for rainfall.  Our team has been busy readying the course for tournaments and the Fall season.  Right now our main focus is on playing conditions and putting the bermudagrass to bed for the winter.  It won't be long before leaves are falling and the bermudagrass...

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A Successful Aeration Week

Thursday, September 05, 2013

Everything lined up well for this week and the weather continued to impress.  With perfect weather, our team was able to complete the double DryJect and Core Aeration scheduled for this week. We also applied dolomitic lime and potash to the fairways to help balance soil pH and other deficiencies.  Overall the week was very successful and we are thankful for the closed days to complete these essential agronomic practices.  We will only be closed on Mondays for the rest of the year. The...

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Nearing the End

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Fall aeration marks the unofficial end of summer and the beginning of the fall season.  Aeration is scheduled for next week, Tuesday, September 3 - Thursday September 5.  The golf course will be open on Labor Day and then closed Tuesday - Thursday for this necessary agronomic process.  The driving range will be closed until noon on Tuesday for maintenance.  During this time, the new artificial tee surface will be installed on the concrete pad at the driving range.  This...

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Improving Your Experience

Friday, July 26, 2013

'Improving Your Experience' is our guiding principle behind every golf course project the Green Committee approves and our team executes.   Renovating the tree line between holes 12 and 13 was one of our main priorities this year.  I think it is safe to say that the renovations to the tree line between holes 10 and 12 as well as the large areas left of 6, left of 11, and right of 12 tees have been very successful.  All of these projects included the turf propagation method of sprigging.  Sprigging...

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Preparing for a few closed days of Project Work

Friday, July 12, 2013

The last month has been wet to say the least.  Over 11 inches of rain in the last 5 weeks has changed our management practices quite a bit.  On a positive note, we pumped 6.6 million less gallons this June than we did in June of 2012.  In fact, we have not run the irrigation system at night in over 5 weeks.  Our team has been busy topdressing venting and spiking greens to help keep them dry and performing well.  Venting, coupled with rain leads to softer than ideal conditions...

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While We're Young

Monday, June 24, 2013

My last post, 'The Beginning of Summer' was written the day before my second son was born.  William Crawford 'Ford' Booth was born on June 6 at 2:21 p.m.  He was 23 inches long and 9 lb. 13 oz.  My wife Erin and the baby are both doing well.  Needless to say, it has been a busy couple of weeks around the shop.  Men's member guest, the RGA City Championship, and 6.5 inches of rain have all come and gone since Ford came into this world.  The golf course has held up beautifully...

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The Beginning of Summer

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Last week, summer weather arrived in Richmond.  This is great for the Green Surrounds, Tees, Fairways, and Roughs as well as recovery from Spring Dead Spot.  The highs were near 93 but overall conditions were dry and pleasant.  As we get into higher temps and higher humidity, things won't be so comfortable.  The course has really been taking shape over the last few weeks and our team has been busy with a few projects such as sodding behind #18 green and installing irrigation...

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Rolling right along

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The season is progressing nicely and we are starting to see warmer temperatures.  The golf course is really taking shape and coming into mid-season form.  A few major things that have happened recently were the river rising and the tree falling behind 18 green.  Today, our staff laid the first and only truck of sod on the collars surrounding the greens.  It only took 6.5 pallets of sod to complete the work on the golf course.  This is a great improvement from the...

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Friday, April 26, 2013

The last few weeks have been very busy preparing the course for the golf season and finishing our winter list of projects.  From drainage installation and tree work to Turf Breeze fans and SubAir installs, it has been a busy April.  We are certainly way behind last year regarding air and soil temperature and it shows on the golf course.  The old adage, Don't look a gift horse in the mouth really applies here. While on the subject of weather.  The weather has slowed the growth...

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