Equipment Day, Winter Prep and Cultural Practices

Monday, November 10, 2014

Our team has been busy this fall on the golf course.  Leaf removal is always a large part of our Fall task list and the seasonal color has been outstanding this year.  It has truly been a beautiful end to a wonderful season on the golf course.  That season looks to be coming to an end this Thursday with cold temperatures moving in.  Make sure you enjoy the golf course on Tuesday and Wednesday if possible.  Highs look to be near 70. One of the ways that our team participates...

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Questions and Answers

Monday, October 13, 2014

Over the last few weeks, our team has received a lot of questions about some of the work on the golf course.  We are headed towards the dreaded time of year when we start to see frost delays, cart path restrictions, and a lot of leaf work.  Hopefully this blog post can answer these questions, a few more, and serve as a reminder of the changing seasons. What is the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program? 'The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program is an education and certification program...

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Fall 2014

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

One of the best times of the year in Richmond, Virginia is here and I could not be happier.  The Fall is a wonderful time to enjoy the outdoors, play golf, and enjoy Willow Oaks Country Club.  The golf course had a great summer and as scheduled we aerated greens the week after Labor Day.  The greens were dryjected in two directions and core aerated with 1/2" coring tines.  We are currently 12 days post-aeration and the greens are healing in nicely.  Our goal over the last...

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Utilizing Closed Days

Monday, August 18, 2014

Some of the most important days of the year for our team happen when the golf course is closed.  Last week and today are a prime example of that.  The golf course was closed for planned maintenance days last Tuesday and Wednesday and there were no events today or last Monday.  This allows our team to accomplish a ton of work and perform some applications that would not be possible otherwise. Last week was our second scheduled tee and green surround aeration and greens venting.  Our...

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Water Management

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Every season brings different weather challenges and 2014 has been no different.  The winter of 13/14 was a hard one and since we have transitioned into summer of 2014, the golf course has seen very little rain.  Over the week of Men's Member Guest in early June, the course received about 5.5" of rain.  Since then, the course has seen very little.  Thursday brought some reprieve with a nice slow .3" of rain.  This really perked the golf course up but signs of drought are still very evident. What does this mean? 1.  Water...

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First Days of Summer

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

This past Saturday was the official first day of summer or the summer solstice.  This marks the longest hours of daylight all year.  With the longer days comes heat and the golf course is loving it.  The tees, fairways, and roughs are soaking up the heat and recent rain and growing wonderfully.  Our team is taking full advantage of the heat and longer hours. Over the last few weeks, we have been focused on golf course setup, tournament prep and recovering from rain storms....

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Grateful and busy

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

I have not been busy blogging because we have been so busy on the golf course.  I am very grateful to our staff for the wonderful work that our team has accomplished this spring.  We are barreling into the summer and our tournament season.  I am excited and proud of the golf course and all of the progress we have made this spring.  So what has been going on? Normal maintenance has included fertilizing and slicing of fairways to promote growth and recover from Spring Dead Spot....

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Etiquette towards Maintenance Personnel

Thursday, May 08, 2014

Our team has been busy this week preparing and sodding collars.  We completed 1 - 7, 9, 12, 14, and 18.  We will finish all work next week.  Please play these areas as ground under repair.  The rules of golf cover sod and sod seams so please take relief.  We will be quickly growing these areas in, lowering the height of cut, and preparing them for play.  The rest of the week will be spent preparing and setting up the course.   This is a busy time of year for our staff and the golf course.  Play and...

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Easing into Spring

Thursday, April 24, 2014

The long, cold winter of 2013/14 has not quite yielded to spring here in Central Virginia.  Our team has been busy preparing the course for the golf season but mother nature has yet to cooperate.  We are at least 3 weeks behind normal growing conditions.  The fairways are now showing some positive signs of growth after a few warm days but temperatures seem to be headed back down.  All of the bermudagrass has endured a very difficult winter.  We are seeing signs of life but...

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Updated Aeration Schedule

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

After monitoring the extended forecast, the scheduled greens aeration has been delayed...

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Preparing for Spring Aeration

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

It is hard to imagine with this winter's weather but the 2014 growing season is getting ready to start here in central Virginia. The first week of March really kicks off the 2014 growing season for our team.  The golf course will be closed March 3-7 and March 24-25 for aeration.  The rest of March will be dedicated to fan installations, stump grinding, drainage installation, irrigation installation, and above all healing over from aeration.  Weather permitting, our team along ...

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Course Update

Thursday, January 30, 2014

This winter has brought a lot of precipitation and cold temperatures.  This morning was 5°F when we got to the shop.  We have received a couple of good snowfalls that have stuck around and impacted not only the roads but our ability to work on the golf course.  Our team has been busy with winter projects, refurbishing golf course amenities, tree work, winter weather cleanup, and preparing for the installation of 4 fans on the golf course. The cold, wet weather can really take its...

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