River Update

Saturday, October 03, 2015

The golf course received just over 2.5" on Friday and is really in pretty good shape as of 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning.  The bunkers will need to be repaired and players should expect the course to be saturated for the next few days.  Our team is already hard at work to get the course back together for play.  The entire course is passable with only minimal interior flooding.  As the course drains, this could get worse but as of right now, all cart paths and bridges are passable....

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Weather Forecasts

Friday, October 02, 2015

In the last week, the course has received 3.25" of rain as of 10:30 a.m. Friday, October 2.  Between 1-4" is currently forecast to fall on the course over the next 72 hours.  To say the least, the course is very saturated.  Precautions have been put into place to protect as many physical course assets as possible.  Power has been turned off, irrigation components secured, golf course amenities removed and even the fan on #7 has been brought in.  During the flood of January...

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Course Update

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Welcome to the first day of fall.  The weather has certainly changed and the golf course is very happy minus the need for a little rain.  Greens are recovering nicely following fall aeration.  Every green is in a little micro-environment and so every green is at a little different point of recovery.  Holes are healing over well and a good rain would really help at this point.  We are applying very small amounts of fertilizer every 4 days to promote quick and healthy recovery....

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Fielding a few questions from the Golf Course

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Q:  Why is the golf course closed tomorrow afternoon (Friday, August 21)? A:  Willow Oaks is hosting a very special event tomorrow, a fundraising golf tournament for the Wounded Warrior Family Support organization.  Many members are participating in the event and we are proud of the very full field.  The tournament and accompanying events will raise 10's of thousands of dollars for Wounded Warrior Family Support.  I encourage everyone to visit the Wounded Warrior Family...

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Another Year in the Books

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Yesterday marked the 29th anniversary for John Anderson, Equipment Manager, here at Willow Oaks.  John's first day was June 30, 1986.  Over the last 29 years, John has been an integral part of the team here at Willow Oaks and it would be impossible for our department to function without him.  His professionalism, concern for quality, and dependability are unmatched and he never ceases to amaze me with his commitment to his craft.   In our local golf course community, John has...

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Three Notes

Thursday, May 21, 2015

I haven't updated the blog in two months and now I have twice in two days.  I had three other thoughts from my observations etc around the course.  As I am writing this, the golf course is receiving a nice rain fall.  We need it.  The staff was able to mow greens, tees and fairways ahead of the rain this morning.  We also applied soil amendments to greens and tees just ahead of the rain.  It is a great benefit to do this prior to rain so that we don't have to water...

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Course Update

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

The Spring of 2015 has been a beautiful, productive season to say the least.  Our team has been busy preparing the golf course and performing many essential agronomic practices to ready the turf and course for the season.  Overall, we are very pleased with course conditioning.  A few eye sores remain in the turf around bunker faces.  This is being sodded out on Tuesday.  Collars came out of the winter better than ever with very little sod needing to be installed.  Spring...

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Very Productive Week

Thursday, March 26, 2015

As I write this, the golf course is receiving a heavy downpour of rain. While this may create some work, it is perfect timing following the aeration programs that have been performed on greens. The rain will help work in the sand and soil amendments that have been applied over the last two weeks. The warm weather in the forecast is also a welcome sight. I have started to see a lot of green leaves breaking out of the bermudagrass but the prolonged winter has left us a few weeks behind a normal...

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Weather and Golf Maintenance Calendar

Monday, March 02, 2015

The weather has been daunting to say the least.  I am sure that all of us have been affected by weather in one way or another over the last month.  It has caused our team a lot of headaches, delayed projects, and kept the course closed for over 2 weeks.  Our team has been busy with snow removal and managing the golf course as water drains off and trees have fallen in the storm. Speaking of water, the golf course will be very wet for the foreseeable future as more weather is expected and the snow continues to melt.  Expect very...

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Welcome to 2015

Wednesday, January 07, 2015

A new year brings new excitement and preparation for the 2015 golf season.  Our team is in full swing and we are readying the course for a great 2015.  One of our main focuses this winter has been and will continue to be drainage on holes 1, 3 and 4.  Since the renovation, we have installed thousands of feet of sub-surface drainage pipe to help speed up the removal of water.  We place the pipe in line to intercept water draining off of the golf course during surface drainage....

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