Course Update 5.15.15

More Rain!!!

The new weather station located near the maintenance facility

Don't cuss the rain! We are having a great spring in terms of rainfall. It is a fact that the rain makes it difficult to get work on the course done and results in sloppy playing conditions, but we will likely benefit from these rains for the rest of the summer. Take a look at few statistics in terms of rain this year:

• Lake Level is 463.5' compared to normal of 462'
• RCC has recieved 2.2" since April 23rd and almost 18.5" YTD
• Average yearly rainfall for Waco is 34", and average YTD rainfall is 11.5"
• Our weather station (pictured above) has recorded 18.5" of rain at RCC compared to 14.29" at the Waco Regional Airport

Hopefully, the rain will continue into summer and Lake Waco will remain at normal level throughout the year. 

Driving Range Project Update

The upper tee near the teaching building on 5.15

We are making progress on our renovations to the driving range tees. All work is complete on the upper tees are they are growing in nicely. We should have no problems with getting these tees looking and playing great by the June 1st opening date. The renovations to the main tee and parking are still on track to begin June 1st. Currrently, we are in process of finalizing documents and plans with contractors. 

The renovated upper tees near #9 and the newly constructed small tee (far)

 General Course Update

·    Spring is always a busy time on the course. We have been working hard to get the course in shape for several tournaments, completing routine maintenance, and have several small projects in the works. and  Checkout the list below for a few of the areas that we have been working on.

• Greens- Completed third "Planet Air" procedure of the year on 5/10/15. The greens are healing nicely and should be in great shape by early next week. 
• Tees- Tee alignment will begin next week. 
• Fairways- We are continuing with our monthly spray program on fairways. We are using a combination of foliar applied iron and growth regulators to promote turf density and color. In addition, we completed our spring preventative grub control applications last week. 
• Weak Areas- We have working to promote growth in certain areas of the course including 3,7,8,18 and others. The goal is to limit traffic in these areas, increase our cultural practices, and apply additional fertilizer to get these high play areas looking great
• Sod Work- Completed sod work on several holes including: 6,7,8,9,10,13
• Bunkers- Overall the "new bunkers" have handled the rain quite well, however heavy downpours have caused the bunkers to wash on multiple occasions. We have put forth more labor to ensure to the depths are as consistent as possible. The sand on the greenside bunkers on #9 was replaced due to contamination from the pond in front of the green. 
• Weed Control- Weather permitting we will be making herbicide applications to the greens surrounds and bunker faces to control nutsedge in the next couple of weeks. We are also continuing to spot treat other weeds. 
• Tennis Area- We have been exceptionally busy at the tennis facility this spring. Work includes: trimming trees, removing poisen ivy, mulching large areas, sodding along the new cart path, fixing drainage and erosion issues, sewer line repair.
• Other Items- 
• Updating course accessories including new cup holders on the water cooler stands, 
• Completed drainage work on #1 and #10
• Continuing with irrigation audit and repairs
• Completed spring flower change out
• Repaired several minor damaged areas on greens

Additional Information

The prolonged cloudy and wet condtions have resulted in several outbreaks of a common fungal disease known as Dollar Spot. This disease is especially obvious on our bermuda grass tees and green surrounds. While, unsightly it will like go away once sunny and dry weather returns. It can be treated with costly fungicides, but at this point we will let mother nature take care of it for us. If it increases in severity will consider applying chemicals. See photo below:

Dollar Spot on 12 Tee on 5.14

Maintenance Facility

We are continuing work on plans to renovate our maintenance facility. Currently our site plans are being prepared for submission to the USACE (Army Corps of Engineers). Check out a few of the conceptual I drew using Google Sketchup based on our latest plans.