Course Update 10.11.13

New golf course maintenance equipment for 2013 is here!

The crew is proud of our new tools and ready to put them to work

On behalf of the entire crew I want to thank the membership providing us with several new pieces of equipment that will definitely help us in maintaining and improving playing conditions. This year we received three new rough mowers and a secured a one year deal on a new sprayer. The rough mowers consist of two large - 5 deck, diesel mowers, and one smaller - zero turn deck mower. The sprayer was sorely needed and provides us with a much more accurate and safer method of applying a variety products on the course. In addition, we were able to trade in several pieces obsolete turf equipment - thus helping offset the cost and aiding us in our efforts to clean up our maintenance facility. Thanks again for your support and we look forward to utilizing these tools for years to come.

Course News:

What are all those white foam dots on the fairways? This past week we put our new sprayer to work applying our fall pre-emergent herbicide. Rather than using a colorant or dye to as a spray pattern indicator we decided to use the foam marker attachment for the sprayer. The foam is simply drops at the end of the spray boom providing an indicator for the operator as to which areas have already been treated. The foam is much less expensive, more effective, and cleaner than using dye. In all we treated 90 acres of turf. The product should prevent most winter weeds (such as poa annua) from germinating through at least March of 2014. See photos below.

Applying pre-emerge to 18 fairway

Notice the white dots on the fairway following the spray

Drought Update- We finally received some much needed rain in late September (almost 4.5"). The course has benefited greatly, and we are now in a much better situation approaching the winter months. However, the rain did not help raise the level of Lake Waco. Currently the lake is almost 8 feet low. It is critical that we get enough rain to return the lake to normal levels before spring. This weekend's forecast is promising - so keep your fingers crossed for rain.

Overseeding- The only area of the course that will be overseeded this year is the driving range tee. We will seed the tee with perennial rye grass on Monday, October 14th. Once the seed germinates we may need to close the tee temporarily in order to successful establish the winter grass. 

Other happenings- We have been busy this week adding sand to several bunkers. If you notice any bunkers that we may have missed please email me or let the golf shop know and we will take care of it as soon as possible. We have also been busy repairing any weak or damaged areas on the greens. The next area that will be working on is the practice putting green. We will begin re-sodding the area closest to the golf shop in the next couple of weeks.