Course Update 12.12.14

2014 was a great year for our maintenance operations. Our staff has done a tremendous job over the past year and we thank you for your continued support of our operations. The new equipment purchased by the club in early 2014 allowed us to work safer, more efficiently, and provide a better overall product for our golfers. We are excited to begin a new year and to continue working to improve the course in 2015. On behalf of the entire crew we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! 

Upcoming Major Projects

Plans to renovate the main driving range are in the works.

There are two big projects that we are currently planning for. Both of these crucial projects are badly needed and it is exciting that RCC is continuing to work towards their completion in 2015.The first is a potential expansion of the main driving range tee. It is a well-known fact that our practice tee is sorely undersized for the amount of use that it receives. We are currently working on plans to expand this tee and improve the surrounding area in early to mid-2015. See more pictures of this area, possible plans, and renditions (my amateur drawings) by clicking this link - RCC DR Pics. We are also continuing work on plans for renovating our Golf Course Maintenance Facility. Our main goals are to provide a safe, functional, and environmentally friendly facility that will serve RCC for many years to come. In addition, a high focus is being placed on improving the view from 18 tee box of this area. Both of these crucial projects are badly needed and it is exciting that RCC is continuing to work towards their completion in 2015. I have attempted to draw a 3D rendition of possible renovations to the main building using Google Sketchup. Check out the video below: (if the video does not load click 3D RCC SHOP)

Winter Course Work

Have you ever wondered what the golf course maintenance crew does over the winter months? After all, there is minimal grass to mow and it is too cold for golfers to be using the course. The reality is that from December to February we are working hard to complete several important tasks. Much of this work cannot be completed during the growing the season and we have a limited time window to accomplish a wide variety of maintenance items. We typically break these items down into three categories: 1) Course Setup, 2) Annual Maintenance, and 3) Projects. We then prioritize the tasks in each group accordingly. 

Randy Stewart removing leaves on 12G.

Course Setup – The weather in Texas is constantly changing. We may have several days of very cold weather, followed by a week of mild and pleasant weather for golfing. For these reasons, we must have the staff on hand to setup up the golf course for a busy day of golf. This includes the general course setup tasks that we complete year round such as: mowing greens, changing

cups, raking bunkers, emptying trash, changing out water coolers, checking ball washers, moving tee markers, blowing leaves, etc.

Joe Nava and Sergio Zapata paint tee markers

Annual Maintenance - These are the tasks that we typically complete every winter and include: re-furbishing course accessories (tee markers, ball washers, cups, etc), completing preventative maintenance and repairs on all equipment, tree trimming, irrigation work, bunker maintenance (checking sand depths, packing, rakes, edging, etc), leaves and debris clean up, flower beds, pond clean up, etc. 

An aerial shot of the 5th green illustrating our irrigation coverage

We created an "app" using Google Docs
 to aid in our irrigation audit. 

Projects – Every year we have several small projects that we attempt to tackle. Often times these are Annual Maintenance items that we have decided to work on in depth. This year we are working on the following areas: 1) Irrigation Audit, Programming, and Repairs 2) Tree Work, 3) Maintenance Facility Clean Up and Organization. One of the highest priorities this year is working on our

Irrigation Audit. We have almost 2000 irrigation heads on the course that controlled from a central computer located in the maintenance facility. These heads are then assigned to programs through the computer based on the area that they irrigate. We are currently checking every head for proper operation, matching it to our maps, and then working to re-program the computer in such a way that we will be able to more efficiently irrigate the course. All of this work will then be incorporated into our broader Water BMP and Conservation Plans.  A second area that we are placing high priority on is the clean-up and organization of our maintenance facility. We have made considerable progress over the last year, but still have a long ways to go. This winter we are working to organize our irrigation parts storage and to clean out our equipment repair area.

New shelving in the old pump station is allowing us organize our irrigation parts

Course Update 10.10.14

This limb came off the Cedar Elm right of 13 Green in Thursday's storm

I apologize for the long lapse in updates. Overall, things are going well and we are in full swing getting the course ready for the fall season. Hopefully today's post will provide a good overview of course conditions and happenings. 

Storm Damage 

The wind from last Thursday night's storm took its toll on the course. We lost three entire trees, had damage to dozens more, and had debris covering most of the course. The crew did an excellent job cleaning up the mess and getting the course ready for the annual Member/Member tournament the next day.  The new tractors and other equipment purchased earlier this year allowed us to safely and efficiently tackle the job. All in all the damage could have been worse, and we did receive a half inch of rain - our biggest rain in two months.

Joe and Jacob Nava work on a large Cedar Elm in front of 4 fairway. The far left tee may play a little different now...

Water Situation

August and September were exceptionally dry. The lake has dropped back to three feet below normal and we are now on the brink of relying on our transfer pump once again. Our irrigation budget and water allotment are in good shape, but we are definitely in need of a good rain to help prepare the course for the winter months

Greens

The greens are certainly benefiting from the shorter days and cooler nights. We have experienced substantial recovery from the summer heat over the last 30 days. We are now in a position to shift gears from promoting recovery to focusing more on performance. 

High Rough Areas
After much discussion, the decision has been made to return to uniform mowing height on all rough areas. We will be re-evaluating the location of these type of areas over the next several months. We will be providing more information about this decision in the next couple of days via email. Click here to for more information: High Roughs Letter

Sod Work

This week we planted several areas on the front nine to Celebration bermudagrass. We focused on weak or thin areas near the fairways on holes 1, 2, 7, and 8. The grass will not completely blend in until the spring, however it should help the course play better over the winter months. Please avoid driving on the new sod. We will be keeping these areas heavily irrigated for the next couple of weeks.

Duane inspecting the prepared sod areas on #2

Planting the new grass on the left side of #7

Driving Range Tee

We overseeded the lower driving range tee and the two small tees near number nine fairway this past Monday. The warm temperatures have helped the seed germinate quickly, and I anticipate re-opening these tees in the next 10 days. We are also working with Colligan Design to develop plans that will increase the square footage of the lower tee from 10,500 square feet to approximately 18,000 square feet. We should have conceptual drawings in the coming weeks. 

Other Course Happenings

• Fall fertilizer applications completed on greens, tees, fairways, and roughs
• Preventative weed and disease control products applied to greens
• New course accessories - flags, flagsticks, cups, etc - Prisms will be installed on flagsticks next week
• All cart paths edged
• Tennis facility clean up - mowing, edging, trimming hedges, tree pruning, removal of vines, etc completed earlier this week
• Wet areas on 7 and 13 - we have made changes to our irrigation system that will help the low areas on these two hole remain much drier
• Continuing work on plans for our maintenance facility

Coming soon

• Fall preventative weed applications to tees, fairways, and roughs will be completed in the next two weeks
• We are scheduled for the "Planet Air" aeraration procedure on greens on 10/27
• Tall Fescue seed will planted next week in several shaded areas on the course beginning next week
• Finalizing bids for tree work along entrance road, clubhouse, parking lot, pool, and tennis facility

Course Update 8.23.14

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge comes to RCC!

After several members of the crew were challenged to participate in the ALS Ice bucket challenge we decided to take care of 4 challenges at one time - using the front end loader! Check out the video above or click here: RCC Ice Bucket Challenge. David McLatcher made good on his challenge following his round on Saturday. Check out the video below or click here: David Mclatcher ALS Challenge.

The crew is currently putting together a nice donation for the ALS Association. If you would like to make a donation please take a minute to visit the ALS Association website: Donate to ALS.

Course Update 8.25.14

Water

We are significantly under budget for the year and do not anticipate any issues with the remainder of our water allotment which runs through the end of March 2015. We received 1.25" of rain on Sunday 8/24 - our first rain in almost 4 weeks. Lake Waco is doing well and is only about one foot below normal elevation.

Greens

The greens are recovering nicely from last Monday's "Planet Air" procedure. For various reasons, the greens were exceptionally soft as a result of the aeration. We have been using a combination of rolling and mowing to get the greens back in shape. Overall, the greens have tolerated the summer heat very well, and we are looking forward to transitioning to our Fall maintenance practices starting immediately. I have received a few questions regarding bermuda grass contamination on the greens. Bermuda grass contamination is most evident in late Summer when our bentgrass begins to thin out from the heat. It is impossible to completely eliminate bermuda grass from our greens, however we use a combination of practices to help control this problem. These practices include: weekly edging, chemical controls (limited success), and plugging. Our new nursery is completely grown in and will provide a source of pure bentgrass when we remove contaminated areas on the regulation greens. 

Tees, Approaches, Fairways

Earlier this month we completed vertical mowing and aeration of all fairways. In addition, we fertilized all areas of the course. Also, we are continuing our monthly spray program to fairways and tees. This program provides monthly applications of micro-nutrients and growth regulators in order to improve color and playing quality. We are also working to align several of the tee boxes.So far we have worked on #2, #3, #11, and #13.

Bunkers

The bunker maintenance programs discussed in previous blog posts seem to be working with considerable success. We will continue to implement these practices - with the ultimate goal of obtaining firm bunkers and smooth faces. Sand was added to #2 and #4 in the last couple of weeks. We will likely be adding sand to the chipping green bunkers this week. 

Other

• Basketball Court - We sprigged the old basketball court on 7/29. The grass is growing in nicely and should be 90% covered by mid-September
• Driving Range - We are currently working on several different long term improvement plans for the driving range
• Maintenance Facility - Continuing plans for renovation of maintenance facility. Currently a local architecture firm - RBDR is working on plans.

Course Update 7.18.14

Golf Course Update

Water

The rains in June definitely helped boost our water budget. In June we used 72% less water for irrigation compared to our historical average usage. We are on track to record similar savings for July. In addition, Lake Waco is back to its normal level for the first time in years. Even with all the rain it is important to note that 63% of the state is still experiencing drought conditions. We are however in much better shape than this time last year when 99.7% of the state was experiencing drought conditions. McLennan County currently falls into the "Moderate Drought" level. The bottom line is that the golf course has benefited from recent precipitation and our "water budget" is in good shape - however we still need considerably more rain to break the ongoing drought. For more information on drought conditions click the following link: United States Drought Monitor

Bunker Maintenance and Etiquette

Jacob Heppell hand watering the greenside bunker on #2

We have been working hard to make the bunkers smoother and firmer. We feel that we have some success by using the following practices:

• Hand watering in conjunction with using a mechanical bunker every one to two weeks to aid in compaction in the bottoms of the bunkers
• Using the back side (smooth side) of the rake to smooth the surface of the faces
• Only raking footprints and smoothing rough or uneven areas several days a week, rather than raking the entire bunker every day before play
• Only smoothing footprints in fairway bunkers all of the time

ALWAYS enter and exit bunkers from the low side

The basic idea is to disturb the bunker as little possible so that the sand remains firm and compact. In addition, we are working to keep the bunkers as moist as possible without over watering the surrounding areas. I have been approached by several members regarding plate tamping bunkers. When the sand was first installed every bunker was packed using a gas powered plate tamper. The process did help to allow the new sand to pack. I recently tried the plate tamper again to see if it would help our efforts to make the bunkers firmer. It did provide some compaction, however it also disturbed a lot of sand. This was particularly true when turning the machine. We will continue to consider the plate tamper a tool when installing new sand, however at this point I do not see it being effective for routine maintenance. Finally, please take a moment to review the bunker etiquette picture above - courtesy of Phil Desbrow, GCS at Lakewood Country Club in Rockville, Md. He maintains a great course blog. Click Here to check it out. 

Greens Update

Root depth on 17 Green on July 10th 

Overall the greens are going great and handling the summer temperatures well. The biggest key to surviving the heat is maintaining good roots. The mild summer so far combined with years of dedicated cultural practices (the planet air procedure) have allowed us to maintain excellent root depth in most areas (see photo above) so far this year. For more information on managing bentgrass in the summer heat please take a few minutes to read the following article: Why do our bentgrass greens slow down in the summer?.

15 Green showing symptoms of Summer Patch

One of the biggest dangers in during the summer months is disease outbreaks. Earlier this week, Assistant Superintendent Duane Kemp spotted a small outbreak of what appeared to be Summer Patch on a few of the greens. Immediately afterwards we went to the web to help diagnose the problem. For years, North Carolina State University has maintained excellent online resources to help superintendents and other turf managers properly diagnose and treat various pathogens. We reviewed their information and consulted with Dr. Jim Kerns who confirmed our diagnosis and helped us choose the best control methods. We have already treated all of the greens and feel confident that we have pathogen under control. For more information on Summer Patch Click Here.

No Mow Areas

View from 15 Tee with deep rough mowed at 5"

All of the "no mow" areas mentioned in my last post have now been mowed down to 5" per request from the board. The idea is to continue with our plan to establish areas of reduced maintenance, but still provide a "maintained look". We are working to determine the best approach and mowing heights for all of these areas. The ultimate goal is still to make better use of our water allotment and other resources while enhancing the beautification and definition of the course.

Other Course Happenings

New Uniforms - Troy Petty shows off the new bright orange shirts while mowing 14 green

• Uniforms - All employees received new uniforms earlier this month. Our hope is that new uniforms help golfers better see our crew members while maintaining a more professional image. Our student workers and part time employees wear the orange shirts, while our full time staff is provided with blue button up shirts and khaki pants.  
• Civitas Trial - We are currently testing a new product on fairways 10 and 18 called Civitas. The product is essentially a mineral oil combined with a pigment that is supposed to provide a variety of plant health benefits including substantial water savings. I will post more on this topic later. 
• Basketball Court - We are in the final stages of preparing the old basketball court for re-grassing
• Maintenance Facility - Plans and cost for the proposed renovations at the maintenance facility have been received.
• #11 Erosion - We are working to develop a plan to better control drainage and erosion to the right of the 11th fairway and green.
• Driving Range - The artificial turf was installed on July 1st. We are currently working with Colligan Design to develop long term improvements to the entire range

Course Update 6.13.14

What a difference rain makes!
Hole 15 on June 10th
Photo taken by Trey Kemp of Colligan Design

Good Afternoon and thank you for visiting the blog. I will use today's post to give an update on several areas of the course including: rainfall, "no mow" areas, bunker maintenance, and other course news.

Rainfall
Until mid-May we were experiencing one of the driest springs on record. However, over the last 30 days we have received over 11 inches of rain! In addition, Lake Waco is almost back to a normal elevation of 462 ft. The rain provided a much needed boost to our water budget - putting us in a much better position to enter the summer months.

"No Mow" Areas

Walk path mowed into the "no mow" area on #9

Water Reduction and Grassing Plan

We are currently letting the rough grow to its maximum height on select "out of play" areas on the course (9, 11, 13, 15, 17). These areas are part of a larger Master Plan that we developed with Colligan Design. The plan focuses on water conservation, native grass plantings, tree planting, and landscape improvements. The idea behind these "no mow" areas is to get a feel for how some parts of the course might look if we convert them to native grasses. By reducing maintenance in these areas we are able to save water, fuel, labor, and fertilizer. We can then re-direct these resources to the "in play" areas of the course such as tees, collars, approaches, and fairways. Ultimately our goal is to make better use of our water allotment, be more prepared for drought conditions, and improve the look and feel of the golf course by adding definition.

Bunker Maintenance

Mechanical rake used to only prepare the  bottom of bunker

The new bunkers are now just over one year old. During this time the sand has settled and compacted significantly - resulting in firmer playing conditions than last summer. However, we have received numerous comments from golfers stating that the sand is still too soft. As a result, we are trying different methods of raking the bunkers to see if we provide firmer playing conditions and help the ball roll down the faces to the bottom of the bunker. For example, only minimal raking will be performed on all slopes and faces. When raking is required in these areas we will use only the smooth side of the rake. The idea is that the less we disturb the sand, then the more compact it will be. This should help more balls to roll back to the bottom of the bunker. This method of raking bunkers is commonly referred to as the "Australian method". In fact, this is the same method used at many USGA championships including this year's US OPEN at Pinehurst. The same holds true in the bottoms of the bunkers. We are moving away from disturbing the entire bottom of the bunker daily, and will be only raking footprints and smoothing uneven areas. We are also experimenting with using our mechanical bunker rake to help smooth and compact the bunkers on a weekly basis. Finally, we will be testing a plate tamper to see if it significantly impacts compaction long term. Please remember that the single most important factor when discussing firmness in bunkers is moisture. Wet bunkers will always be firmer than dry bunkers - regardless of maintenance practices. Click below to see a quick USGA video on bunker consistency. If you do not see the video click here: USGA Bunker Maintenance Video.

Other Course News

• Planning to plant the old basketball court to grass by July 1
• Working on plans to renovate the driving range
• Artificial turf will be installed on the cement slab at the back of driving range
• Black tee on #10 has been leveled and re-sodded
• Adjusting mowing patterns
• "Planet Air" on greens will take place on Monday 6/16
• New equipment working great
• We will continue vertical mowing and aerating fairways beginning Monday 6/16
• Greens doing great - shifting gears to summer maintenance (more coming next post) 

Course Update 5.16.14

I will start today's post off by congratulating Colby Harwell on winning the Otis Beck Memorial Club Championship. Mr. Harwell's two day total of 136 was just enough to hold off defending champion John Derrick who shot 137. It was a great weekend for golf and hope that everyone enjoyed the course. This weekend we will be preparing for the Senior Club Championship. The weather looks great and good luck to everyone who is playing.

Harwell (putting) with playing partners John Derrick and BU Coach Jay Goble on the 16th green.

COURSE UPDATE

Rain
We received 2.5" of rain on May 9th and just under 4" on May 12th. Up until now we have experienced an exceptionally dry spring, so we are thrilled to have finally seen some nice rain. We did not experience any major damage to the course with either rain event. However, the rain on the 9th came with significant winds - resulting in close to 100 down tree limbs, 1 large tree (on #1 by the Marina), and damage to our fence at the shop. Both rain events caused the bunkers to wash, and brought a large amount of mud and debris to many areas of the course. The crew did an excellent job both this week and last to get the mess cleaned up. The rain will certainly give our water budget a boost. The elevation of Lake Waco also got some help and came up over 6" to 459.87.

Sergio Zapata working to clean up the tree on #1

A quick note on the bunkers: We experienced substantial washing on several bunkers in the last week. This is to be expected given the amount and rate of rainfall. None of the bunkers held water and there was very little contamination of the sand. We were able to repair all of the bunkers in one day using only half of the crew! This can be credited to the new bunkers and the construction method. The old bunkers would have required pumping, and many, many more man hours to repair. The sand will be soft, similar to new sand, for a couple of weeks due to the washing.

Left bunker on #10 on May 9th

Greens
We completed our second "planet air" procedure on the greens this past Monday. The crew did an excellent job to complete the entire process before the rain hit Monday afternoon. The rain combined with the unusually cool temperatures will help the greens heal in no time. As I have said many times before, this cultural practice is critical to helping the greens survive the summer months. As the temperatures warm up you will also see our crew doing more and more hand watering. This past week we re-calibrated all of our soil moisture meters. These meters are a absolutely one of the best tools we have to properly manage moisture on the greens, and it is imperative that they are all working properly. As always, please remember to keep an eye out for the water guys when playing approach shots to the greens.

Ensuring that all of our moisture meters are reading properly

Tees, Fairways, and Roughs
We are finally starting to see some active bermuda grass growth on all areas of the course. Over the last couple of weeks we have started to aerate tees, fairways, collars, approaches, and some roughs. This aeration will help alleviate compaction, aid in water retention, and encourage new growth. The back nine fairways are completed and we will moving to the front nine next week. We also applied preventative grub control to all of the fairways and some roughs. Grubs and the pest that eat  them (skunks) caused major problems last year. We are optimistic that we have better control practices in place this year. In addition, we will be fertilizing the entire golf course on May 19th and 20th. Finally, we will be working to adjust our mowing patterns for several areas of the course. This includes aligning tees, selecting "no mow" areas, and modifying collar and approach lines.

Using our new DK55 Tractor to aerate 16 tee

Joe Nava using the Aer-Way slicer to aerate #10 Fairway

Projects/Other Work

• Nursery Green - Green growing in nicely, slowing lowering mowing height, topdressing and vertical mowing frequently 
• Spring Change Out - Last week we completed most of our spring flower change out
• Maintenance Facility - We are expecting to receive completed pre-liminary plans for possible renovations today. Eagle Design will have the costing completed by the end of the month
• Colligan Plans - We are starting to select certain areas on the course to be "no-mow" areas. For example, the area between #9 tees and fairway
• Irrigation - We are working hard to re-program our irrigation system in such a way that it will provide us more flexibility under severe drought conditions. These changes will allow us to make much better use of our water allotment by focusing on "in play" areas
• Sod work - Over the next month we are planning to sod several small weak areas on the course. We will start by working on areas close to greens and landing areas. 

Course Update 4.22.14

Good afternoon and thank you for visiting the Ridgewood Country Club Golf Course Maintenance blog. It has been quite some time since my last post, so please check out the Golf Course Update and photos below:

Golf Course Update

Water Situation

• April 1st marked the beginning of our new raw water contract (golf course irrigation water) with the City of Waco. Our allocated amount will stay the same for this contract period.
• It is important to budget our contracted amount of irrigation water for the entire year, as purchasing additional water is typically not an option. 
  
• Continuing to work on short and long term improvements to our irrigation system to make the most of our allotment.
• Lake Level is currently 459.61 or approximately 2.5 feet below normal elevation.

Course Conditions

• Greens
• Overall health is very good (to be expected for this time year)
• Goal now is to prepare greens for the hot summer conditions ahead
• Completed first full "planet air procedure" on March 31.
• Green speed - Weather conditions allow us provide faster green speeds in the spring and fall. However, during this time the grass is actively growing and maintaining consistent speeds can be a challenge. We are using our new equipment combined with other tools to help buffer any speed fluctuations. 
• Spot aerating - Will be using our recently acquired small walking aerator to consistently pull cores on any traditional problem spots on greens. Areas include: front and left side of practice green, front of 7 green, left of 9 green, and several other small areas. This practice will provide more oxygen to the roots and help these trouble spots make it through the summer

  

  Randy Stewart and Patrick Evans aerating the left side of the practice green

• Tees, Fairways, Roughs
• Applied fertilizer and preventative weed control on March 24
• We are beginning to get some bermuda grass growth but are waiting on warmer weather for active growing conditions. The 150 Rule - warm season grasses such as bermuda will not begin to actively grow until soil temperatures rise. This usually occurs once the daytime high and the night time low add up to 150 or greater (i.e. 85/68) for several days.
• Planning to begin vertical mowing and aerating (slicing) fairways and tees in coming weeks
• Scheduling preventative grub control and monthly spray program for tees and fairways beginning May 1.
• Currently applying weed control products in roughs
• Bunkers
• Adding sand monthly
• Checking sand levels every two to three weeks
• Working to address any weak sod and/or areas where the black liner is showing
• Sand cleanup around edges and bermuda grass encroachment

  

  Herbicide is used to help keep edges of bunkers defined

Projects and Plans

• Equipment Replacement - Tomorrow we will take delivery on two new utility tractors. This will be the final equipment delivered as part of our equipment overhaul. All of the new equipment is already in service and performing well
• Maintenance Facility- Continuing to work with Eagle Design Build on future renovation plans

  

  Preliminary site plan drawings from Eagle Design Build

• Colligan Golf Design - Continuing work on water conservation, landscape improvement, and driving range plans
• Water Conservation Plan - In addition to our master plan with Colligan Design, we are working to create our individual course Water Best Management Practices and Water Conservation Plans. 
• Spring flower change out - Should take place in next two to three weeks
• Nursery Green - We are currently in the grow-in phase of our nursery project. 

  

  Nursery Green on April 22

  

  Nursery Green on April 4

• Old Basketball Court - Currently accepting soil from Greg May, and preparing the old court to be resurfaced to grass
• Burn Pile - This past week we completed the burning of our brush pile, via permit from City of Waco Fire Dept. 

  

  Burn Pile on April 15

Conclusion

As you can see spring in a busy time of year for our golf course maintenance operations. In order to start the season off right we decided to have a BBQ for our crew. The entire crew enjoyed an afternoon of food and camaraderie. The food was paid for with funds raised from recycling scrap metal throughout the winter. Thank you for allowing us to have an afternoon to relax and get ready for a busy spring and summer. Please continue to check the blog and we look forward to seeing you on the course.

Joe, Sergio, Mauro, and Jacob prepare guacamole for the BBQ.

If that's not a good looking bbq pit then I don't know what is...

Course Update 3.7.14

Christmas in March!

A key part of our equipment includes five state of the art walking mowers for use on greens

We will be taking care of the course this year with a much improved and updated equipment fleet. The new equipment received this past week will allow us to perform our maintenance practices in a safer, more efficient, and more effective manner. This will ultimately resulting in improved playing conditions throughout the course. We are currently working to schedule a "field day" so that we can showcase the new equipment. Our entire crew is excited, and we thank you for making this much needed improvement a reality. Check back for more pictures.

A look at our maintenance facility showing some of the new equipment

Course Happenings

Spring is coming fast and we are working hard on several areas of the course. Check out the list below for a few updates.

• Green divot mix is here! We will now be using green divot mix on the the driving range tee, par threes, and fairways
• We will be applying our first fertilizer application of the year combined with our Spring preventative weed application on Monday, March 17.
• Due to the cold weather we were not able to complete our first "planet air" aeration of the year on March 3. We are currently rescheduling for March 17. 
• We are continuing to work with Colligan Golf Design to develop a master plan for the course that includes not only aesthetic improvements but also focuses on water conservation and native plantings. We received preliminary drawings earlier this week
• Mike Brasheers is finishing completion of the new water cooler stands.
• Eagle Design Build has started work on a master plan for major maintenance facility improvements.
• Nursery green construction is complete - See info below.

Nursery Green Construction

We have completed construction on our new bentgrass nursery green, located to the right of 18 tee box. This green will provide us with clean bentgrass sod to use for repairs, controlling bermudagrass encroachment, and for testing efficacy of various turf products. The green will be maintained at the same level as the regulation greens in order to ensure that it always ready for use on the course (it may also double as a short game facility for the golf course superintendent.....). We are planning on seeding the green on March 17. Check out the pictures below to see a quick overview of the construction process. 

Step 1: Sod stripped, drainage installed

Step 2: Add liner (to prevent contamination) and fill material

Step 3: Create "cavity" from fill material

Step 4: Add greens mix

Step 5: Add irrigation and final float greens mix

Course Update 2.8.14

Thank you for visiting the blog. I will use today's update to provide some information on "Frost Delays" and give an overview of course happenings.

So far we have had an exceptionally cold winter. According to article by Stephanie Butts published in the Waco Tribune Herald on February the 5th of this year - we are 13% colder than last year. In addition, earlier this week Waco set a new record for most days with temperatures below freezing. The previous record was 51 days and dates back to 1909! - Click here to read the article -  Waco Tribune Herald Article

One of the most noticeable impacts of the cold weather for avid golfers is the high number of "frost delays". Please take a moment to watch the above video from the USGA explaining frost delays (if the video does not load then click here - Frost Delay Video). There are two types of freezing scenarios that require us to delay golfers from playing. The first is what we call a "frost delay" which occurs when the dew freezes to the grass. The grass in turn becomes extremely brittle and is easily damaged or killed by traffic (see video above). The second type of delay occurs when both the grass and soil beneath freezes. This is most dangerous on our bentgrass greens since they are still growing during the winter months. Numerous times this year the greens have frozen to the point where it has been impossible to penetrate the surface with a pocket knife. The real danger of damage to the turf occurs not when soil is frozen, but as it begins to thaw. As the ice begins to melt, the surface of the plant appears to be fine. However, traffic will cause severe damage to the lower parts of the plant and root zone that have not completely melted.

We use a digital thermometer to check the temperature below the leaf surface to ensure that the grass is ready for traffic.

In addition to delaying play, these cold mornings also delay our maintenance practices such as mowing greens and changing holes. Often times we are forced to reduce our maintenance during frost delays so that we can get golfers on the course as soon as possible. I would like to thank all of our morning golfers and our golf shop staff for the patience and care that they have shown our golf course throughout this cold winter. I can promise you that it does make a difference.

Other Course News

• Nursery Green Construction - We have working hard on completing our nursery green located to the right of 18 green. We will be seeding this green in early March. More information coming in my next post.

  

  Initial site prep and drainage installation



Liner installation and base layer material in process

• Winter weed control - We have been busy controlling winter weeds in a few areas in the rough that were not treated with pre-emergent herbicide last October. 

2nd Asst. Randy Stewart spraying the rough between Holes 1 and 2

Areas next to greens are treated with a spot sprayer to reduce the risk of injury to the putting surface

• Course Accessories - One of winter task is to touch up course accessories, such as tee markers and yardage plates.



Pepe, Joe, Sergio, Mauro, and Kenneth stay warm while re-painting all of the year markers

• Water Cooler stands - Mike Brasheer's crew is making progress on the completion of the new stands. The crew will be working through the weekend.

Course Update 1.12.14

I decided to begin the first post of the year with a YouTube video put together by my Dad. He has been using a drone like helicopter to take aerial photos of Ridgewood and other courses. Just click play above to see some really cool footage of our course and a few others. You can also click here: YouTube Video. Click the link below to view more photos of RCC from the air. RCC Aerial Photos

Foggy morning at RCC, photo by Jim Moore

In other news, we have been busy working on several areas of the course. Check out the list and pictures below for more information.

• Water Cooler Stands - Slabs have been poured and Mike Brasheers is hoping to complete construction by the end of the week. 

  

  Water cooler stand on #9/Practice Tee

• Maintenance Facility Clean Up - We are a long ways from finished but we have definitely made some progress in the last month 

  

  Before

  

  After

• Seed and Sod - Last month I mentioned that we had re-grassed the large area between 15 and 17. The sod is doing well and the tall fescue seed in coming in great. In addition, we used a combination of annual rye grass seed and erosion control mat to complete the marina project. 

  

  Tall Fescue on 15

  
  

  

  Marina grassing

  We have also been very busy working on our capital plans for improving the maintenance facility, finalizing our 5 year equipment package, and initiating our Master Plan in conjunction with Colligan Design. This week we will begin trimming trees, continue irrigation work, begin our nursery construction, and grind several stumps.