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:
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.
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| Joe, Sergio, Mauro, and Jacob prepare guacamole for the BBQ. |
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| If that's not a good looking bbq pit then I don't know what is... |
