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