Winter watering

Its been only a few weeks since we blew out the irrigation system and we have only received a dusting of snow over the past 2 months.  To combat the dryness, we are out watering greens and tees and any turf areas we can get.  It is crucial that we keep the crown of the plant hydrated.  We utilize a 500 gallon water tank attached to our tractor and roller bases attached to pumps that draw water out of our ponds.  If we had snow drifts building up due to our snow fence, we utilize our track snow blower to distribute the snow over the grass to keep it covered and hydrated.  I have already done the snow dance (nobody saw me, thanks god) and we are expecting some snow this week. If the meteorologist strikes out again about the storm, we will continue to water as much turf as possible.  If we do not receive any substantial moisture by January, we may have to charge up the irrigation system to water the course.  Nobody especially my Irrigation Technician would like to charge up the irrigation system again.  If we all could do the snow dance, the grass would truly appreciate it

Winter is finally here. It's snow fence time!

Winter finally came!  The golf season was extended a extra month with the abnormal warm weather, but finally the cold weather is here to slow down the golf course.  We adapted to the late season keeping the course open for as long as possible.  With the cold weather arriving, we have winterized the on-course bathrooms, removed all tee markers, ball washers, directions signs and bunker rakes.  As always, we have installed over 1.5 miles of snow fence on the course.  We do not install the snow fence to intentionally affect your golf game.  We install the snow fence to trap snow on the course to help preserve the grass over the harsh winter months.    Being in a high desert climate and a very windy site,  we need to make sure the grass stays covered to avoid any winter dissecation.   The harder we work in the winter months keeping the grass healthy, the better we come out allowing for great condtions in the spring.  Here are a few photos of the snow fence and the local wildlife.

#4 Drain Project

With the golf season slowing down, we were finally able to repair the failing drain line that run underneath the cart path at #4 green.  The original metal pipe was from 1972 and it ran north to south from the marsh in front of #5 tee toward the #4 green pond.  We were able to slip a new PVC pipe inside the existing pipe and we added large rip rap rock to the pond edge.  The rock will help stabilize the side of the hill and this spring we will be replanting fescue around the pond edge.   Here are a few of the before and after pictures.

My 1st post...

I want to say thank you to all of the employees and guests that have made this year so successful.  It has been a great golf season even with all the heat and lack of rain!

With the leaves changing and the weather getting cooler, it is time for aerification!  We have begun our solid deep tine aerification on all fairways.  Starting on Tuesday, September 18th, we will begin aerifying the tees, collars and approaches.  Green aerification is scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, October 15th & 16th. As you may know, this is a slow process but a necessary evil that allows us to provide great playing condition throughout the season.  

I look forward to seeing you all out there enjoying the fall golf.