Wildflowers

We are incorporating three wildflower areas on the golf course.  The wildflower areas are located on holes 4, 9 and 12.

The first step in this process was to mow down the area of long grass. After the area was mowed, we then sprayed roundup to kill the existing grass, reducing competition with the new wildflower seed as it germinates and establishes.  Next, we tilled the areas to create a good seed bed and remove the dead grass.  Finally, we seeded the areas with a low-grow wildflower seed mix and incorporated it into the soil.

Irrigation Satellite Replacement

The replacement of the irrigation satellite control boxes is underway.  First, all wires must be labeled and disconnected at each satellite location.  Once this tedious task is complete, we remove the old satellite and concrete footing.  Next, the new satellite is installed.  Last, all the wires must be reconnected in the proper location.  There are a total of 20 satellites that will be replaced.

New communication wire is also being pulled underground to all of the satellites.  This will allow the irrigation to operate nightly from a computer software program.

Here are a few photos of the process...

         

         

February Flooding

February has been a very wet month.  For those of you who haven't been on the course recently, here are a few photos showing the amount of water the course has received.  I believe we are all ready for some good golfing weather!

Refurbishing Course Accessories

We are currently working to refurbish our golf course accessories.  Many of the ball washers are in need of repair and the red paint on the body of the ball washers is fading and beginning to flake off.  Following a good pressure wash, the ball washers are sanded, primered and painted.  We are changing the color from bright red, to hunter green.

We are also repainting our medallions that are placed in the fairways, indicating the depth of the hole location on each green.  Benches, hazard stakes, tee balls and course signage are being cleaned and touched up as well.

Playing On Frozen Greens...

With the recent weather conditions and freezing temperatures, I have had a few members ask about playing on the greens when they are frozen.  The decision on if the golf course will be open, changes daily based on weather conditions and temperature.  Our goal is to allow play on the golf course as much as possible, while protecting the turf and health of the greens.

The best comparison I have found to help people better understand, is ice on a pond.  When the water on a pond surface is frozen very deep (4-6 inches), you can walk on the ice with no damage to the ice and nothing happens.  However if you try and walk on ice that is only partially frozen or thawing, it will shatter, splinter and break.

Essentially, the same thing happens to the turf.  During a frost or a thawing period after a freeze, the plant is only partially frozen.  Walking or driving on the turf in these conditions will shatter and kill the cells in the plant,  killing the turf.  However, when the greens are frozen solid to a depth of 3-4 inches or more and there is no frost on the leaf blade, golf can be played and no damage will occur.

In summary,  if the greens are frozen deep into the soil profile, with low daily temperatures where no thawing will occur, playing on the greens will cause no damage.  Restricting play on days with frost or thawing of partially frozen greens, is necessary to prevent damage to the greens. 

 Below is a photo demonstrating damage to the turf when frost is present.(This photo is not from Shadow Hills..)

Let's hope for some warmer weather!

  

January 2017

It has been quite the winter here so far.  We encountered the ice storm in mid-December and now snow blankets the course in early January.  Low temperatures are expected to be in the teens the next couple of nights, resulting in the course being closed for a few days.  We aren't used to golf course maintenance while wearing snow goggles...

December Ice Storm

On Wednesday, December 14, we encountered large amounts of ice throughout the golf course.  Not only was the entire course covered, but many of the trees collected large amounts of ice.  Due to the weight of the accumulated ice, we have incurred a massive amount of tree damage.

Hundreds of branches were broken, as well as entire trees falling over.  Many trees lost large amounts of limbs and central leaders, resulting in the entire tree needing to be removed.  The cleanup process will be lengthy, as we are currently clearing all cart paths.  We will then begin to clear debris adjacent to fairways and focus on the areas that are in play.  Here are a few photos of some of the damage...