The Club at Sonterra Turf Maintenance: Course Update 2/3/12

Friday, February 3, 2012

Course Update 2/3/12

We received .75" of an inch of rain this week, and there is more in the forecast for this weekend. Every bit of rain helps, however we are still a long ways from being out of the drought. The good news is that aquifer has come up quite a bit - keeping us in Stage 1 for the near future.

North Course: This week we continued to work on the bunker liners. The greenside bunkers on 1,2,4,5,6,7,8 and 11 are now complete. We will be moving to 3 and 10 next. The greens were sprayed on Monday with a combination of fertilizer and herbicide (to remove poa annua). We will be lightly aerating and topdressing the greens this coming Monday. This light aeration will be the same process completed on the South earlier this week, and should help the greens be more receptive. We made herbicide applications to several areas of the course to help control the broad leaf and grassy weeds.

South Course: The crew continued to clear brush and remove tree limbs along the perimeters of the course. In addition, the greens were aerated, topdressed, and sprayed. The extended warm conditions have actually created some growth on the greens. While they are far from actively growing, we actually had a significant amount of clippings this morning. See picture below. Sand was also added to several bunkers including 15,4,6, 11, and 18.

Mike McCarty and Israel Garcia inspect clippings early this morning

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WEST NILE UPDATE

Many members and residents have voiced concern over mosquitos potentially carrying West Nile Virus on or near the golf courses. As of last week all lakes an ponds on the North Course have been treated with a safe and effective larvicide. This product works by killing mosquito larvae before than can reach the adult stage. This product will definately aid in controlling moquitos on the course, and is effective for about 120 days. It will not eliminate mosquitos on the course. The best way to protect yourself from mosquitos and West Nile is to apply insect repellents containing "deet" anytime that you will be outdoors.

Drought Cart Traffic

There is no doubt that golf carts negatively impact course conditions. This is especially true when the grass is stressed from drought. Please try and abide by the following guidlines: 1. Follow cart signs, ropes, and stakes 2. Avoid driving in worn or thin areas 3. Don't take the same path that everyone else does 4. Try and pair up. - NO excuse for a foursome with four carts 5. Stay on the path as much as possible - Particulary around tees and greens Together we can make a big difference in course conditions by managing cart traffic.