Course Update 4/6/12

Happy Easter!

I would like to start today's post by introducing two of our new crew members:

Birdie and Socks

Birdie and Socks were born with 6 other siblings on #6 Tee on the South Course on January 23rd. The newborn pups along with their mother were moved to our pump station, and given food and water. Unfortunately the mother, believed to be a Lab/Chow mix, left after about three days - leaving us with the entire litter. We moved the puppies to the maintenance facility and began a rigorous bottle feeding schedule that lasted about three weeks. Mike McCarty and his wife Heidi led the effort with help from myself and a few others. Ultimately we were able to save 6 of the original 8 puppies. At 6 weeks old Mike and Heidi were able to find homes for four, but we decided that we needed to keep Birdie and Socks. They are now just over 10 weeks old and doing very well. The next step is training them to eat weeds and chase geese.

Mike and Isidro bottle feeding the 2 week old pups.

COURSE UPDATE:

Both courses have benefited from the recent rains and warm temperatures. These conditions have definitely helped get the bermuda grass going, and as such we have already started shifting our cultural practices, mowing heights, and spray applications to our summer programs.

We made substantial progress on the greens on both courses since my last post. The Mini Verde on the North Course is filling in nicely. The Emerald on the South greens and tees is finally starting to get going. We currently putting the same practices in effect on the South greens that the North received about two and half weeks ago. One of the drawbacks to Emerald is that it is slow to start growing in the Spring. I predict that in the next two to three weeks we see significant improvements on the South greens and Tees.

We completed out Spring pre-emerge and fertilizer application on Monday the 26th of March. Mike, Isidro, and the rest of the crew did an excellent job getting the product out after the Monday outings - finishing all 36 holes by dark. This combination of fertilizer and herbicide will definitely help the tees, fairways, and roughs.

Thank you all for your support and have a great Easter.