Course Update 4/17/12

Good Afternoon,

This year I am serving on the 2012 Government Relations Committee for our professional organization – Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America (GCSAA). Specifically this committee is charged with providing strategic input and guidance on public policy issues in the areas of advocacy and compliance on topics including, but not limited to: the environment, workplace safety, labor and immigration, the Americans with Disabilities Act, water, and pesticide laws and regulations. One way that we go about this is by attending National Golf Day in Washington, DC. I will be in Washington from the 16^th through the 18^th. As a committee member I will get the opportunity to discuss several key issues not only with fellow superintendents, but with different legislators including: Rep. Sam Graves, House Small Business Committee Chair, and staff from the offices of Kay Bailey Hutchison, John Cornyn, and Francisco Canseco. Thank you for allowing me to take part in this committee.

In order to provide a thourough update on course conditions I have decided to share my notes for this evening's board meeting the blog:

Notes for Board Meeting 4/17/12

INTRO:

• Back in Stage 1
• Greens improving on both courses
• Tees struggling on the South
• Other Issues

STAGE 1 RESTRICTIONS

• No waterfalls
• Reductions in our annual allotment (10% per each day in Stage 1)
• No watering during day
• Please remind everyone to pair up and follow cart signs

GREENS

• Greens improving due to:
• Warmer temperatures
• Frequent topdressing
• Steadily lowering mowing heights
• Frequent light aeration, spiking, and hand topdressing
• Dedicated spray program - including growth regulator (Primo)
• Both North and South are ready to begin vertical mowing
• Grain removal
• Thatch removal
• Encourages new growth
• Possible light core aeration at the end of this month (same process as used on South last year)
• Most likely going to sod small portions of 6 S, 7 S, and possible S Putting Green

SOUTH TEES

• Why do the South tees look so bad?
• They are simply worn out – several of the tees are too small
• Severely contaminated
• Originally planted to Emerald, the same grass that is on the greens, which is very slow to recover from damage, and to begin growing in the Spring
• Common bermuda and TifSport bermuda have taken advantage of the slow growing nature of Emerald, and green up much faster in the spring
• Basically many of the tees are composed of two to three different grasses – all with different growth habits. These growth habits are more obvious in the spring and fall.
• What are we going to do about it?
• Provide adequate growing conditions for all of the grasses – fertilize, aerate, vertical mow, etc. All of these practices combined with warmer temperatures will help the tees recover and disguise much of the contamination
• Sod a few tee boxes every year– Re-sodding the tees is the only way to remove the contamination. Currently we have plans to re-sod several of the South tees, beginning with 9 and 15. We would also like to get 2,3 and/or 18 and 12 done if possible this year.
• With warmer, longer days and proper cultural practices we will see dramatic improvements on the tees in the next month or so.

OTHER

• Complaints about North greenside bunkers
• Lots of fried egg lies
• Too soft
• Why are they like this?
• Several of the bunkers still need to settle from liner removal
• We must keep some sand on the bunker faces to help eliminate contamination, and to protect the bunkers
• Less use of overhead sprinklers for watering greens
• The greenside bunkers only receive irrigation when we water the greens
• In an effort to eliminate wet spots around the greens we have significantly reduced our usage of the overhead sprinklers – through hand watering greens
• This has resulted in drier bunkers and softer sand
• What are we doing about it?
• Changing our methods for raking bunkers (the faces are raked less often)
• Pushing sand down off of the faces
• Watering with the overhead sprinklers at different intervals
• Project on 13T and 4T
• Should begin this week
• We were able to get permission to keep the Mountain Laurel left of the path
• We will be re-routing carts on 13 to allow for room for construction
• A large retaining wall we will built using rocks from on property
• Driving Range Tee
• We currently have plans to establish a small practice hitting area at the back of the range
• This area could be used for junior clinics, lessons, etc.

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.

Course Update 3/16

Good Morning,

As we conclude another busy week, I would like to take a few moments to update everyone on several topics.

GREENS:

18 Green South on 3/16.

Overall the greens on both courses are doing well and are very healthy. The only weak or thin areas are located in areas that receive excessive shade, traffic, or a combination of the two. This is to be expected, and I anticipate full recovery once the grass begins to actively grow. It is important to remember that we are still in March. Even though we have experienced abnormally warm temperatures so far this year, the greens are not fully awake yet.While, it is tempting to start pushing green speeds with lower mower heights, double cutting, and more frequent rolling - we must keep in mind that the greens are still transitioning from winter to spring. Our goal right now is to prepare the greens for a successful summer. In order to do that we must carefully monitor our fertility, mowing heights, cultural practices, and chemical applications.  In the last month we have lightly aerated, topdressed, spiked, and lightly fertilized all of the greens repeatedly. We have combined all of the aforementioned practices with a dedicated and consistent spray program to get the greens in the best shape possible given the time of year. In short, our goal in the spring is to get the greens healthy so that we can push them harder during the summer creating faster more consistent putting surfaces. Unfortunately, this practice may sometimes result in slower putting speeds during the spring months.

We have periodically closed the South Practice Putting Green over the last couple of weeks. The green is weak from excessive winter traffic. We have already seen significant improvement and thank you for your patience as we work to get it back in good shape.  

OTHER MAINTENANCE

Pre-Emerge: We will begin applying our spring pre-emergent this coming Tuesday. In order to prevent burn, and to get the most out of this expensive application we will be closing the North Course until 12:00pm. After 12:00pm we will most likely be cart path only. Thank you for your patience as we finish this necessary task.

Weeds: We have been aggressively trying to control weeds on both courses. Over the past two weeks we have made several applications to tees, green surrounds, and roughs. Some of the herbicides that we use take 4 to 6 weeks to take effect. There are still a lot of weeds out there, but rest assured we are doing everything possible to get/keep them under control

Tees/Fairways: We are now mowing tees and fairways one to two times a week depending on weather. Our pre-emergent herbicide will applied next week. This combination of herbicide and fertilizer will certainly help get these areas ready for summer.

Bunkers: The liners have now been removed on 1 through 12 greenside bunkers on the North. We are still committed to removing all the liners, but have recently had to put this project on hold, and concentrate on normal maintenance practices such as mowing and weedeating.

PROJECTS:

There is a lot happening on both courses right now. The list below should provide insight into a few of the things going on. Please email me or check back later for more information.

• 281/1604 Interchange- Part of this major project involves widening the bridge on the North side of 1604 crossing over the cart path to the South Course. In order to complete this expansion new pillars must to be erected. Unfortunately, they are being placed directly on our existing cart path. After communicating this issue to the contractor, they agreed to expand our path in order to allow continued access to the South Course.

The new cart path under 1604

• 13 Tee/ 4Tee - CPS is requiring us to lower the elevation of the mounds beneath the power lines between 13 Tee and 3 Tee on the North. This project will not effect the actual tee boxes or any other area that is in play. The work must be completed by May 1st. I will post more later
• Bunker Liners on the North
• Drain Lines on the South
• Arroyo Cleanup- The City of San Antonio has been working in the arroyos on the South for the last couple of weeks. They are tasked with debris removal in order to maintain flood control.
• Pump Station- We are still in the process of preparing for our North Course pump station replacement.
• North Irrigation- We are working hard to get the North Course irrigation system ready for another summer. Some of improvements/repairs we are making include: valve replacement, head mapping, changing heads, controller repairs, and re-programming.

Course Update 2/24/12

I would like to begin by thanking everyone for their support of Pasqual's family over the last couple of weeks. With help from Sergio, Guy, Chef Rafael, and Brenda we were able to provide a great meal for the family, as well as hold a memorial service in the main ballroom. In addition, our crew combined with Chef Rafael's staff to provide substantial monetary donations to help cover costs that the family has incurred. Pasqual's wife, Judy, asked me to offer her thanks and to let everyone know that Pasqual truly enjoyed being a part of our family here at Sonterra.

A lot has gone on since my last post, and I would like to spend a few moments updating everyone on several key areas.

A quick note about all the WEEDS :

The unseasonably warm winter and recent rains have definitely increased the weed pressure. The large number of weeds is also related to the drought. The lack of rain resulted in low seed germination of weeds for most of the year. Basically, there is a lot of weed seed in the ground and the recent rains and warm weather have caused much of the seed to germinate. Further complicating the issue - we have been unable to apply pre-emergent herbicides and limited post-emergent herbicides to areas that were severely drought stressed because of potential injury to the desired turf. There are two basic types of weeds - broadleaves and grasses. The broadleaf weeds are much easier and less expensive to kill, and we have been actively spraying over the last few weeks, primarily on the North. The grassy weeds are much more difficult and  expensive to kill. Therefore, we are fairly liberal with our broadleaf applications, but must restrict our grassy weed applications to priority areas such as fairways and green surrounds. We are definitely aware of the problem are trying to make the most of every opportunity to treat the weeds. In order to properly apply the herbicides we need little or no wind, proper soil moisture, and prefer warm temperatures. In addition, it can be a challenge at times to find a window under these conditions when the courses have relatively low play. In conclusion, we definitely have some issues with weeds right now, and we are dedicated to getting rid of them as soon as possible.

North Course:

• Greens - The greens are now only about 7 months old. Overall they are very healthy and we look forward to great summer. There a few thin or weak areas in places that can be attributed to shade, traffic, maturity, or in most cases - a combination of all three. However, this is to be expected and most of these areas should recover as we move into warmer temperatures and longer days. Over the last two weeks we have topdressed, lightly aerated, fertilized, and applied various plant protect ants. 
• Tees/Fwys - The recent rains and warm temperatures are helping improve turf conditions throughout the course. The tees and fairways are no exception. With no competition from overseed and little more rain we should be in good shape come Spring. We will be applying our Spring pre-emerge over the next few weeks.
• Roughs - The roughs are still struggling in many places. The rains have been beneficial, but we still have a long ways to go in order to recover from last years drought damage. Please keep carts out of areas that look weak or thin.
• Bunkers- We have now removed the liners on 1 through 12. We are continuing to work on the bunkers but have been forced to take a short break in order to catch up on routine maintenance of the course.
• Irrigation- We have been busy making several improvements to the irrigation system. Currently we are replacing three to four isolation valves per week, making progress on our GPS mapping, and preparing for the replacement of our pump station. All of these improvements will help us better manage water this coming summer.
• Other- We are currently planning to make changes beneath the power lines between 4 and 13. CPS is requiring us to lower the area between 4 and 13 tee complexes in order to be in compliance with federal power line safety guidelines. The work will not effect the tee boxes and should take place sometime in April. I will post more at a later date.

Bernardo Rameriz compacts the new sand in #3 bunkers

South Course:

• Greens- All of the greens are doing very well, with the exception of the practice putting green. The putting green is simply worn out from traffic. I expect it to be fine as we get into warmer weather.
• Tees/Fwys- Conditions are similar to that on the North. The recent rains and unseasonable warm weather have definitely helped. Currently we are mowing tees and fairways on both courses about one time per week.
• Bunkers - We have been constantly working on bunkers on the South. We have added sand to numerous holes, and recently completely re-constructed the drainage on the greenside bunker right of 5 green.
• Native Areas- Earlier this week began cutting the native areas. This is annual process that helps the native grasses look better throughout the summer.
• Other- We have started leveling sunken irrigation and drainage ditches in fairways and approaches. This week we leveled the grass atop two drain lines in 4 fairway. In addition, we modifeid the drainage on 12  to eliminate the wet spot left of the green.

The new drain on 12G

Mike, Roger, Beto, and Nacho install new drainage on #5

Landscape: Horticulturalist, Gary Tupa, and his team have been very busy working to improve the landscaping around the tennis courts and fitness facility. The have removed large areas of Asiatic Jasmine, re-designed the irrigation, and added mulched beds with numerous new plantings.

One of the finished beds at court #1

Pascual Solis

Today is a sad day for our family at Sonterra. Pascual Solis, one of our crewmembers, passed away last night at Baptist Hospital surrounded by his family and friends. He suffered from cardiac arrest at his home last Saturday morning and ultimately was not able to recover. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers. He is survived by his wife, two grown daughters, several grand children, and many other relatives, including two of our current crewmembers – Juan Castillo and Candelario “Benny” Gonzales. Pascual will be missed by all who knew him. 

A memorial service will be held on Monday at 3:00pm in the Main Ballroom at The Club at Sonterra. Please feel free to attend. The Club will also be providing a meal for the family today and monetary donations from employees throughout the club. Please check the blog in the next few days for more information on Pascual.

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

Course Update 1/20/12

Good Afternoon. As we conclude another busy week, I would like to provide a quick update on a couple of things.

Cart Traffic: We are now 90 degrees on BOTH courses. However, we are asking everyone to follow a few simple rules:

1. Don't drive in worn or thin areas (stay out of bad grass)
2. Don't drive on the mounds (especially true on the North)
3. Return to the path at the green and white stakes. We are cart path only from the green and white stakes to the green.
4. Pair Up! Sharing carts made a big difference this past summer, and we definitely need to continue this practice.

Green and white stakes on #2

We are still in a severe drought, and need your help to protect the courses. By following the above rules we can make a big difference.

Bunker liner removal:

We started removing the bunker liners on the North Course earlier this week. Currently we have worked on the green side bunkers on 1,2,4,5,6, and 7. As you can see from the pictures below, this is an extremely labor intensive task. The first step is to move the sand off of the liner. Then liner is pulled out, including the metal staples used to hold in place. The sand that was moved in order to expose the liner is then removed. The remaining sand in the bunker is then smoothed to a consistent depth. The crew then adds new sand to the bunker until the desired depth of sand is reached. Afterwards the sand is hand watered in order to help it settle and firm up. Finally, we use our bunker rake to smooth the sand improve compaction. The bunkers will be soft for awhile, but over the next several weeks they should play much better. Thank you for patience while complete this much needed task.

The crew pulls the liners out of #2 North

Adding sand to #1 North

Course Update 1/6/11

Good Morning,

I would like to spend a few moments discussing a few areas on the courses that I have received several questions on.

Question #1: Why is it so hard to hold shot on the North Greens?

Mike McCarty Aerating the South on Monday.

Answer: There a couple of reasons that the North Greens are so firm. The biggest reason is the fact that there is a low amount of organic matter in the top inch of the greens. This is because the greens are so young. As greens age the amount of organic matter increases thus providing a pad which makes the greens more receptive. This pad also helps the greens tolerate traffic. However, organic matter is a double edged sword. Too much organic matter causes disease, poor drainage, less oxygen for the roots, causes soft spongy putting surfaces, and decreases overall playability. It is for these reasons that we must put in place cultural practices such as vertical mowing and core aeration in order to slow the accumulation of thatch. Thatch management is one of the biggest challenges in managing putting greens. The greens are also difficult to hold because of the architectural design. Almost all of the greens on the North are elevated thus making approach shots more difficult. The moisture content of the greens also influences their receptiveness. In order to provide healthy turf we must carefully monitor the amount of moisture applied. Wet greens hold better, but are much more susceptible to disease and traffic. One way that we can help the greens be more receptive while improving turf health is through light aeration. Earlier this week we used a combination of light topdressing and solid tine aeration on the South Greens. This process will help smooth the greens and help them hold shots. We will repeat this procedure on North on Monday.

Question #2: What are all those ugly patches and rings in the fairways?

#10 Fairway South on 1/1/12

Answer: Rhizoctonia solani, or Large Patch. Large Patch (also known as Zoyzia Patch) is a common fungal pathogen that affects warm season turf during extended periods of cool wet weather. Much of December provided excellent conditions for this disease. Unfortunately, the only control is expensive preventative fungicide applications combined with sound agronomic practices. The good news is that on bermuda grass the damage is primarily aesthetic only, and I do not predict any real turf loss. The bad news is that we will see the patches and rings for quite some time. Once the bermuda grass begins to grow the evidence of the disease should quickly disappear. However, other warm season turfgrasses such as St. Augustine and zoyzia are much more susceptible and significant damage can occur. If you have either of these grasses in your home lawn then I suggest the following: 1) Apply a preventative fungicide in early fall 2) Limit applications on Nitrogen late in the season 3) avoid over watering - particular in the fall and winter 4) If you already have the disease then apply an appropriate fungicide as soon as possible. This will not repair the damage, but it will keep it from getting worse. 

Question #3: What are those squares on the Nursery/Practice area on the North Course?

Answer: We utilize a variety of products to keep the greens healthy. In order to determine the effectiveness of these products, we use various test plots on our nurseries. A piece of plywood is placed in the area to be sprayed, thus preventing the turf underneath from receiving the application. This process is repeated twice for each application. The first placement puts the board in the same place every time - showing us what the greens would look like if we never sprayed. The board is then moved to a new location for each application - showing only the effects of the most recent spray.

Happy New Year!

Good Morning and Happy New Year,

On behalf of the entire maintenance crew I would like to thank all of you for your support and patience over the past year. 2011 was full of excitement, challenge, and change for both of our courses. The ongoing drought and the North greens renovation certainly made things interesting. However, we can now look back and take pride that as a club we were able to make the most of a tough summer and ultimately improve playing conditions on both courses. Your support combined with the hard work and dedication of our staff made this past year a success. We welcome the New Year and look forward to continually improving both courses in 2012.

Course Update 12/31/11

Brush Clearing on #2 North

Despite the cooler temperatures we have managed to stay quite busy the last few weeks. We have several goals for this winter:

• Work on bunker liner removal on North
• GPS mark and re-program the North irrigation system
• Brush and tree removal on both courses
• Clean up, organize, and improve our maintenance facility
• Clean up other areas on the course - such as sand piles, mulch, etc

The list could on for several pages. However, these are 5 areas that we are going to make progress on over the next couple of months. Much of the work has already started: We are almost finshed clearing the brush in front of #2 Tee North and several dead trees have been removed on both courses. In addition, we have started mapping the irrigation system and cleaning up our maintenance yard. We have also recieved 4 loads (100 tons) of sand for the North bunkers. This is a white sand that we will add to the bunkers as the liners are removed.

A  screen shot showing how we are using a hand held GPS and Google Earth to map our irrigaton system

The crew begins work cleaning up the maintenance yard.

Course Update 12/9

It's Good! I hope everyone enjoyed the Alamo Bowl Golf Tournament that was played yesterday afternoon. We had a great turn out and had a nice afternoon for golf. Two goal posts were erected on 13 North, and 17 South as part of the tournament. We will be tearing down the goal posts this morning.

Irrigation Tech, Mike Lang puts the finishing touches on the goal post

Rainfall from last weekend totaled just over an inch. We still desperately need rain in order to ease drought restrictions. Currently, it appears that we will begin 2011 already in Stage II drought restrictions. If we are to stay in Stage II for all of 2011 then we will experience a 30% decrease in our allocated water.

We also experienced our first hard freezes of the year on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Low temperatures dipped into the mid to upper twenties and both courses had heavy frost. This is normal for this time of year, and we expect the bermuda grass to begin entering full dormancy soon.

All of our overseeding is now complete. The 19th hole was seeded on Wednesday and should be looking good in the few weeks.

We have roped off the front part of the South putting green. This area typically is weak and thin due to the high amount of traffic. Please help us minimize the damage by avoiding this area.

Course Update 12/3



Mike McCarthy applying the pre/post application to 17 Fwy
on the South with the new sprayer

It looks like a wet weekend in store for San Antonio. We have received just under .5" inches of rain so far this morning and both courses are very wet. Unfortunately we will be cart path only for at least the rest of today. However, the slow steady rain is certainly a welcome sight. We spent all week applying our pre/post emergence herbicides to both courses. All of the tees, fairways, and a majority of the roughs were treated. Pre-emergence herbicides work by killing annual weeds as they germinate from seed, however have little or no effect on weeds that are already established. Post-emergence herbicides work in a variety of ways, however they have no effect on weeds that are not already established. This year we used a combination two products to provide a balanced attack against the weeds that we can already see, and those that have yet to germinate. The pre-emergent herbicide used must be sufficiently watered into the soil in order for to be activated - this rain is exactly what we were hoping for.

Foam marker is used as a guide during applications
to prevent overlap or skips.

We purchased a new spray rig earlier this year that is a huge help in making large chemical and fertilizer applications. This sprayer holds 300 gallons, is diesel powered, has precise computer controlled booms and nozzles, and is equipped with drift prevention covers. Not to mention the fact that its price tag is comparable to that of a new full-size luxury pick up truck. We take our chemical applications very seriously. All equipment and chemicals are precisely calibrated. All label instructions are clearly followed to ensure the safety of our golfers, workers, turfgrass, and the environment. If you ever have any questions about our applications or calibration procedures for your own lawn please do not hesitate to contact me at tmoore@clubatsonterra.com



  



Course Update 11/19/11

Message from our Horticulturalist, Gary Tupa:

"The landscaping crew has completed its fall annual plant change out. Approximately 4000 4" plants consisting of Pansies, Dianthus, Cyclamen, and Alyssum, have been planted around the club. The crew begins by removing all summer annuals. Then the soil is tilled and a layer of new, highly organic soil is added. Organic granular fertilizer and insecticide is then applied. After the plants are installed the beds are topped off with a layer of living mulch, which contains composted organic matter. A liquid, organic, foliar fertilizer is then applied every two weeks. In April of the following year the whole process begins again with the installation of summer annuals."

Long time Sonterra employee Candalario "Benny" Gonzales tending to the new plants.

Course Update 11/11/11

Good Morning. We had our second frost of the year this morning. We were forced to delay play by about 30 minutes. Frost delays are a pain for all of us but they are absolutely necessary. Please take the time to watch this short video from the USGA explaining frost delays.

While the grass has dramatically slowed in terms of growth we still have a lot of routine maintenance practices to complete. We are still mowing or rolling greens everyday. Tees, collars, and approaches are mowed two to three times per week, while fairways and roughs are mowed as needed. Last week we completed edging of all the cart paths on the South. This is a very labor intensive process that takes several days to complete. We began this job on North this week and should finish by the first part of next week. 

Edging bunkers is another labor intensive task. This week we edged all of the bunkers on both courses. In order to make this process go as quickly as possible we break the crew up into three teams. The first group pulls the sand away from the edges of the bunkers. This allows the second team to weedeat and edge the perimeter of the bunkers - clearly defining boundaries and creating a nice clean look. The third team carries blowers to remove all the debris from the weedeating and completely rakes the bunker to return it to normal playing conditions. At any given time we may have 6 to 9 employees working together to complete the entire process. Please be patient if you are playing on a day that we are edging bunkers as you will encounter bunkers that have not been finished out for play.

Jose Villagomez, Lupe Gonzalez-Perez, and Ramiro Valenciano working on the bunkers on #2 North

We also spent this week preparing for overseeding. This year we will only be overseeding the Par 3 tees on each course, the driving range tee, and the 19th hole area. In order to prepare the tees for seeding we must first open up the turf canopy. We do this by vertical mowing and light scalping. Weather permitting we will seed the above areas this coming Monday. Once the seed is down we must keep the tees very wet for a couple of weeks.

Hipolito Gonzales verti-cuts number 6 Tee N

 

Course Update 10/28

I would like to start this update by welcoming all of you playing in the Rudy's I35 Cup. We are excited to host this great event, and hope that you enjoy all of our facilities. Good luck to both teams and we hope to see SA keep the title. The tournament will be held on the South Course beginning today and last through Sunday. There should be some great amateur golf, so come out and root for the home team. This event helps raise money for the First Tee of San Antonio as well as Habitat for Humanity of Austin. For more information click link below.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rudys-I-35-Cup/181157568088?v=info

It was certainly a busy week on both courses. Many of you may have noticed the wet conditions yesterday. We watered both courses heavily Wednesday night in preparation for Thursday's cold front. The added moisture in the ground will provide a buffer to the lower temperatures and protect the grass from the high winds and low humidity which are expected to last through today. The course will certainly be more playable today and through the weekend. 

Throughout October we have been preparing the greens on both courses for Winter. This week was no exception. We slightly raised the mowing heights, topdressed, fertilized, and sprayed both the North and the South. Putting speeds on both courses should pick up a bit with the cooler temperatures expected this weekend. All of the greens are healthy and are ready for winter. If you have not played recently then we encourage you to come out and play either course.

I have been getting a lot of questions regarding fertility and pre-emerge for the home lawn. Fertilizer decisions are best made after looking at a soil test. However there are few simple guidelines that will help you stay on track. For warm season grasses I like to apply phosphorus in the spring, nitrogen in the summer, and potassium in the fall. For example this week the the greens received a combination of soluble potassium nitrate (13.5-0-48) and granular sulfate of potash (KMAG) or 0-0-22. The fairways, tees, and roughs were also received applications of KMAG last week.

Now is the time to apply a pre-emergent herbicide. I suggest using a combination fertilizer and herbicide product. Look for a fertilizer high in potassium such as a 10-0-20, that contains a herbicide such as prodiamine. This particular product can be purchased at Winfield Solutions here in San Antonio. Always use caution when applying pesticides. Follow all label instructions and ensure that your application equipment is properly calibrated. DO NOT APPLY a pre-emergent herbicide if you your yard is severely stressed from the drought or if you are planning to overseed. In addition, use caution around flower beds if you are planning on planting any winter annuals. Please feel free to shoot me an email with any fertilizer or herbicide questions. tmoore@clubatsonterra.com

 I will definitely return to posting more frequently so please continue to come back for more updates.

Fall Update

Fall is finally here! On behalf of the entire maintenance crew I would like to thank all of you for your support and patience throughout the summer. The majority of both courses survived this year’s record setting heat and drought. We are confident that the tees, fairways, and greens are healthy enough to make it through the winter with minimal problems. The roughs saw nice recovery in September and October thanks to a few timely rain events. However, there are many areas that will enter the winter weak and will have a tough time in the spring. Please keep in mind that any areas that appear to be weak or stressed will not improve until late spring. Always use caution when driving carts and make an extra effort to avoid driving in these areas. We are hoping for a mild winter this year. The severe drought has not on ly weakened turfgrass but many trees. A hard, dry winter will only cause more damage and increase the potential for ‘winter kill’.

Overseeding and application of pre-emergent herbicides typically come to mind in mid to late fall. The drought has forced us to change our approach this year. The only areas that will be overseeded will be the par three tees, driving range tee, and 19^th hole area. Pre-emergent herbicides provide us with a great way to minimize winter weeds. Unfortunately, they can also be detrimental to turf that is stressed. As a result, we will be restricting these herbicides to specific areas and relying more on post-emergent herbicides.

Winter provides us the much needed opportunity to accomplish many tasks that are difficult to complete during the growing season. A few things that we will be working on this year include: bunker work (North and South), tree removal, brush clearing, equipment maintenance, and improvements to our maintenance facility. We are looking forward to a productive winter. Please continue to check the blog and feel free to contact me at any time.

Course Update 9/30

Good luck to everyone playing in the El Duko Invitational! We look forward to a couple of great days of golf. The greens on both courses are doing great and should be putting nice this weekend. As we start October please keep in mind a couple of things regarding the greens. October is the time of year that we prepare the greens for Winter. The goal is to get the greens as healthy as possible in order make it through the winter ok. One way that we do this is to steadily raise the height of cut. This will result in slower putting speeds. However, it is absolutely necessary in order to protect the greens while they are dormant - thus helping us have a better spring. Once we have our first couple of freezes green speeds will increase substantially.
North Course: We will be removing the Cart Path Only restriction today. We will be going FAIRWAY ONLY. There will be clear entry and exit points marked on all fairways using ropes and green/white stakes. Once you enter the fairway please stay in the fairway until you see the exit point. After exiting we will be cart path only for the remainder of the hole. Our goal is to minimize the damage to the roughs. With the recent rain we were able to make significant progress in the fairways and feel that they are healthy enough to take cart traffic. The roughs however, are still very weak. As always please follow all signs and avoid driving in weak or thin areas.

South Course: The South will remain 90 degrees this weekend with the exception of a few holes. Please follow all signs and avoid driving in weak or thin areas. Unfortunately we lost a large Live Oak earlier this week just to the left of 9 Green. The entire tree simply fell over. The crew did a great job removing it, and you will certainly have more room if you miss the green left. Unfortunately, I think we will continue to lose trees on both courses. The drought has been very hard on trees and we will see the effects for the next few years. We had two wells go down last week. The #6 well in the Edwards Aquifer and our #8 well in the Trinity both will need to pulled and repaired as soon as possible. We are working diligently with Peerless Equipment to get the wells fixed. Last week they pulled the number 6 well and next week work will begin on the #8 well.

Drought Update - 9/25

Drought Information - Check out the links below!

What a difference a little rain makes! Both courses greened up a lot from last weekend's precipitation. How much did the rain really help? Please check out the links below. The first is a short video from Weather.com discussing last weekend's rain and its overall effect on the drought. The second video is a 10 to 15 min webcast from the USGA discussing the impact of the drought on golf and the importance of the next 4 to 8 weeks.

Video from Weather.com on Texas Drought and Impact of Rain

USGA Webcast: The Drought of 2011

Course Update 9/20/11

RAIN!!!!! We received almost 3.5" from Friday to Sunday. This is by far the most rain we have had all year. The tees, fairways, and greens on both courses have already started to green up. The roughs and other areas that are severely stressed will definitely benefit from the rain but will need time and more rain to show substantial recovery. This rain is by no means a "drought buster", but it will certainly delay Stage 3 restrictions for quite some time. The next 4 to 6 weeks are absolutely crucial for both courses. This time frame provides us with our last chance to increase turf health and density before entering the winter. We will need more rain, good growing conditions, and help with cart control during this time. As a result, we will remain Cart Path Only on the North and 90 degrees on South for the time being.

The rain did add a lot of water to the lakes. The lakes on 6 and 7 are almost full. The lake on 3 has some water in it again. The lakes on 17 and 18 made excellent progress as well. Most importantly our irrigation lakes have more water in them now than they have all summer. This will allow us to irrigate more often over the next two to three weeks and hopefully extend the soil moisture for some time.

North Course: The greens are slowly but surely improving everyday. We are still aggressively rolling, mowing, topdressing, vertical mowing, and lightly aerating. All of these practices will help the greens putt smoother and faster. Yesterday we mowed, double verticut, and sprayed the greens. This week will be patching some of the weak areas with sod from our Nursery. We will be working on #3 green today. In addition, we will be lightly aerating and rolling the greens on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

South Course: We completed our final core aeration of the year on Monday of last week. The greens have completely healed and should be putting great for this weekend's club championship. Many of you may have noticed the damage on #1 Green. This was done in the early morning hours of Monday the 12th by a small car or SUV. We filed a police report and were able to get some video evidence from one the nearby restaurants. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that we will be able to catch these vandals this time. The bulk of the damage has been repaired. . It is likely that we will see the tracks from the car for quite some time however, we will continue to hand topdress these areas to minimize the effect on ball roll. We have plans to lightly topdress the South greens this week. The below pictures show the damage on #1 and a shot of our aeration and vertical mowing practices.

Damage to #1 on 9/12

Damage to #1 on 9/12

Damage to #1 on 9/12

Mike McCarty instucts Israel Garcia on how to use the aerifier.

Hipolito Gonzalez verticuts #6 Green North

Course Update 9/9/11

North Course: Welcome Back! Last weekend went well with full tee sheets until 12:00pm on both days. The greens are better than last week so if you aren't playing in The Brute - come out to the North and check out the new greens. Earlier this week we aerated the greens in an effort to help smooth the surface and prepare the greens for their first winter. The aeration combined with light vertical mowing, fertilizer and chemical applications, and aggressive rolling made a big difference. The greens will continue to make significant progress throughout September and October. The course will be a combination of cart path only and 90 degrees this weekend. All par 3s, #1, #5, #7, #13, #18 will all be cart path only this weekend. Please avoid driving in turf that looks to be stressed. We will return to cart path only on all holes following this weekend's play.

Here is the schedule from here on out for opening the North:

Saturday the 10th - Open

Sunday the 11th - Open

Monday - Closed

Tuesday - Closed (pending South Course aeration completion)

Weds the 14th - Open for Ladies Day

Thurs the 15th - Open with limited tee times

Friday the 16th - Open full time

Thank you for your patience and please understand that we may have to close on certain days to perform necessary maintenance.

Isidro Moreno, Juan Castillo, Anthony Moreno, and Ramiro Valenciano take a break from work on opening day for a quick picture on 14 Green

South Course: Good Luck to everyone playing in The Brute this weekend. We look forward to a great tournament. The greens were intentionally slowed down this week in order to recover from last weekend's heat and wind. However, the should be back to normal and putting well for the tournament. Our last aeration is planned for Monday afternoon following the tournament. This will be the last aeration of the year and is absolutely necessary in order to help the greens have a good fall and spring.

Course Update 9/2

North Course: We are finally here! The North Course will officially re-open tomorrow morning. We are excited to have golfers back on the course and we hope that you enjoy the new greens. The course will be open the 3rd, 4th, and 5th and be closed until the following weekend.



A glimpse of our daily board showing the countdown to re-opening



#6 Green on 9/2



I have been asked by several members if the greens are healthy enough to support play. We feel the greens are 100% healthy enough to play on. I decided to share with you an email from USGA Green Section Agronomist Bud White. Bud, Stan Wreyford (Head Agronomist for Century Golf), Michael Finke (Regional VP of Agronomy for Century Golf/GCS at Sweetwater CC), Sergio, Jeff, and myself toured both courses yesterday. Bud sent me this email following the vist:

Travis,

I enjoyed my tour of the courses today and the new Mini Verde greens have grown in very nicely.   I understand there are some members that are concerned if the greens are ready to have play on them.  I assure you that the putting surfaces on the North course will do quite well with handling play and will only continue to improve for the balance of summer/fall.

Thanks and best of luck with opening weekend,

Bud

Bud White, Mid-Continent Director

USGA Green Section

The pictures below show a couple of other improvement projects that we have been working on:

Horticulturalists Gary Tupa, Robert Benevides, and Candalario "Benny" Gonzalez stand next to the re-designed landscaping around #1 Tee. They did an excellent job revitalizing this entire area.

Mike Lang and Asst. Supt. Mike McCarty fit the guard rails to the redesigned steps on #4.

South Course: The South Course is still hanging on despite the drought. Hopefully, the re-opening of the North will alleviate some of the traffic.We will be requiring carts to remain on paths on selected holes beginning immediately. Please follow all cart signs as we are doing everything possible to avoid being cart path only on the entire course. The vertical mowing on the greens on Monday was successful and should keep the greens putting well.  We have one more aeration tentatively scheduled for September the 13.


New flags, cups, and flagsticks were put into play this morning. The flagsticks have the Laser Link prism which will make them much easier to be sighted with your range finder.




Rogelio Gonzalez installs the new flags and flagsticks on #12.