Update 3/19/13

Good Afternoon,

I hope all of you are doing well, and have welcomed the new Director of Golf Course Maintenance to The Club at Sonterra - Donny Latham. Donny brings years of experience and will be an asset to all areas of the club. I know that you all will extend the same support to Donny that was shown to me over the last two years, as he continues to improve playing conditions and takes both courses to the next level.

I also want to thank all of you for visiting our turf maintenance blog. We are currently working to determine the best way to transition the management of the blog over to Donny. There will likely be some down time as Donny is still learning is way around Sonterra, but check back in the coming weeks for information on the future of the blog.

As many of you already know, I am now in Waco, Texas as the Golf Course Superintendent at Ridgewood Country Club. Please take a moment to read my resignation letter in the post below. Thanks again for all your support and please do not hesitate to contact me at anytime. My new email is: tmoore@ridgewoodwaco.com.

Sincerely,

Travis Moore

Sonterra Resignation Letter

I would like to take this opportunity to inform all of you that I will be leaving The Club at Sonterra on March 8th. I have chosen to accept the position of Golf Course Superintendent at Ridgewood Country Club in Waco. This was not an easy decision nor was it entered into lightly.

Ridgewood offers several unique opportunities, both personal and professional. It is an older, private equity club that will be undergoing major renovations in the next year. It will also allow me to gain extensive experience in managing bentgrass greens – a skill that I feel will be valuable as I progress in my career. From a personal standpoint, Ridgewood is the course where I began my career in golf maintenance in 1999 as a laborer on the maintenance crew. I am excited to return to the club as the Golf Course Superintendent and look forward to utilizing the skills that I have gained here at Sonterra. As many of you know, Waco is also my hometown. My family, girlfriend, and many close friends still reside there. It is rare that you can improve professionally while becoming closer to family and friends and it is for these reasons that I have decided to leave.  

I have thoroughly enjoyed working at Sonterra since December of 2010. It has been an amazing opportunity for me and I am thankful to have been your superintendent. The relationships that I have made with members, golfers, and co-workers have been rewarding and I hope to continue them in the years to come. It has truly been a pleasure to work for and with all of you.

Finally, I want to assure the membership that I am dedicated to the success of Sonterra both now and in the future. I will do everything in my power to make the transition process as smooth as possible and will continue to provide updates on course conditions in the coming months.

Sincerely,

Travis Moore

Course Update 1/25/13

Good Afternoon,

I apologize for the long lapse in updates. We have been very busy over the last several weeks working to accomplish several of our winter goals. Check out the list and pictures below to see what we have been working on:

• Wildflower establishment - 8 areas planted (I will describe in detail next week)
• North bunker liner removal - Greenside bunkers completed, Fairways in progress
• Adding sand to bunkers - North and South
• Tree trimming and removal
• Shop cleanup - 50% done, see pictures below
• Other small projects - native grass maintenance, cart paths, brush clearing
• Irrigation repairs
• Teaching tee

Establishing Wildflowers

We decided to experiment in several small areas on both courses with planting wildflowers. The flowers are a combination of bluebonnets, phlox, poppy, and paintbrush. If successful, we should see a nice crop in mid to late spring. Areas planted this year include holes 13, 14, and 17 on the North, and holes 6,7,13 and 14 on the South.

Mike McCarty planting seeds on #13 South

Bunker Liner Removal

One of our big goals this year has been to eliminate the problems caused by the bunker liners on the North Course. We began this process in late 2011 and successfully completed the greenside bunkers on holes 1 through 12 last year. We have now finished all of the greenside bunkers and have started work on several of the fairways.

Several crew members removing liner on #2 North

Shop Cleanup


 We have been working diligently to make clean up our shop yard. It has been our goal to make it a safer, cleaner, and more efficient place to work. We still have a lot of work to do but so far we have recycled over 200 tires and 300 pesticide containers, filled a 30yd dumpster with trash, and salvaged several tons of metal. Check out the before and after pictures below:

BEFORE

AFTER

Driving Range Teaching Tee

 The work on the driving range teaching tee is now complete. We were able to establish winter grass seed that will provide good coverage and reduce erosion over the next few months. We have plans to spring the tee with bermuda grass in late spring.

 







Course Update 12/13/12

Last week we battled a significant disease outbreak on both the North and South greens. Fortunately, we were able to respond quickly enough to prevent the disease from causing any real damage.

One of the great things about working in this industry is the amazing network of professionals. Immediately after Mike McCarty notified me of the symptoms we were able to take pictures and solicit help from experts all around the country. This consultation confirmed our diagnosis and allowed us to make correct curative treatments. I thought I would share with you the email that I sent out this week to summarizing the disease. Please feel free to check out the links at the bottom of the message.

Good Morning,

I hope everyone is staying warm this morning. I just wanted to drop everyone a quick note to say thanks for the help and to provide an update on the disease issues that we experienced over the last few days. Overall, the greens look much better. I think the applications and reduced disease pressure did the trick!

We first noticed this "disease" on 12/6. It appeared to be spreading at a substantial rate, and was visible on most of our South Greens (Emerald Dwarf bermuda). We also saw similar patterns (much less severe) on our North Greens (Miniverde bermuda). It was worse on the edges but was also found in the center of some of the greens. It can be described as dark purple/orange spotting. Some spots were the size of a penny with others closer to a baseball. Weather conditions San Antonio in the week leading up to the outbreak can be described as cool/cloudy/misty in the morning, with warmer sunny afternoons. Highs in the mid to upper 70s with lows in the upper 50s to mid 60s. These weather conditions continued until the afternoon of 12/9 when a cold front blew in. After consulting with several industry professionals we determined that the most likely culprit was a combination of Pythium blight and Leaf spot. We treated all greens with a combination of Subdue Maxx and Secure between 12/7 and 12/8. On 12/10 it appeared that disease has been greatly diminished and substantial turf recovery can be seen. My theory is that the application of the above products allowed us to stop the disease in time for some recovery prior to the cold front’s arrival on 12/9. In addition, we will be covering select areas with makeshift covers the next couple of nights to boost the chances for recovery. I also believe that disease pressure was greatly reduced due to environmental conditions associated with the front. Feel free to browse the pictures by clicking the link below. Please contact me before downloading photos for personnel or professional use. Also feel free to shoot me an email at tmoore@clubatsonterra.com for more information.

Thanks again and Merry Christmas to all of you

Link to Pictures:

http://travismoore.phanfare.com/5863505#imageID=175200773

Link to interesting post by Lane Tredway discussing Pythium on bermuda grass greens:

http://ncstateturfpathology.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=34

Travis Moore

GCS, The Club at Sonterra

San Antonio, Texas

www.sonterraturf.blogspot.com

Course Update 11/9/12

The "Fajita Team" on Friday 11.2.12

FAJITAS! Last Friday Gordon Hudson and crew arrived at the maintenance facility for their 2nd annual fajita cook out. The entire maintenance staff was treated to an afternoon of food and camaraderie sponsored by several of our members. The showing of support and gratitude for another long summer of work was greatly appreciated by all. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who helped put this unique event together.

We have been very busy working on several areas of the course. Our primary objective right now is completing final fall preparations both courses. There are several ways to go about this process - all with the underlying goal being to get both courses as healthy as possible before the cold weather arrives. Overall conditions on both courses are good, and we feel that we are heading in the right direction for this time of year.

Overseed on 10 Tee North

A quick note on overseed. This year the only areas that will be overseeded are the Par 3s, the driving range tee, the driving range target greens, and a few areas around the clubhouse and tennis facility. Last Monday we completed the seeding of these areas. The seed has successfully germinated and we are now in the process of cutting back the water and starting to resume normal mowing. The driving range tee will be open tomorrow morning - 11/10.


The list and photos below show a few of the things we have been working:

Driving Range Practice Tee prepared for final grading

• Overseed complete on Par 3s, Driving Range Tee, Driving Range Target Greens
• Fall Color change out on all beds around the clubhouse 90% complete
• Pencil tined, topdressed, and applied organic fertilizer to the greens on both courses
• Completed several spray applications to the greens
• Edged bunkers on N and S, and finished edging cart paths on the S
• Continued work on the driving range teaching tee
• Repaired the broken drain line on 18 tee North

Thanks again to everyone for your continued support of our maintenance operations. Come and enjoy your courses this weekend. Or better yet - celebrate the Aggies victory over Alabama at the club following the game saturday. BTHO Alabama!!!

Course Update 10/27/12

A sneak preview of Mike McCarty's entry for the employee pumpkin carving contest on this coming Tuesday.

Finally some October rain! We received just over 1" of rain in the last 24 hours. Both courses are fully open with only select holes being cart path only. It looks to be a great day with plenty of sun, cooler temperatures, and a steady North wind. Take a break from college football and come out and play a few.

As we wrap up another busy week, I would like to illustrate of couple of the areas that we have been working on:

• Pencil tine all greens
• Repair and paint fence on 10 South
• Began work on driving range practice tee
• Repaired several irrigation leaks on the North
• Completed fall preventative weed control applications
• Treated weeds in the rough on the South Course
• Spot core aeration on several greens
• Began fall change out on clubhouse grounds

Spot Aerating Greens

Isidro aerating #16 North

We are finished with any large scale core aeration. However, there are several areas on both the North and South greens that we need to continue to aerate. These areas need to have organic matter removed in order to promote drainage and increase oxygen available to the roots. We will use a combination of small solid tines (pencil tines) and small coring tines to accomplish this goal. The coring tines will only be used in very specific areas, while the pencil tines will be used on entire greens. Last week we pencil tines all of the greens, and cored certain areas. 

 

Driving Range Teaching Tee

John from TWC rough shaping the tee at the back of the Range

Fence of #10

Freddie and Beto did a great job working on the fence on #10

 

A quick look at next week:

• Overseed driving range tee, par 3s, and target greens - Monday
• Light topdress and fertilize all greens - Monday
• Continue fall change out
• Continue driving range tee project
• Continue North irrigation repairs

Course Update 10/19/12



PARTY GOLF!!! Mr. and Mrs. Renfro take two shots off their score by tackling the beer bong!

It is hard to believe that is has already been two weeks since my last post. The weather has been perfect and both courses are seeing lots of play. The rain and warm temperatures have allowed both courses to see substantial drought recovery, and we are looking forward to entering this winter much healthier than last year.

We have been extremely busy keeping up with normal maintenance, completing fall and winter preparations, and tackling a busy tournament schedule. The list below shows a few of the items that we have been working on:


Nacho aerating the South greens on 10/8.

Our one year old sprayer is a huge help in making crucial apps

• Completed final aeration on both North and South greens. From here on out we will only be using small solid tines to provide air to the root system.
• Completed fall fertilizer applications to all areas of both courses
• Completed 90% of our preventative weed control applications
• Started repairing the fence on #10 South
• Treated the bees on 13 North
• Completed several spray applications on N and S greens in order to protect the greens for the months ahead
• Mowing heights on roughs, tees, and fairways have been raised and will stay at this height through the winter
• Steadily raising mowing heights on greens in order to provide protection over the winter.
• Completed clean up in several areas on the North Course perimeters - including #7, #1, #15, #16
• Fixed multiple irrigation leaks on North Course
• Added sand to several bunkers on the South

We have a lot in store for the next couple of weeks. Including:

• Overseed the driving range tee, and par 3 tees
• Core aerate specific areas on several greens
• Begin work on driving range teaching tee
• Complete fence repairs
• Continue to fix irrigation issues on the North
• Solid tine aerate and lightly topdress greens
• Continue perimeter clean up
• Edge bunkers and cart paths on both courses
• Continue to add sand to South bunkers, and stockpile sand for North bunkers

Overall things are going well on both courses. We look forward to completing our fall cultural practices, and shifting gears to accomplishing our winter goals. I will post more next week on our winter goals. Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you on the course.

Course Update 10/5/12

Players in this year's SWGA Classic Affair participate in the Marshmallow Long Drive Contest

It's finally Friday! I would like to start this week's post by thanking everyone who played in the Classic Affair, our SWGA Member/Guest Invitational. The weather was perfect for the three days of golf, and I hope that everyone enjoyed the courses. Congratulations to Marian Dyer and her guest who secured first place gross. Also, congratulations to our Club President, Sue Colburn and her guest, for capturing first place net. Special thanks also goes out to Gary Tupa for providing the flowers for the tee placements.

Another great event begins today - The Logeman Invitational. Good luck to everyone playing! It looks like we have great weather for the 54 hole event, and we hope that you all enjoy both courses. On behalf of the crew, I would like to thank Larry Duke and the rest of the players for the food provided to the crew this morning.


Thanks to your continued support of the blog we have now been visited on the web over 10,000 times. I thought it would be fun to share a few of the statistics provided by our host - Blogger.

• We are currently at 10,026 views
• The overwhelming majority of views come from the US, however we have been viewed all of the world including: Canada, German, India, Australia, the UK, Mexico, Russia, France, and Malaysia, and the Middle East.
• 67% of viewers use Internet Explorer, followed by 14% using Safari 
• 15% of views come from mobile devices, with the highest being the iPhone or iPad

In other news...we spent the majority of this past week completing routine maintenance. The crew did an excellent job completing several tasks over a short period of time in order to prepare the courses for the Classic Affair and this weekend's play. A few of the items we completed:


• Bunkers edged on both courses
• All roughs mowed on both courses
• Arroyo clean up between the North and South
• Greens sprayed - South on Wednesday and Friday, North on Thursday
• North greens fertilized
• Completed clean up from last weekend's rain
• Cattail clean up on 17 north
• Tees, collars, approaches, and fairways mowed 3 times
• Treated weeds in collars and greens surrounds on both courses

Spray Technician, Jerrod Frost applying folliar fertilizer and wetting agent to the North Greens. Jerrod has been

a great addition to our team since moving from Oak Hills to Sonterra earlier this year.

Next week will also be busy. We will be open for play on the North following the morning tournament. Call the golf shop for more information. I have listed a few of our plans below:

• Begin applying fall pre-emerge
• Aerate and topdress South greens (Final core aeration event of the year!)
• Lightly topdress North greens
• Begin fertilizing all areas on both courses with potassium
• Continue cattail clean up
• Spray greens - North on Wednesday, South on Thursday
• Apply potassium fertilizer to greens
• Apply biological nematode treatment to South greens
• Repair and paint the fence on 10 South 
• Clean up on 7 North
• Patch thin areas on the North practice green and #3
• Add sand to the chipping green bunker

As promised last week, Here are few more pics from the divot party:

Deb working hard to keep the divot fillers hydrated.

Filling divots on 8 fwy

Course Update 9/29/12

Looking back at 11T North from the fairway at 7:30am on 9/29

MORE RAIN!!! We have received 2.75" as of 7:00am this morning. Currently the entire South Course and the front nine only on the North are passable. We are working hard to get the courses playable for today's play. We will be Cart Path Only all day today, and possibly tomorrow pending additional rainfall. We have also decided to focus our maintenance efforts this morning primarily on making the courses passable and preparing the greens for play. We are also working on bunkers, however many are washed and simply too wet to make much progress on this morning.

I want send a big THANK YOU! out to everyone who came out for the divot filling party last night. We had a great turn out, in spite of the weather, and were able finish a few holes on the North before the rain came in. We will definitely re-schedule this important event. I also would like to thank Jeff for his help, and of course our fearless beer girls Deb and Brianna for braving the rain.  Thank you again for being a member and for supporting our efforts on the course. I will post more pictures later in the week.

Divot filling on 8 Fairway North

In other news, we completed several important tasks in addition to our normal maintenance this past week. I have listed a few of them below:

• Light top dress on both course's greens
• Sprayed both greens with preventive fungicide applications
• Started mowing the tall grass along the arroyos between the North and South courses
• Pencil tined and fertilized the South greens
• Applied organic fertilizer to the roughs on the North prior to Friday's rain
• Repaired and tested out meters on the #5 and #7 Wells
• Repaired two irrigation leaks on the North
• Repaired the broken drain line on #17 South
• Treated broad leaf weeds on roughs on North and South

Nacho and Israel show off the large mass of roots that had clogged the drain line for 17G South

We have a another busy week coming up. We will be hosting tournaments on both courses on Monday, and the Classic Affair, or SWGA Member/Guest will take place Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Our primary goals will be to clean up the mess from the rain and get as much normal maintenance done as possible in order to provide excellent playing conditions for this important event.

Course Update 9/21/12

#18 North taken on Thursday

Today begins the Club Championship! Good luck to everyone that is playing. The courses should play well, and have definitely benefited from last weeks rain. We ended up receiving just under 6" total from Thursday through Sunday. The rain combined with last week's fertilizer applications will definitely benefit all areas on both courses.
We had a very busy week completing normal maintenance, cleaning up from the rains, and preparing for this weekend's tournament. The list below illustrates a few of the things we worked on:


Willie Elte and Juan fixing water line

• Lightly topdressed greens on both courses
• Vertical mowed the North greens
• Lightly aerated several of the South greens
• Repaired several irrigation leaks
• Repaired the broken pipe beneath the main driveway at the club - in conjunction with Nick, Willie, and Gary.
• Sprayed greens on the South on Wednesday and Friday, North on Thursday
• Mowed tees, collars, and fairways three times on each course.
• Mowed all of the rough on the South, and most areas on the North



Left to Right: Gary, Rober Sr., Robert Jr
, and Benny



The new cart parking area at Tennis.

• Gary Tupa and crew finished the cart parking area at Tennis

On a sad note....



Last picture taken of Birdie and Socks. 9.15.12

Birdie and Socks are no longer with us following a tragic accident on Monday morning. The pups truly had a great run, and will be sorely missed. We decided to lay them to rest on the South Course near the same area that they were born. Thank you to everyone for your support and for allowing them to enjoy the golf courses everyday.



Final Resting Place for Birdie and Socks

Course Update 9/14/12

RAIN!!!!! We received right around 3.5" of rain as of 7:00am this morning, and it looks like more is on the way. Both courses will remain closed for at least the next couple of hours due to high water. The South Course is currently closed due to high water beneath the 1604 overpass, near #4 tee, and #9 tee. The North is more accessible than the South, however high water on 7 and 11 make it very difficult to get around. We are currently working around the water to get as much maintenance done as possible on both courses. Our goal is to get greens mowed, cups changed, debris removed, and to make the bunkers as playable as possible.  It is very likely that the bunkers will remain ground under repair until sometime tomorrow.



Hipolito Gonzalez aerating 18 Green North

In addition  to our normal maintenance we were able to accomplish several tasks on both courses this week. Check out the list below to see of few of the things we completed.

• North Greens aerated, topdressed, sprayed, and fertilized
• South Greens verticut and sprayed
• All bunkers edged
• Completed fertilizer applications to the Tees, Fwys, and Roughs on both courses
• Greens edged on North and South
• Cart path repaired on 16 North.
• Gary Tupa began work on creating the cart parking area at Tennis

Next weekend is the club championship. We will be very busy next week completing our normal maintenance and preparing the courses for the event. Here is a few of the items we have on the agenda for next week:

• Finish removing debris and repairing damage from the rain
• Light vertical mow on North greens
• Solid tine and lightly topdress the South greens (following Monday's high school tournament)
• Completely mow both golf courses.
• Spray greens on both courses (South on Weds and Friday, North on Thursday)
• Continue to work on the tees on 9 and 15 on the South. We are hoping to get these tees open in time for the club championship.
• Repair the fence on #10 South
• Continue to work on the cart parking area at Tennis

Course Update 9/6/12

Good Afternoon,

Several members of the crew showing off two of our new aeration tools. Advances in aeration equipment and tools over the last several years have greatly aided superintendents in making aeration procedures as painless as possible for golfers.

Thank you for visiting the blog! It has been almost 6 weeks since my last post, and  I would like to begin by apologizing for the long lapse in updates. I will be returning to weekly posts effective immediately - so please continue to come back on a regular basis.


Newly installed components in the North Pump Station

The drought continues. In August we received just one significant rain event bringing our rainfall total for the month to 2.75". In addition, we entered Stage 3 restrictions on our EAA wells, resulting in a 35% reduction to our water allocation. However, all things considered, we are in much better shape than last year for the following reasons: 1) We received above average rainfall in July, 2) Major improvements to our North Course pump station, and 3) Updates, repairs, and modifications to our irrigation systems on both courses. As I mentioned in the September newsletter, fall is probably the most crucial time of the year when discussing drought stress and recovery (CLICK HERE FOR SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER) . September and October will be the last two months that we will be able to improve areas that are severely drought stressed. In order to make progress we will need not only rain, but help from golfers. Please continue to pair up, follow cart signs, and make an extra effort to avoid driving in areas that appear to be stressed.

In addition to battling the drought,, we have been very busy maintaining and improving all areas of the club. The list below describes a few of the things that we have been working on:

• Greens - Overall the greens on both courses have remained healthy throughout the summer. The combination of frequent vertical mowing, light topdressing, weekly spraying, and monthly aeration has definitely helped us achieve our goal of providing consistent putting surfaces. We will be core aerating both courses at least one more time this year. These final aerations will consist of small holes spaced closely together. Currently the North is scheduled for 9/10 and the South for 10/8.  
• Tees - On August 16th we resurfaced the main tee boxes on #9, #12, and #15 on the South Course. The sod is taking longer to establish than planned, however we are confident that these improvements will definitely improve playing conditions in the future. Currently we are planning to open #12 this weekend, and #15 and #9 in the next two weeks. The rest of the tees on both courses will be fertilized early next week.

Asst. Supt. Mike McCarty preparing 15 Tee for sod. 

• Fairways - All fairways continue to be mowed at 1/2" and are mowed 3 times per week. We will be fertilizing fairways this coming Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, we will be restricting carts to paths only on the South Course on Tuesday, in order to prevent burn from the fertilizer.
• Roughs - All roughs continue to be mowed at 2". In play areas will be fertilized next week along with tees, and fairways. The roughs on the South Course are handling the drought much better than the North due to superior irrigation and less concentrated cart traffic.
• Club Grounds and Tennis - In addition to performing routine maintenance on all club grounds, Gary Tupa and his staff have made tremendous progress over the last few months improving the grounds around the tennis center. Currently, he is working to install a cart parking area, and finish landscaping several areas. Please check back for more information.

Gary cooking chicken for the crew last Friday at the shop. We took the food and the crew to the park for an afternoon of softball, food, and cold drinks.

Course Update 7/27/12

It’s finally Friday! I hope everyone is excited for the weekend, and looking forward to getting out on both courses. Since my last post San Antonio has received over 3” of rain (closer to 2.5” at Sonterra), far exceeding our normal total for July. Both courses have benefited greatly from the rain, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that more is on the way.

We have been extremely busy keeping up with both courses thanks to the nice rains. Currently we are mowing tees, fairways, collars, and approaches 3 to 4 times per week on each course. The roughs have also seen dramatic improvement from last year. All roughs are mowed at 2” and are cut at 1 to 2 times per week. I have received a few comments over the past week or so regarding the difficulty of the rough at this mowing height. We have been mowing at 2” for most of the year; however the rain has helped the turf reach this height and improved/increased density. Thicker roughs provide more definition, rewards well hit shots, and tolerate traffic better. On the flipside – the same rough can make the golf course too difficult, slow down play, and decrease the enjoyment of the game for some golfers. We feel that a mowing height of 2” provides a happy medium for most of the year. If we continue to get rain through August and September then we will have excellent definition this winter.

Weeds, weeds, weeds. The rain has also rejuvenated many undesirable plants thorough out the property. We are working very hard to keep these areas under control through a combination of weed eating, mowing, and chemical applications. There are many out of play areas on the North Course that are very difficult and time consuming to maintain. We are working on these areas and ask for your patience as we progress throughout the course.

Overall the greens on both courses are doing well. The outline below should give you a quick summary of what’s going on:

• North: Overall doing well
• Aeration from 7/9 completely healed
• Continued frequent light vertical mowing and topdressing. We will vertical mow and topdress again this coming Monday o Still firm, but softening up some
• Received first treatment for ‘Goosegrass’ yesterday. ‘Goosegrass’ is the small grassy weed found on the collars and on the greens. All weeds should be gone in 3 to 4 weeks
• Will begin soil amendments to lower sodium and pH
• South:
• Aeration from 7/16 completely healed o Continued frequent light vertical mowing and topdressing. We will pencil tine aerate and topdress again this coming Monday
• Working to establish better roots
• Working to remove grain by vertical mowing and brushing o Root pruned and re-leveled the collar on #7 to help improve turf density on back of green

Course Update 7/2/2012

Finally, some rain! We revieved just under 1" of rain in the last 24 hours. The rain is by no means a drought buster, but will definately help playing conditions on both courses.

Happy Birthday North Greens! One year ago today - Workers from King Ranch Turfgrass plant the Mini-verde sprigs on our newly renovated greens. We have been happy with progress over the last year, and look forward to continual improvement.

Sprigging number 13 Green one year ago today

We have been very busy since my last post two weeks ago:

North Pump Station: We completed the first phase of our pump station renovation on Wednesday of last week. We now have a much more reliable and efficient way of irrigating the North Course. The new components will not give us more water, but they will allow us to more efficeiently use the water that we have. The first phase conisted of major repairs to the slab in the building, improvements to the wet well, and replacement of the majority of mechanical components in the station. The seccond phase will involve upgrading the remaining electrical controls, and will take place this fall. We did discover some potential problems with the integrity of our wet well during last week's work. If needed, we will make these repairs in the fall as well. Thank you all for your patience during all the work on #9 over the last couple of weeks. Check out the pictures below showing some of the work.

North Course Pump Station Renovation on Prezi

Course Update 6/16/12

Chefs Rafael and Henry cooking the pig for Sunburst on a custom made pit from golf course maintenance

We have been extremely busy since my last post 2 weeks ago. Check out the list and photos below illustrating a few of the things we have been working on:

• Completed CPS power line project between 4 and 13 N
• Re-grassed the 19th hole putting green to zoysiagrass
• Added sod around the bathrooms on the South and to the left of 9 green
• Vertical mowed both courses' greens 3 times in last 3 weeks
• Lightly topdressed both courses' greens several times
• Fertilized and sprayed the South tees, collars, and approaches
• Aerated the South greens and topdressed heavily
• Treated the green surrounds on both courses for weeds
• Replaced several green side heads on the North to help eliminate wet spots
• Vertical mowed the North fairways
• Started our North Course pump station renovation
• Edged all bunkers
• Edged greens on both courses
• Treated the bees on #14 South
• Men's Member/Guest - Sunburst Tournament

A quick note about the North Pump station renovations:

We are in the process of making much needed major repairs to the North Pump station. The aging station was mostly original components from 1984. Over the next 10 days we will have several different contractors working to get us back up and running with much more efficient, dependable equipment. During this time we will be using a large diesel pump to irrigate the North Course. This pump will allow us to maintain minimal irrigation during the renovations. It is quite loud, especially when playing 9, 10, and 11. We apologize for the noise and commotion in this area. Below is a quick schedule of the renovations

Ric Jr and Rangel from PMT Services removing the old pumps

1. June 13th- Diesel pump arrives and North Pump station is shut down
2. June 14th-15th- PMT services completes demolition of old station
3. June 18th-19th- Alamo Hy-Tech levels the slab in the building
4. June 20th-22nd- American Underwater Services sleeves our flume pipe, cleans the wet well, and installs new intake screen
5. June 25th - PMT installs new components
6. June 26th - PMT starts new station, and diesel pump is returned.

In Memory of Gene Shields

Gene Shields 1934-2012

The golf community lost a great one this week. Coach Shields was my high school golf coach and one of the most influential figures in my career in golf. He was a great man who instilled a love for the game of golf in all that knew him. Gene worked and played golf his entire life. Before coaching at Midway High School, Gene played on the PGA Tour, held various head professional positions, and was the head coach at Baylor University for many years. Our teaching professional, Tim Hobby, played for Gene at Baylor and later succeeded him as the head coach. Next time you see Tim on the range ask him to share one of the million great stories that follow Coach Shields. Gene was also a great friend to my Dad. The two met while working together at Ridgewood Country Club in Waco, Texas. Growing up, I would occasionally take care of Gene's yard work in exchange for lessons. Coach Shields will always be remembered for his kindness, sense of humor, and endless supply of jokes. He will be deeply missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him. Please take a moment to read his obituary which can be found by clicking the link below.

http://www.gracegardensfh.com/sitemaker/sites/GraceG1/obit.cgi?user=643605Shields

Course Update 5-25-12

Good Afternoon,
I hope everyone is ready for a great Memorial Day weekend. Both courses and the pool will be open on Monday! There will be a ton of activities so make sure you spend your holiday at Sonterra.
This past week we completed several jobs on both courses. Check out the notes and pictures below:

South Course

• Tees: Aerated, vertical mowed
• Fairways: Aerated, vertical mowed
• Greens: Vertical mowed, fertilized, topdressed, sprayed, cont. repairing weak areas on 6 and 7

  

  Israel Garcia Aerating #1 Tee S



Freddie vertical mowing the South practice green



Israel Carillo Aerating #1 Fairway

North Course

• Tees: normal maintenance
• Fairways: normal maintenance
• Greens: vertical mowed, sprayed, hand topdressed several areas
• Roughs: normal maintenance
• Other: Repaired the broken 6" mainline in 12 fairway
• Completed testing of diesel pump for North pump station project.

Isidro and Juan working on the leak on 12

The completed repair on 12 N

Stretch testing the diesel pump

OTHER

• Why does the 19th Hole putting green look so bad? - The overseed has completely died out due to the warmer temperatures. The green grass that remains is Emerald bermuda. We are currently deciding whether to grow the Emerald back in or to sod the area to a more shade tolerant species - such as zoysia.
• CPS power line project - All major work completed on 13 and 4. We are ready to finish out area and begin grassing upon written approval from CPS.

Next Week

• Vertical mow North fairways
• Aerate North tees
• Possible fertilize fairways and tees North and South
• Remove algae in North lakes
• Possible sod of 19th hole
• Light topdress on greens North and South
• Light vertical mow North greens
• Fertilize North greens