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.

 

Course Update 8/26/11

North Course: We are almost ready to re-open! The greens are healthy enough to support play and putting quality is improving daily. We look forward to re-opening the course for Labor Day weekend. Please keep in mind a few things as you return to the course:

1. The greens are healthy enough to support play
2. The greens will not be perfect when we open
3. Putting quality will continue to improve into October
4. We will be CART PATH ONLY when the course opens
5. The course will be closed during the week.

I have been asked by several members how well the greens will be putting next weekend. We feel that the greens are definitely playable, however they will be significantly slower and bumpier than the South. Putting quality will continue to improve throughout September and into October. We have an aggressive plan that will not only improve the greens, but also prepare them for their first Winter. Due to the drought, we have been forced to drastically reduce our water use in the roughs. It is absolutely necessary that we open the North as cart path only. Please help us protect the course by following all of the cart restrictions.

The entire crew has done an excellent job preparing the North greens for play. The list below give you a glimpse at some the practices that were completed last week.

Monday - Mow greens at .150" with smooth roller, topdress, work sand in, hand water
Tuesday - Mow greens at .150" with smooth roller, aerate with solid tine, hand water, double roll, heavy water with overhead sprinklers
Wednesday - Mow greens at .150" with smooth roller, finish aerating, finish rolling, hand water, begin spraying fungicide
Thursday - Mow greens at .150" with smooth roller, roll greens, hand water, complete fungicide app, edge greens, pull runners, adjust mowers
Friday - Mow greens at 145" with grooved rollers, roll greens, hand water, fertilize, pull runners




Isidro fertilizing #6 Green




#14 Green on 8/26

 South Course: We are getting closer and closer to going cart path only. If we do not get a break in the weather very soon then it will be necessary to restrict carts to paths on both courses. Please continue to stay on the paths as much as possible, and avoid driving through areas that look to be stressed.

We have taken several precautions to protect the greens on both courses from this weekends expected record high temperatures. Crew members will be hand watering greens throughout the day Saturday and Sunday in order to help cool the grass. This can be a difficult task during heavy play, and we are often forced to water in between groups. Please be patient and allow our staff perform this important task. In addition to hand watering, we applied a preventative fungicide and will be limiting practices such as double cutting and rolling. As a result, I expect the greens to be putting slightly slower this weekend.

Course Update 8/19

Drought: We are getting closer and closer to Stage 3 restrictions. As of the this morning the 10-day average of the J-17 monitoring well is at 642.0. Once this average dips below 640 we will be Stage 3 for a minimum of 30 days. This will change our overall reduction in irrigation from 30% to 35%. For more information on the drought restrictions and aquifer level please visit: http://edwardsaquifer.org/ . Last week I participated in a nationwide web cast discussing the short and long term effects of the drought on golf courses. Please check out a quick summary of the meeting by clicking here The Green Section Record. I encourage you to subscribe to this free weekly update from the USGA.

The following link takes you to the USGA's website where you can view the web cast. It is about an hour long so please allow time for it to download. You will be required to enter your name but do not need to enter a recording key. The link:  Golf Drought Webcast .

North Course: The greens are filling in nicely. We estimate approximately 90% coverage at this point. Our goal now is to continue topdressing, mowing, and fertilizing in order to get the greens ready for a "soft opening" around Labor Day weekend. Over the last several weeks we have steadily been dropping the height of cut (HOC) from .250" to .150". We will continue to drop the height until over the next few weeks. Please keep in mind a few key points as we return to playing the North Course. 1) I can assure you that the greens will not be opened until they are healthy enough to support play. 2) The greens will certainly be playable; however will not provide optimum putting conditions when we first open. This is normal for new greens. They will continue to get better into October of this year, but will not fully mature until next season. 3) We will be cart path only on the North for quite some time. The extreme drought has taken its toll on the entire course. The fairways and particularly the roughs simply cannot support cart traffic at this time. Thank you for your understanding as this is absolutely necessary in order to protect playing conditions long-term.

Ramiro Valenciano hand watering 18 Green on 8/13

South Course: We completed our third aeration of the year on Monday. Many of the holes are still visible however the greens have almost returned to normal putting quality. We are planing to verticut and topdress following the ESPN Challenge on Monday. The mowing heights on the roughs have been raised from 1.5" to 2" as we are already starting to prepare for the fall and winter. HOC's on tees, greens, and fairways will also steadily be raised as we move into September.
 

Irrigation Technician - Mike Lang created this to help water the dry area in front of 4 Green

Course Update 8/13

It's official - This is now the driest 10 month stretch on record! There are many short and long term problems associated with extended drought conditions on golf courses. I wanted to take a moment to list a few of them.

Short Term:

1. Weak and thinning turf
2. Increased damage from traffic
3. Yellowing and inconsistent turf density
4. Irrigation system damage from swelling and contracting of soil
5. Increased utility cost from increased pumping for irrigation
6. More labor used for hand watering - takes away from other areas of the course
7. Extreme temperatures reduce plant growth - even on bermuda grass
8. Higher mowing heights
9. Reduced play = less revenue for clubs
10. Increased damage to well pumps - the wells must work harder as the water table continues to drop

Long Term:

1. Wear and tear on irrigation system from increased usage
2. Long term damage to turfgrass - may not recover until next summer
3. Increased number of weeds when rain returns
1. Weed seeds will not germinate until rainfall
2. Extreme heat limits the use of herbicides such as Fall pre-emergent
3. Thin or weak turf will be very susceptible to invasion by weeds
4. Practices such as overseeding may not be an option for many clubs because of water restrictions and agronomic implications
5. If we have a hard winter then winter kill will be much more prominent than in years past
6. It will take many months of rain to return water tables to normal levels
7. Increased pressure from media outlets and public for golf courses to be limited on water
8. Damage to cart paths as a result of swelling and compacting of soil

We have three main goals for both courses right now:

1. Maintain South Course at a high level
2. Prepare North Course for re-opening
3. Limit the damage from the drought on both courses 

 North Course:

We are working around the clock to get the greens ready as soon as possible. Currently we are still hoping to open in early to mid September. Please keep in mind that the greens will not be perfect when we re-open. It takes a full year for the greens to mature and provide quality putting surfaces. I have listed a few notes about the greens below:

• Mowing heights have been lowered to .200" and greens are mowed about 3 times a week
• We have started spraying the greens - allows for soluble fertilizer and plant protectants to be applied
• Greens will be heavily topdressed again on Monday
• The extended 100+ degree temps slow down growth and may delay opening

#6 Green on 8/12

#6 Green on 8/12

South Course: We are planning another light aeration from Monday, August 15th. This will be the same small coring tines and process that has taken place twice this year already. This process is absolutely necessary to ensure that the greens will continue to put well long term. Thank you for patience with this matter. We expect the greens to return to normal putting by the end of the week.

Course Update 8/5

The drought continues.... Take a look at the map below showing the 90-Day compared to normal rainfall. Hopefully we will get some relief soon. Please continue to stay on the cart paths as much as possible. Thank you to all of you who have been pairing up. We are doing everything possible to avoid going cart path only, however it is certainly a possibility if we do not get some rain soon.



Currently we have three main objectives: 1) Get the North Greens ready as soon as possible. 2) Maintain the South at a high level. 3) Keep the grass alive through hand watering on both courses. On any given day we may have between 4 and 8 guys hand watering tees and greens on both courses. In addition, our Horticulturalist - Gary Tupa, and 2 more guys spend a good portion of their day hand watering all of the ornamentals and flower beds. The 100+ degree temperatures also affect the progress on the North Greens. The heat will not kill the greens but it will certainly slow down lateral growth. We are constantly "syringing" or misting the greens throughout the heat of the day to offset the heat as much as possible.

A lot has happened on both courses since my last post. Below is list of some of the things that have been going on:

North Course:

  

1. Greens doing well - on schedule for Mid-September opening
2. Greens are rolled, mowed, watered, and/or fertilized daily.
3. Greens were topdressed Monday - and will recieve heavy topdressing weekly
4. Tees, Fairways, some Rough - fertilized on 7/30
5. Topdressed several fairways with the old greensmix
6. #1 Tee landscaping project
7. Hand Water everyday



#6 Green on 7/30



#6 Green on 7/30



Topdressing the Nursery greens

Topdressing 6 Fairway

South Course

1. Greens aerated with needle tines on 8/1
2. Greens fertilized with two times on 8/1
3. Tees, Fairways, some Rough - fertilized on 8/1
4. Currently developing an updated plan bunker improvements
5. Hand Water everyday

Course Update 7/25/11

North Course: The North greens renovation is still on schedule. The greens have now been planted for a little over three weeks. All of the greens are established and doing well. We started mowing last week at 0.25 inches. Our goal now is to aggressively push the greens so that full coverage can be obtained in the next few weeks. We accomplish this by rolling, fertilzing, mowing, and topdressing. All of these are practices that take place during normal greens maintenance. However, during a grow-in the frequency is greatly intensified. We have a detailed schedule and plan of attack that will help get the greens grown in as quickly as possible.

Hipolito Gonzales cutting number 14 for the first time

July 20th

6 Green on July 22nd

6 Green on July 22nd

6 Green on July 9

South Course: The South greens have now completely healed from the aeration, vertical mowing, and brushing that has taken place in the last two weeks. We are removing a few dead trees between 13 and 14 today. In addition, tomorrow we will spray tees. Greens will be sprayed on Thursday.

Course 7/15/11

North Course:  Everything is still on schedule as the greens are now two weeks old. I would like to thank all of you who came out on Tuesday to see first hand the progress the greens have made. We have started to decrease the water are trying a variety of practices to help firm up the greens in preparation for mowing. The picture below shows Jose Moreno using a 11/2 ton asphalt roller to smooth and compact #3 green. 

SAWS Variance Request: The golf shop has received numerous calls about the greens being watered during daytime hours - violating the drought restrictions. We have permission from SAWS to water during the day based on a variance request granted for our greens renovation. We are still complying with the drought restrictions for golf courses - including a 30% reduction in overall usage. Basically, we are devoting most of water to the greens and not watering other areas of the property as much.

South Course: All of the greens were successfully aerated and fertilized on Monday the 11th. The process went smooth and the greens have already shown significant recovery. This aeration consisted of small holes on a very tight spacing. The process for completing this task is listed below.

1. Aerate greens using walk behind aerator
2. Remove cores
3. Blow excess debris and cores off the greens
4. Brush the sand back into the holes
5. Water
6. Roll
7. Fertilize
8. Water again

The South putting green immediately after aeration.

We are currently using a combination of double mowing, rolling, and brushing to increase the recovery time. In addition we are currently trying a new grooming brush combined with vertical mowing to help eliminate some of the grain. On Monday the 18th we plan to vertical mowing and lightly topdress.

Course Update 7/9/11

North Course: Our greens are officially one week old! We are happy with the progress so far. The sprigs are healthy and have started to develop more extensive roots. As the roots develop, we steadily begin to cut the water back and begin to treat the sprigs more like greens. We will use a combination of fertilizer, sand, and various types of rollers in the next few days to smooth the surface and promote lateral growth. This will help us prepare for the first mowing sometime in the next two weeks.

Isidro checking the roots on 17G

A turtle enjoys the cool wet sand on 7G

South Course: We will be aerating the South greens on Monday following play. This will be the same aeration method used twice earlier this year. We have decided to repeat this same light aeration in order to keep the disruption to play at a minimum. Our plan is to repeat this procedure at 2 to 3 more times this year. I anticipate the greens will be rolling fine by the end of the week. Thank you for your patience while complete this necessary maintenance.

Nursery Area: I have had several questions about the nursery area between #2,#3, and #8. We have added two new greens and completely re-designed this area of the course. One of the greens has been planted to Emerald (the grass on the South greens) and the other to Mini-verde (the new grass on the North greens). The area around these greens has been sodded and sprigged to Tifway 419 bermuda grass. Ten new sprinklers were installed to keep this area properly irrigated. The addition of nursery greens will be a huge help in keeping the greens on the course healthy and putting well. They will provide a source of healthy grass to repair damage or weak areas. These greens will recieve the same maintenance practices as the rest of the greens on site. In addition, the 419 will be mowed at similar heights of cut as the tees, fairways, and rough on the rest of the course. This area will primarily be a nursery. However, we feel that it will also be a great place to practice your short game. The plan is to open this area to chipping and putting once the grass is established.



Nursery Area soon after planting

Course Update 7/4/11

Happy 4th of July!

I apologize for the long gap in updates. We have had a very busy past couple of weeks and there is a lot of information to share.

North Course

• Landscapes Unlimited completed the construction phase on schedule.
• King Ranch Turf has sprigged all of the greens except the nursery
• The sprigs have already started growing roots
• Construction on our nursery/practice area and greens has been completed and is currently being grown in. This is the area between 2 green, 3 green, and 8 tee box. I will post more on this area later, but I believe that it will be a great addition to the club.
• The railroad tie steps on #4 have been removed and replaced with rock. This are is still under construction.
• All fairways and most roughs have been aerated
• Construction is in progress to improve the landscaping on #1 Tee

Now that construction is finished and all the greens are planted; we have entered the grow-in phase of our project. The greens will be watered and closely monitored around the clock. It is critical that we maintain adequate moisture at all times as the plants do not have an established root system yet. In order to do this we must water during the day. All of the greens are constantly given light watering with sprinklers - all day, everyday for the first week or so. We have been given permission from SAWS through a variance request to complete this phase of the project. Also please understand that we are using water from our Trinity wells and not water from the Edwards Aquifer. Once the greens establish roots the water will be scaled back accordingly. As roots develop, we will also begin to fertilize, topdress, and roll on a very frequent basis. Please keep checking the blog and the clubs main page for pictures and more details.

South Course

• We received 1.5" of rain last week which has made huge difference on both courses.
• Tees were aerated and fertilized last week.
• Greens were verticut and fertilized
• Greens are scheduled for light aeration on 7/11

Course Update 6/18

North Greens:  Landscapes has completed four days of work. The greens on 9,10,1, and 3 have been completely cored out. The greens on 2,7, and 8 should be cored out by tomorrow morning. We are working together with Landscapes 7 days a week in order to meet out construction deadline of July 1. I have listed the basic process for the greens renovation below:

1. Shoot the greens - Use a laser and grid pattern to ensure that contours remain the same
2. Strip the sod - The sod is stripped first so that we can re-use the old greens mix for other projects
3. Remove old greens mix - and stockpile in various locations
4. Smooth and prep green for new mix
5. Install new greens mix - sand is watered in and packed to prevent settling
6. Prepare greens for planting.

9 Green cored out

Why are we renovating greens? While the greens were overseeded it was difficult to see how much Champion bermuda remained on the greens. Now that all of the overseed has died, it is easy to see that renovating the greens was the right choice. The renovation will allow us to fix this problem and several others. In the photo below - the green grass is Champion and the brown is dead overseed 



6/14 Construction Photos

Course Update 6/14

Congratulations to the winners of the Sunburst Tournament -  Kevin Sempner "Big Daddy" and Sulung Suputra "The China Man"! Thank you all for a great event. I hope that your guests enjoyed the facility and we look forward to next year's tournament on the new greens.

North Greens- Construction Begins! Landscapes Unlimited will begin strippinig the old grass from the North Greens this morning. They will start around 9 and 10 and proceed out from there. The old grass will be removed with a sod cutter and hauled off to various locations around the course. During this process the greens will be lasered and grade stakes installed so that the countours remain the same. Once several greens have been stripped they will begin excavating the greens. We have currently recieved about 25% of the new greens mix, and are expecting more today. Please keep checking the blog to see pictures of the process.

North Course- All course accessories will be removed today. This includes flags, cups, tee markers, etc. We will also be working on removing bunker liners, edging sprinkler heads, and working on other tasks that are often difficult to complete during play. In addition, we will be improving the landscaping around #1 tee. This will take place over the next several weeks and should be a major improvement to the course.

South Course- Greens will be sprayed today. All other normal maintenance practices will take place. We are anticipating high volumes of play on the South while the North is shut down. All efforts will be made to continually improve the South during this time. There is no doubt that the South will experience some congestion and wear and tear with all the traffic. We have a plan in place using several key agronomic practices to limit the damage to a minimum. Please be patient, follow all traffic signs, and remain on the cart paths as much as possible. PLEASE avoid driving in worn or thin areas.

Thank you for the help and we look forward to great rest of the summer on both courses!

Course Update 6/8

Welcome all members and guest playing in the annual Sunburst Tournament. We look forward to a great event. I hope everyone enjoys both courses, all aspects of the club, and all the special events. Good Luck!

In addition to the Sunburst, we are preparing for the start of our renovation next week. The new greens mix has already started arriving and is being stockpiled on the right side of 17.

#8 Well: Finally we have water! The number 8 well is up and running as of yesterday afternoon. This well is producing 280 GPM and the water can be sent to either course. Currently we are pumping all of the water out of this well to the irrigation lake on the North. It will take some time before lake levels return to normal, but this well certainly provides a much needed boost.

1. Re-installing the pipe, pump, and motor

2. Water!!!Checking the pump and flushing out the pipe

3. Everything hooked back up and pumping!

Course Update 6/7

Another busy week at Sonterra...

Well Work on #8: We are expected to have our #8 Well on the South up and running later today! If everything works as planned this will provide a huge boost to our irrigation systems on both courses.

North Course: Greens were lightly topdressed yesterday. The overseed is finally checking out. We are trying to get the greens rolling as quick as possible without sacrificing smoothness. We are no longer worried about healthy grass long term as this will be the last week of play on the greens. However, the goal is to maintain smooth putting surfaces as the grass begins to die out. We are using a combination of rolling, mowing, brushing, topdressing, and water management to achieve this task.

South Course: Greens were lightly topdressed yesterday and sprayed today. We are still working to increase putting speeds on the South. However, unlike the North, we must be cautious about the long term health of the greens. This is particularly true this year as we will have much more traffic on the South while the project takes place on the North.

Drought Conditions: Currently we are planning to make both courses cart path only beginning on 6/13. Due to the severity of the drought the grass simply cannot take the additional stress from cart traffic. Nobody likes being required to stay on the paths, however until we can recover from the drought it will be absolutely critical in order to maintain acceptable playing conditions. Please take a look at the picture below. This picture was taken yesterday on #7 N. You can see the damage that occurs when traffic signs are ignored and the damage that results. Please encourage your playing parnters and fellow members to follow all traffic signs.