White Wing Bunker Update

The greenside bunkers at White Wing have been a hot topic for some time. Since the installation of the new bunker liners and replacement of the old sand we have been experiencing less than desirable results and maintenance issues with the renovated traps. After laboratory tests we found that it has a low pentrometer rating for use as bunker sand. A pentrometer tests the firmness of the sand which translates to how likely the ball will bury or have a “fried egg” lie.  The USGA recommends that the number be close to a 2.5 or higher. The sand that was tested by the lab came back with a lower number than what is recommended. We tried to incorporate other sand in an attempt to bring this number up. Also we removed sand as it was too deep in some areas with little to no luck.  In late 2013, the decision was made to shell out, or remove, this undesirable sand and begin searching for something that would be firmer, allowing for better bunker performance. Also during this time we were able to address any liner issues that we were having and make repairs to some of the bunker edges as needed. We have since made the decision to go with sand from Osburn Materials based in San Antonio. This same sand is being used in the bunkers at TPC San Antonio with positive feedback. Director of Maintenance Gary Wilson paid a visit to that location to see this sand in place, talk to the Director of Maintenance there about the sand and even hit some balls out of the bunker for a true test. At this time we are putting the new sand in the front nine bunkers and will continue to monitor the sand depth as they compact and are used. The old sand is being saved and can be used for numerous other projects such as filling rough areas on the driving ranges and topdressing greens and fairways this summer. The plan is to have this project completed by the end of March.

February 2014 Course Conditions

Course Conditions

All three courses are doing well and we hope to have a good transition this year starting next month depending on the temperatures. The only negative that we have really been dealing with has been the ryegrass and poa annua on the White Wing greens. In particular the practice greens and the first few greens on the back nine. Unfortunately the post emergent herbicides that we have been applying have not been as effective as usual due to the low temperatures and from what we are hearing from the USGA poa annua’s ability to build up a tolerance to certain herbicides. We have made additional applications since the weather has warmed up and we are now starting to see wilting and yellowing of the winter weeds. As the temperatures start to get warmer and stay warmer over the next couple of months the poa annua will start to go away due to its intolerance of the hotter weather.

White Wing Greenside Bunkers

The White Wing Greenside Bunkers are still being worked on and we have almost completed removing all of the old sand out of the bunkers. We have started to fill the bunkers on the front nine and will be closed the next two Mondays to help expedite the process.

Audubon

Currently working on submitting a site map that displays our natural areas throughout each course and the surrounding areas.

GCSAA Certification

Continue to work on case studies and Supt. portfolios.

2014 Golf Industry Show

The first week of February Craig, Jonathan and I attended the GCSAA Golf Industry Show in Orlando, Fl.  We each took different classes and attended the Trade Show on Wednesday. The Supts.and I are working on a summary of our attendance and will have it available for the next GC meeting. Next year the GIS is in San Antonio.