Tuesday, March 3, 2015

2015 February Course Conditions

It’s been a busy month for all three of the courses. Bunker projects, drainage and playability projects are all in full swing. I am really proud of the job everyone on the staff has been doing and it is very visible on the golf courses! As you’ll see from the Playability Section of this report we are very close to completing the entire list of playability items from the 2014 playability report. 

Playability Items for 2014/2015

The items marked with highlighted RED FONT have been completed.  We are really excited that we have been able to complete so many of the playability items from the 2014 Playability Report. Rather than take the shrinking list that we have been putting in the monthly course conditions report I have taken the original list from the October Golf Committee Meeting so that everyone could see the full scope of work that has been completed.

White Wing
        HOLE #2
        Remove and replace DG at the blue tee area. COMPLETE
        Place river rocks at the curb between the blue and green tee. COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #5
        GREEN TEE:  Remove and replace the damaged steps; rework entire tee box and re sod with Zoysia turf.  Land Constructors will be starting the renovation of this tee area once they have completed the Cowan Creek bunker renovations.
Ø  HOLE #6
        Replace damaged tee monument. Cleaned off broken portion of this monument and do not feel it needs replaced at this time (hole layout is still visible along with yardages) 
        Remove rock walkway and replace with mulch with a rock border. COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #7
        Place river rocks along the cart path between #7 green and #8 tee box. COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #8
        Major tree trimming needed from the tee area to the green. COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #14
        Major tree trimming on the right side from tee to green. IN PROGRESS, Contracted and will be completed by the first week of March
Ø  HOLE #17
        Flower bed left of green and behind the sales center, must be reworked. COMPLETE 

Cowan Creek
Ø  HOLE #1
        Suggest possible DG area under the group of trees on the right side of the fairway. COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #3
Recommend installing more French drains on the left side of the fairway. COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #5
        Continue to improve the drainage issue near blue tee area to prevent DG from washing away with each rain. COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #6
        Improve the drainage on the left side of the fairway. COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #16
        Expand the DG area at the blue tee box. COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #18
         (Safety issue) Place more large rocks adjacent to the cart path in the creek area to minimize the severe drop off. COMPLETE 

Legacy Hills
Ø  HOLE #1
        Recommend this hole become a "cart path only" hole full-time. COMPLETE (ROPED OFF 100YDS OUT)
        Place native rocks along cart path near green area.  COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #3
        Create a DG area under the trees on the right side of the fairway, between the bunkers and the cart path.  COMPLETE
        Create a DG area under the trees at the right front of the green.  
Ø  HOLE #8
        Large tree on the left side needs trimmed to remove fairway overhang.  COMPLETE
Ø  HOLE #9

        Eliminate two of the 4 exits and repair the remaining 2; make hole "cart path only" until the repair is healed.  THIS WILL BE THE LAST ITEM WE TACKLE ON THE LIST AND WILL HAVE IT COMPLETE IN MARCH
Ø  HOLE #12
        Trim the trees on the right side of the left blue tee box.  COMPLETE
        Install a DG approach to the green tee box.  WILL BE COMPLETE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH
Ø  HOLE #14
         Trim the trees on the left side of all tee boxes in Berry Creek.  COMPLETE

Legacy Hills Greenside Bunkers
The staff has been working diligently on this and completed emptying the greenside bunkers the first week of February. We have started filling the bunkers back in with the same sand used in the White Wing and Cowan Creek greenside bunkers and hope to have this complete by the first week in March depending on weather.  Currently Holes 1-5 are complete.

Soil Testing
February’s disease samples were sent to the lab on 2/16/2015 and all samples came back negative for disease.

Audubon Certification
The certification process has made strides over the past few months.  We currently have completed the certification handbook, both the fertilizer and pesticide reference tables; cultural practices reference table, the golf course site map, and wildlife inventory.  These documents have been submitted into a dropbox specified for the Audubon Certification Board.  In the upcoming months we plan on establishing a support group including all the active participants in the certification process, as well as board members from wildlife groups in Sun City.  We will complete our case study this year, which will be a collaborative effort between ourselves and the Wood Shop group.  For this we will be building and installing birdhouses in native areas throughout all three courses selected for indigenous bird species.  These bird houses will then be monitored over the years by volunteers and employees.  In addition, we plan on taking and submitting photos needed for the certification process this year, which include:  photos of wildlife on the golf course, our chemical mixing area, fertilizer containment area, etc.  We still need to calculate the acreage of ponds, streams, beds, and other wildlife areas for submittal, which will also be completed this year.  The ultimate goal by the end of the year is to have all of the needed files submitted, with only a required site inspection before we are completely certified. 

GCSAA Certification
Attended 4 GCSAA webinars:
Herbicide Resistance in Turf: An emerging issue facing Golf Course Superintendents
Go Green for Groundwater
How your spray tank water can impact pesticide performance
Increase the precision of your nitrogen application 

Moisture Monitoring
Here is a week’s worth of moisture monitoring from Cowan Creek

Date:
2/9/2015
Soil
Date:
2/11/2015
Soil
Date:
2/13/2015
Hole
High Area
Low Area
Temp
Hole
High Area
Low Area
Temp
Hole
High Area
Low Area
#1
21.3%
27.7%
 
#1
20.9%
34.6%
 
#1
20.3%
25.2%
#2
19.3%
34.1%
 
#2
19.8%
34.1%
 
#2
13.5%
31.6%
#3
19.8%
18.4%
 
#3
20.2%
35.0%
 
#3
13.2%
13.0%
#4
20.8%
34.6%
 
#4
20.0%
32.8%
 
#4
18.0%
32.0%
#5
18.4%
27.7%
 
#5
19.8%
33.2%
 
#5
18.4%
22.8%
#6
29.2%
19.8%
 
#6
21.2%
38.9%
 
#6
24.6%
22.3%
#7
20.3%
30.6%
 
#7
22.6%
34.6%
 
#7
19.8%
34.1%
#8
15.9%
23.8%
 
#8
18.2%
38.6%
 
#8
11.0%
20.8%
#9
19.3%
27.2%
 
#9
21.5%
31.7%
 
#9
14.9%
27.7%
#10
33.6%
33.1%
 
#10
24.0%
34.2%
 
#10
25.0%
30.2%
#11
20.3%
31.1%
 
#11
19.7%
33.1%
 
#11
18.0%
29.7%
#12
19.3%
20.8%
 
#12
19.2%
32.8%
 
#12
18.0%
19.8%
#13
28.2%
30.6%
 
#13
18.9%
31.9%
 
#13
25.2%
28.7%
#14
27.2%
36.5%
 
#14
24.6%
38.9%
 
#14
18.0%
34.1%
#15
23.3%
30.6%
 
#15
20.4%
32.4%
 
#15
18.2%
29.2%
#16
15.4%
21.8%
 
#16
20.2%
34.1%
 
#16
14.9%
20.8%
#17
14.9%
15.4%
 
#17
20.4%
30.2%
 
#17
17.4%
18.0%
#18
16.4%
17.4%
 
#18
20.1%
38.1%
 
#18
15.4%
18.9%
PG
15.4%
32.1%
 
PG
15.4%
34.4%
 
PG
13.0%
31.1%
CG
18.0%
30.0%
 
CG
26.4%
36.2%
 
CG
24.3%
14.9%