Bunker Edging

Many of the bunker edges had sloughed into the sand over the past eight years. We have limited machine traffic into the bunkers in the previous two seasons to help alleviate the damage and in December tackled it full force. Below are pictures of one of the worst bunkers on hole #2 before and after. The left edge had about a two foot lip and the back portion had a small shelf built to catch golf balls, leaving the golfer with some very unusual stance issues. We went out with pitchforks, edgers, shovels, and many good backs to tackle the worst areas. Our plan moving forward is to edge six holes every season to eliminate this issue ever building up again.

Winter Projects

Over the next few weeks I will be highlighting some of the improvements we have made to the course so far this off-season. We have accomplished more than I anticipated and if the snow continues to hold off, we will be way ahead of schedule for spring. In my opinion, the most visible change is the outlet pipe along the path on number 10. The concrete wall was the remains of the original road used for the school coming off of 29. Besides the eyesore wall staring you in the face, the fairway side was slowly eroding with every storm. The crew faced and secured the outlet into the hillside using the leftover rocks pulled off site during construction. We completed the project by utilizing the sod harvested from our bunker edging project to stabilize the banks. It was in dire need of a makeover and the staff worked extremely hard and efficiently to make it happen. Below are the before and after pictures:

Temporary Greens

What a great couple of months to end the season! With the extremely cold mornings, the soil temperatures have really dropped off and the greens are remaining frozen into the afternoon on some of the shaded greens. While we are able to push the greens farther than most courses because of our bentgrass greens and sand based profile, we do not want to push them to the point of damaging the plants. The temperatures will be dropping this weekend and we need to be prepared for the switch to temporary greens. During the afternoon on Friday, we will be switching the pins to the approaches/rough before the freeze occurs on the holiday weekend. Happy Holidays to you and your families. I am looking forward to another great year!

Waterfall Update

The pipe from the original pit to the outlet is in place and ready to go. We will be measuring the pond at the top of the waterfall this week so we can price out a custom liner to fit our exact specifications. This will give us less leak points by not using adhesive. Over the winter we will be building a sled for the pump to sit on, keeping it out of the debris and allowing us to pull the pump easily for maintenance. The final step will be chiseling a hole out of the vault and running the new inlet pipe down to the pond. The project should be completed my mid-April.

Bunker Maintenance

This off-season, we have already attacked a few bunkers by taking out the sand, re-lining, edging to the original shape, and filling with clean sand. The liner in these bunkers was torn and had become a nuisance to the golfers and my staff, peeking out at us on a regular basis. Once the sand finds a way underneath, it is very difficult to stop the liner from pushing up. We will continue working on bunker edging and cleaning until the ground freezes over. Below are some of the pictures from the process:

The entrance point to this bunker had crept in a good 3 feet on the edges from golfers walking, machines entering, and wind blowing sand out

The old liner is ripped out and the bunker is edged back to the original shape

New liner installed to fit snug against the bunker lip (cut with a blow torch)

The new type of liner staple is designed to stay in place during freezing/thawing

This is a bunker we have to attack. You can see the lip on the left and back that needs to be removed

Hopefully you enjoyed the great golfing weather in November.......the cold is near

Firming up perception

If nothing else, it adds some valuable yardage to your drives

Unfortunately, the public perception of golf courses is not always the greatest, but Superintendents are doing everything they can to clean up that old image of “chemical dumpers” and “water hogs”. RiverCrest was designed with over 40 acres of native grasses, which don’t need fertility or irrigation to thrive and actually are ideal without it (this is why the natives get so thick with rainfall). 

We have effectively cut down water usage the last two years by 26% over the previous five. The plant will slowly adapt to its environment, creating stronger turf that can handle times of drought stress. Next year we are continuing to dial in our programs which includes moving sprinklers to more effective locations, using different soap based products to break surface tension and move water more evenly through the soil, and adding additional connections for watering localized dry spots with hoses.

One of my big pet peeves is driving by an office building or home and watching the sprinklers run because of the day of the week or time instead of necessity. We set our irrigation computer daily based on plant needs, weather patterns, or an occasional fertilizer application that needs to be watered in. Hopefully you all know that RiverCrest is doing its part to help the environment and prepare our course for the future, while also providing firm playing conditions throughout the season.

I found a little tidbit while I was doing some reading: There was a recent study that showed Golf courses in the desert of Las Vegas used 37% less water than homeowners to maintain their turf. 

Below is a video with some interesting data about the turf we grow and golf on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K-aoWqM85M

Frost!!

With our first frost delay of the year this morning, I just wanted to update the membership on what our plans are for the rest of the year (as long as the weather channel is wrong in saying 6" of snow on Saturday afternoon). The cool temperatures will really slow the plants growth and cutting will be minimal from here on out. We will continue to topdress the greens weekly, helping to protect the crowns of the plant through the winter. Our plan is to soil relieve the greens and tees one more time before winter to eliminate any compaction and oxygenate the soil. It is a similar look to a pencil tine aerification, but instead of poking a hole straight down, it kicks and shatters the soil profile.

As far as winter play is concerned, weather dictates everything, but here is my plan. We will cut the cups in the fairways/rough in early December, but wait to switch the flags over until December 22nd. Squeeze in a few more rounds while you can!!!