Saturday, January 9, 2016
Wood Chipping
We got a chipper on property this week and started chipping the stockpiled wood on 15. Once 15 is finished we will move over to the area between 1 and 9.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Back DR Tee Amenity Area
We reconstructed the retaining wall on the back driving range tee this week. The old one was rotten and falling apart.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
How the Weather and Maintenance Practices are Affecting Green Speeds
Golf Course Maintenance Update
December 29, 2015
As our temperatures dip back into the 50’s, I want to take a few moments and explain what has been happening regarding the greens over the last few weeks. Since early September the speed of the greens have been consistently quick until the past few weeks. During the growing season for bermuda grasses, April through October in our part of the country, we generally maintain a low cut height on the greens at around .110 inches. An exception to this, is during recovery from aerification the heights are raised slightly to relieve stress off the turf and encourage recovery. The low mowing height coupled with other agronomic practices such as topdressing, verticutting, rolling and routine aerifications all contribute to how the greens putt, referring to both smoothness and speed. The other major contributing factor is weather, especially moisture.
Starting in mid-October the growth rate of the turf on the greens starts to slow down and its ability to recover from stresses is greatly reduced. This is due to shorter hours of sunlight and cooler air and soil temperatures, thus reducing the amount of time the plant has to produce energy from photosynthesis. Gradually we begin to raise greens mowing heights in mid-October until late November when we reach about .130 inches. Normally the green speeds remain consistent during this time of year because the decreasing growth rate balances out the increased mowing height. During the month of December our average high temperature is 65F and the average low is 45F. This year our average high in December has been 71F and the low 50F with stretches of 4 to 6 days in the high 70s/low 80s. During stretches like we had the week of Christmas when we were in the low 80s for 3 days in a row, the grass “wakes up” and begins an abnormal growth. The effect of the warm temperatures and seasonally adjusted mowing heights contributed to the greens speed slowing down. We chose not to lower the mow height to counter this effect because of the risk of the temperatures dropping back down to “normal” or even lower, the grass will stop growing and its ability to recover from stress is decreased. The projected temperatures this week shall slow the growth rate and the speeds will pick back up to the level that we are striving for. During the winter (off-season) months we are managing greens for playability while also for the healthiest turf possible going into the spring. If mow heights are raised and lower this time of year based on fluctuating temperatures the turf would use its stored energy faster than normal and create stress causing weaker turf going into the spring months.
As always, I am happy to discuss this or any questions you may have regarding the maintenance of the golf course, 281-244-3829 or e-mail at kyle.brown@clubcorp.com
Thank you,
Kyle Brown
Golf Course Superintendent
bayoaksgcm.blogspot.com
December 29, 2015
As our temperatures dip back into the 50’s, I want to take a few moments and explain what has been happening regarding the greens over the last few weeks. Since early September the speed of the greens have been consistently quick until the past few weeks. During the growing season for bermuda grasses, April through October in our part of the country, we generally maintain a low cut height on the greens at around .110 inches. An exception to this, is during recovery from aerification the heights are raised slightly to relieve stress off the turf and encourage recovery. The low mowing height coupled with other agronomic practices such as topdressing, verticutting, rolling and routine aerifications all contribute to how the greens putt, referring to both smoothness and speed. The other major contributing factor is weather, especially moisture.
Starting in mid-October the growth rate of the turf on the greens starts to slow down and its ability to recover from stresses is greatly reduced. This is due to shorter hours of sunlight and cooler air and soil temperatures, thus reducing the amount of time the plant has to produce energy from photosynthesis. Gradually we begin to raise greens mowing heights in mid-October until late November when we reach about .130 inches. Normally the green speeds remain consistent during this time of year because the decreasing growth rate balances out the increased mowing height. During the month of December our average high temperature is 65F and the average low is 45F. This year our average high in December has been 71F and the low 50F with stretches of 4 to 6 days in the high 70s/low 80s. During stretches like we had the week of Christmas when we were in the low 80s for 3 days in a row, the grass “wakes up” and begins an abnormal growth. The effect of the warm temperatures and seasonally adjusted mowing heights contributed to the greens speed slowing down. We chose not to lower the mow height to counter this effect because of the risk of the temperatures dropping back down to “normal” or even lower, the grass will stop growing and its ability to recover from stress is decreased. The projected temperatures this week shall slow the growth rate and the speeds will pick back up to the level that we are striving for. During the winter (off-season) months we are managing greens for playability while also for the healthiest turf possible going into the spring. If mow heights are raised and lower this time of year based on fluctuating temperatures the turf would use its stored energy faster than normal and create stress causing weaker turf going into the spring months.
As always, I am happy to discuss this or any questions you may have regarding the maintenance of the golf course, 281-244-3829 or e-mail at kyle.brown@clubcorp.com
Thank you,
Kyle Brown
Golf Course Superintendent
bayoaksgcm.blogspot.com
Monday, December 28, 2015
Greeeeen
Is it December 28th or April 28th? This time next week we will not be this green but it does look good now. This week is predicted to be on the 50s which will cause the Bermuda grass to start going dormant. 
Monday, November 2, 2015
Weekend Rain Total
We received an additional 2.25" of rain on Sunday 11/1 bringing our weekend total to 7.25". Over the nine day period starting Saturday 10/24 and ending Sunday 11/1 we received 14.5" bringing our year-to-date rain totals for 2015 to 81". Our GCM team is starting today fixing bunkers and cleaning up tree debri.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Halloween Storm
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| Hole 13 tree on left of fairway |
Here are a few of pictures of the damage from the overnight storm. The holes with the worst damage are 6, 13 and 10. We ended up with 5 inches from the Halloween rains.
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| Hole 6 top of huge tree at dogleg |
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| Tree behind 3 green, hung up in another tree |
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| Cups on 6, 3, 10 all looked like this. The flag sticks didn't give or come out of cup so cup shifted. |
Videos of Halloween Storm damage
It looks like possibly a small tornado or straight line winds ripped through the golf course Friday night / Saturday morning across holes 6, 3, 10, 14, 15, 13. We lost 4 trees on 6 including the top of one of the biggest ones at the dogleg. The remainder of the large tree at the dogleg needs to be removed. On hole 13 we lost 1 large tree on the left side of the fairway and 3 or 4 in the far right rough. 14 lost 1 tree on the right. 10 has a lot of downed limbs and debris.
Hole #13
Hole #6
Hole #10
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