Winter Maintenance

Now that winter is in full swing the maintenance staff will begin some of our routine winter maintenance tasks. These projects range from removing alligator weed from the lakes to adding drainage in habitual wet spots. First up this winter will be spraying glyphosate (Roundup) in the roughs.  Since bermudagrass goes dormant during the winter in East Texas there is no risk of taking up glyphosate.  This makes it selective for only the weeds on the golf course that are green and growing.  It is a relatively cheap and very effective way to control weeds in the winter.  It also adds another herbicide chemistry to the products we already use, which helps reduce the risk of chemical resistance. A low rate of pre-emergent herbicide will be added to keep any weeds from germinating between our glyphosate application and our Spring pre-emerge application.  The process usually starts at the beginning of the year and will last anywhere from 4 to 7 weeks depending on weather.

Before and After Pool Reinvention Pictures

 

And some bonus pics...

Pool Reinvention

The executive management team at Clubcorp challenged the Hollytree management team to pick an area of our club to reinvent.  This wasn't a challenge to fix something that was broken, yet a challenge to make something better regardless of it's current status.  So our choice was the pool area at Hollytree.

The landscaping around the pool is the area where I decided to focus our attention for this project.  We first began by 're-purposing' the old flower pots from the tennis court area.  The palm trees between courts 7 and 8 were planted in the ground which made those pots available for use elsewhere.  The old pots were not very aesthectically pleasing so we gave them a new look using our trash can paint.  The trash can paint was no longer needed after powder coating the trash cans this winter.

After the pots were painted they were placed around the pool deck and Mexican Fan Palms were planted as the center piece in each pot.

Thanks to a trip to Hughes Plant Farm, we also added annual plants in the pots as well.  A mix of mounding and trailing plants were added to each pot providing a great blend of color and size.

Mitch and Butch, from Clubhouse Maintenance, got in the spirit building a new reception desk for greeting members and supplying towels to all of our pool visitors.  Cabanas were also built, fully loaded with wind and shade curtains, lounge chairs and tables, and they've been named after our club and our two largest golf tournaments.

Hailey, our Member Retention Coordinator, added some final touches with tiki torches for mosquito control, a basketball goal, and has a huge lineup of fun events for the summer.

The pool has a drastically different new look (before and after pics to come) and we should be ready for a great summer in 2013.

Verticutting Fairways

In an effort to help transition we have begun verticutting fairways.  This helps to thin out the ryegrass and gives the bermudagrass room to fill in before it gets too hot.

Mowing after the verticut to clean up.

A New Look

We have received our new flags and flagsticks from Prestige Flags.

Spring is Upon Us

It looks like we're past our last frost...hopefully.  So, we have started to change out the winter annuals for new spring and summer color.  The flower pots around the club have been plant and some of the beds close to the club entrance have been done as well.  This year I have decided to stay away from planting the same annual plants in each pot with one solid color in favor of mixing different flowers that have different growth patterns and colors.  This will give us a different look than previous years and hopefully make the arrangements look larger and have a greater impact.  Here are some examples.

Mexican Fan Palms, 'Margarita' Sweet Potato, Sun Coleus, Purple Wave Petunias, and Mixed Zinnias

Purple and 'Margaria' Sweet Potato, Red and White Geraniums, and 'Phantom' Wave Petunias

'Phantom' Wave Petunias 

Euryops, Sun Coleus, Mixed Zinnias, and Dusty Miller

Euryops, Amaranth, and Purple Wave Petunias with 'George Tabor' Azaleas in the background

Finally!!!

The day has finally arrived!!!  Our new EZGO golf fleet arrived yesterday just in time for a big day of golf on Good Friday.  56 new EZGO TXT carts with bag covers, ball washers, club cleaners, sand bottles, and even a cooler, rolled into the parking lot at Hollytree around 8 a.m.  And a new range cart and picker arrived, along with two new beverage carts.  I think everyone will agree it was a good day all around at Hollytree.

Tee Aerification

Even though we're in the middle of a cold spell, we're still getting ready to grow grass.  The entire golf course has been aerified over the last three weeks with the exception of greens.  The tees were aerified with a 3/8" coring tine.  The plugs were drug in with a steel drag mat and then the tees were blown off.  This helps remove thatch, increase water percolation, improve air movement in the soil, and allows the bermudagrass below the overseed to get sunlight and warm air to aid in transition.

Management of organic matter in turfgrass is one of the most important factors involved with growing fine turf.  There are many ways to manage organic matter that range from core aerification to topdressing with sand.

Verticutting or vertical mowing is a cultural process that removes organic matter while not disrupting the playing surface as much as core aerification.  A verticutting unit is a set of blades, very similar to the blade found on a circular saw, that are spaced anywhere from ½” to 1” apart.  The blades cut down in to the thatch layer of turf and remove any horizontal growth or decomposing organic matter depending on the depth they are set at.  The diameter of a typical set of greens verticutters is around 6” and the cutting units look similar to a mowing units used to mow the greens.

Here at Hollytree we use Dyna-blades that are 1mm wide.  We use the thinner blades because it leaves less surface disruption while removing the same amount of subsurface material as the wider blades more commonly used in years past.  Verticutting is typical done once or twice a week in the growing season.  The direction of the cut is rotated 45 degrees every time so that the grain of the green is attacked in all different directions.  And every pass is verticut down and back so that the effects are as uniform as possible.

Verticutting unit with 1mm Dyna-blades

Grooming is a lighter version of verticutting that somewhat bridges the gap between each verticut.  Groomers are oriented the same way as verticutters but the blades are usually on a few inches in diameter and have a much thinner profile.  They are usually spaced much close together with only ¼” between each blade.  Groomers are located in front of the cutting unit on a greens mower.  They are typically not set as deep as a verticutter would be but they are more of a maintenance tool than a repair tool, such as a verticutter.  Groomers stand the grass up in front of the cutting unit to improve the cut, as well as, minimize any horizontal growth between verticutting.

Greens cutting unit with 14 blade reel and groomer

Each of these processes helps to manage organic matter on the greens at Hollytree.  They are not a substitute for aerification but a maintenance tool that allows the grounds crew to maintain the greens and provide the best playing conditions possible.

Green being verticut

Cut down and back to keep the lines uniform

Mowed at a 90 degree angle afterwards to cleanup

10 Fairway being verticut in a similar fashion