Getting a Head Start

We have started to aerify roughs this week at the club.  This will help the roughs to green up by allowing air and water to move more freely in the rootzone.

Finding a New Home

The maintenance staff recently planted a flower bed between courts 7 and 8 on the tennis courts. The old white clay flower pots were removed and palms, ground cover, and azaleas were planted in their place.  The old white flower pots have been taken down to the shop and are being painted so they can be used in other areas of the club, mainly the pool and the tennis patio.  Since the pots are clay, they are very porous so the paint will adhere to them very well.  The old white pots were very dated and the new bronze color will allow them to blend in with the stained tennis patio and to complement the white 'cool deck' around the pool.

Multiple coats of paint are applied to get a uniform appearance.

Once the pots are finished they will be placed around the club and perennial color mixes will be installed.

Alligator Weed Management

Alligator weed has been a major issue in the water bodies at Hollytree for many years.  We have changed a few management strategies in the past few years that have helped to curb this issue. We depend on more granular fertilizer applications, instead of fertigating, in order to reduce the amount of nitrogen that gets into our lakes.  Monthly applications of an aquatic labeled 2,4-D help to keep the sub-surface growing weed at  bay.  The most effective treatment however has been physically removing the remaining growth in the winter. This completely eliminates the previous growing seasons tissue and doesn't give alligator weed a head start going into the next growing season.  It is time consuming but we have developed a few tricks that make it easier to manage.

This is the alligator weed in 2007 in the lake on the right side of 5.  If it is left unchecked it can take over an entire lake causing it to be aesthetically upleasing and causing problems for the wildlife that inhabits it.

The crew uses 36" landscape rakes with ropes tied to the handles.  They throw them in the water past the alligator weed and then pulls it back to the bank so it can be removed.

Once the alligator weed is on the bank the crew comes behind and loads it up with pitch forks and disposes of it.

New Welcome to the Front of the Club

So this past Monday we added a water feature to the bare area left of the front door.  It is a kit that comes complete from Jackson Pottery.  

First we installed the catch basin that houses the pump and retains all the water.  We backfilled around it and put pot on top after connecting the pump to it.

We placed our large accent rocks on the basin.

We then added the smaller polished rocks to cover the basin and shape the area where the water falls.

Then we added a couple of azaleas to add contrast as well as cover the electrical fixture behind the fountain.

Drain in 16 Fairway

This Monday the maintenance staff put in a drain to eliminate the wet spot in front of the three trees on the left side.

First, a sod cutter was used to cut the grass out so it can be replaced after trenching.

The crew cuts it into smaller pieces so it's easier to move.

 

After the sod is set to the side, the trencher begins digging the ditch.

The pipe is rolled out and drainage boxes are installed.

The pipe and fittings are layed into the ditch.

The dirt is pushed back onto the pipe and it is packed with a tamper.  Then the sod is placed back on top.

Once the sod is replaced, the roller levels everything back to normal.

New Addition by 4 Green

We took advantage of a couple of rainy days last week and cleaned up around the maintenance shop and planted some ornamental trees behind 4 green.  6 Muskogee crepe myrtles were planted between 4 green and the blue tee on 5.  This will provide a sound and sight barrier between the tee and green and will provide a nice backdrop to 4 green from the tee boxes.  Muskogee crepe myrtles are a lavender color and have a 'tree-type' growth habit.  They don't have any leaves now but will grow quickly when the weather warms up.

We found a monster

One of the maintenance workers found this monster wasp nest last week in the woods by the maintenance barn.  We always try and keep an eye out for these but they're hard to spot in the summer when the foliage grows back on the trees.  If you see any of these let us know, but this is the biggest one I've seen at Hollytree in quite some time.