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USGA Green Section Record

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Click above for the link to the latest edition of the USGA Green Section Record. 

Fish Study in Club Lake

For the last ten years we've made an effort to introduce new species of fish to Club Lake. We continue to add trout, but with our shallow lake getting warmer each year, it just isn't a fair environment for trout, who prefer cold, running water that is high in oxygen content.  Largemouth bass on the other hand, do better in warm water and actually prefer it.  Thanks to green committee member, Reid Freeman, we were but in touch with a company called Southeastern Pond Management, who are experts in the science of maintaining lake environments most suitable for fish.  Spending a couple hours with these guys was fascinating to me.  We asked them to come to HCC and shock the water to be able to study the fish population.  No worries, no fish were harmed during this work!  In the coming weeks, they'll be issuing a report that will tell us what the general population and health of the lake is.  This will give us insight into future stocking needs, both the fish themselves and the feeder fish they rely on for food.  

Above, Blake with Southeastern Pond Management is showing the difference between male and female bass.

The boat has two outriggers that have an apparatus like shown above.  A generator on the boat puts electric current to these, which temporarily stuns the fish.  They are then scooped up and placed in a live well, where they can be observed and studied. 

Again, stay tuned in a couple weeks for the report that we'll be issued if you're interested!

Bear Calculation

This time of year, bears are everywhere, looking for food. Years ago, at a nature center program, I learned Black Bears consume as much as 25,000 calories a day, leading up to winter.  So what does that look like in terms of food? You begin to see why dumpsters are the preferred source of black bear food!  5,526 acorns a day seems a little difficult to swallow without a steady source of water!

Golf Course Photography

For the next few days, renowned golf photrogapher, Larry Lambrecht, is in town photographing the golf course, thanks to Past President, Clay Jackson.  You be seeing more of his work in the next couple months.  He is an impressive person to work with!  Stay Tuned! 

Baroness Mowers

This morning, the marketing department from Baroness, the company who manufactures the greens mowers we use at HCC, were on site to photograph their mowers in action as well as get video interviews with myself and Equipment Technicians.  These mowers did exceptionally well this year and its a company I am planning to work with more in the future.  The steel used in their reels and bedknives is far superior than any other equipment manufacturer out there.  This means it lasts longer and doesn't get damaged as bad from sand applications to the greens.  Topdressing is a golf course mechanic's worst nightmare because it dulls mowing units.  The more damage, the more grinding of reels is required,  which ultimately leads to replacing these parts more often.  This in turn, costs more money.  Better steel gives us a better quality of cut and also saves money.  The better quality of cut results in faster putting green speed and better plant health.

7-Day Forecast

Fall Weather

Fall is always the best time of year!  It tends to be drier, allowing the golf course to play firm and fast unlike a month or two ago, when August rains and extreme humidity slowed the course quite a bit.  Like the summer, we focus on hand watering to prevent the fairways and approaches from staying too wet.  This allows us to pinpoint with precision, exactly where the water is needed, instead of irrigating wall to wall, including areas where irrigation water isn't needed.  It improves playability and conserves water use, a winning combination.  Simply put, this is the best this golf course has ever looked and played since day one in 1928.  I say that but also recognize all the work that is still required to get better! That's what my team and I live for and the reason for our long tenured staff.  Seeing Highlands CC improve year after year, and having the resources to keep moving forward, is an awesome feeling that is hard to top!  I'm sad to see the season coming to an end but I'm really excited to have you back in April or May, to hear your feedback on all that was accomplished over the winter.

Coming Up...

 

Our two big capital improvements this winter are one, dredging the portion of the lake behind the tennis courts and two, installing drainage on fairways #1, #6, #9 and #11.  We'll also be installing drainage below two approaches on the golf course, #15 and #17.  Here are specifics about each project:

1. Dredging

This project is scheduled to begin during the first week of November and involves removing sediment in the lake from the Hummingbird Lane bridge to the east (towards #10).   Unfortunately this work has to be done before the lake begins to freeze.  Ideally, I'd love to accomplish this when no one is here, but that just isn't feasible.  We'll be dredging the lake using a hydraulic pump, that will move the water to a machine located in the lower parking lot of the Hudson House.  There, the slurry of water and sediment will drain off, allowing the sediment to be hauled off-site.  A lane for vehicular traffic will be left open but you'll need to proceed through this area with extreme caution.  Please see the diagram below that was created for the permitting process.  In the next 2 weeks, you'll begin to see equipment being brought in for this project.  It takes two weeks to setup before they begin pumping.  To be ready to go by November 1, requires the setup to begin as soon as possible.  After October 16th, the dredging contractor has the green light to begin bringing in equipment.  I will also warn you that there will be some noise associated with this project.  Because of that, we will not work Wednesday-Sunday of Thanksgiving week.      

2. Drainage

The drainage project will begin on November 10th.  This is also important to get a jump start on before the ground freezes.  We'll be installing drainage on fairways #1, #6, #9 and #11.  We'll also be installing drainage below two approaches on the golf course, #15 and #17.  We will work on one hole at a time to minimize disruption to play.  Golfers will need to skip the hole being worked on.   The spoils from the trenching will be hauled to #11 tee complex, where we are planning to raise the level of the ground to improve drainage.  Currently, water is trapped below the 2 tee, making it difficult to maintain.  

Both projects will improve the campus and golf course alike.  We are hoping for great weather during the early part of the winter to help us get these projects completed as efficiently as possible!

7-Day Forecast

Odds and Ends

 

As we look ahead to the remaining 2 months of golf left to be played, there are a few things to keep in mind:

On or around November 1st, the dredging project will begin.  This involves the portion of the lake behind the tennis courts and LEC.  This will be a somewhat noisy process and will consume the lower lot at the Hudson House.  A long trailer with a generator and de-watering machine will sit off in the grass next to club lake and pile material up as it's pumped to it.  The contractor is hoping to work 7 days/week, but will not be working the week of Thanksgiving

Monday, November 3rd, we'll be DryJecting the greens like we always do during the first week of November.  It's important that this gets accomplished prior to the greens freezing.

On Monday, November 10th, we'll be starting on the drainage project, which involves holes 1, 6, 9 and 11.  We will work on one hole at a time, to minimize disruption.  It's important to note that the hole we are working on, will be closed to golf.  It's important for this outfit to be able to work uninterrupted.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give me a call! (828) 787-2778

Fall Color Timing/Peak

 

USGA Green Section Record

 CLICK HERE to view the latest edition of the USGA Green Section Record.

7-Day Forecast

 

WSJ Article on Golf Course Maintenance

In case you missed it, this article appeared in the 10/1/25 edition of the Wall Street Journal.

 

How Greenkeepers Keep Up Golf Courses

BY BRADLEY S. KLEIN

For most golfers, the work of a course superintendent remains wrapped in mystery—and of little interest. If they think about golf superintendents at all, they imagine them to be like the demented greenkeeper, Carl Spackler, played by Bill Murray in the popular 1980 comedy “Caddyshack.”

But that’s a mistake. Knowing how superintendents operate—the work they do, the challenges they face—offers insight into a world that every golfer should be aware of. At the least, you can say this: Without good superintendents, golf courses wouldn’t be playable. They wouldn’t even be golf courses.

So to help unravel the mystery, here are five things that shed light on exactly what superintendents do.

1. Where are they, anyway?

There are reasons that superintendents remain elusive to the everyday golfer: They are generally out of sight. Unlike the golf pro, whose shop is close to the first tee, the greenkeeper’s yard is usually at the far end of the golf course.

In fact, if you want to reach the superintendent, more likely than not you won’t even find the position in the golf course’s phone tree.

It doesn’t help their professional profile that most superintendents, by nature, are more comfortable on their hands and knees staring at turf grass or analyzing soil pathology than chatting with a golfer about green speeds or fairway firmness. They tend to avoid lunch in the clubhouse or playing golf with members out of concern they’ll be open to criticism for shirking their work.

2. Their focus is underground

During a round, golfers interact with surface features: tees, fairways, roughs, bunkers and greens. That is how they assess the course, and by extension, the superintendent.

But what players don’t understand is that surface conditions depend largely on the performance and efficiency of the 90% of infrastructure that is below ground and therefore invisible. This includes the miles of irrigation pipe, thousands of spray nozzles that deliver water to the course, and electrical wiring that allows all those parts to communicate with one another. Superintendents have to make sure it’s all working—no leaky heads, faulty pipe connections or overmatched pump systems.

Then there’s the subsurface drainage network of outlet pipes undergirding fairways, bunkers and greens, some of which will clog up with debris over the years. If those subterranean networks aren’t working properly, neither is the course.

3. Uncertainty is the only certainty

John Cunningham, a longtime superintendent and now the general manager of Grandfather Golf & Country Club in Linville, N.C., says that for all the professional training in turf-grass science that greenkeepers have, “most of the work takes place under conditions of extreme variance and unpredictability.”

He is referring to everything from weather that changes daily to sudden attacks from diseases and insects to the rising costs of products and equipment. Another vital, uncontrollable factor is the labor market—affected by the availability of immigrant laborers, the declining enrollments in turf-grass schools, and the resulting shortage of applicants for jobs as assistants, interns and technicians.

4. TV expectations

What’s called “the Augusta National syndrome” refers to unrealistic expectations about conditions at one’s home course, based on comparison with what a golfer sees each April on the televised Masters golf championship.

Of course, few if any courses come close to the maintenance budget of Augusta National Golf Club—or have all those volunteers on staff for the week or the extra equipment donated by manufacturers. Golfers also don’t understand what’s involved in getting a course to championship standards. For one thing, it’s only achievable a few weeks a year, and even then only intermittently. Even turf grass needs a rest, especially amid heat, foot traffic and high humidity levels.

And yet the tolerances that many golfers have for “the right conditions” and “fast enough putting speeds” often don’t allow for variance. Greens mowed down to 1/10th of an inch in height might seem perfect. At 1/12th of an inch they are likely to wilt and die under the merest stress. At 1/8th of an inch they will feel slow in surface speed and produce unhappy golfers. That leaves very little wiggle room in which greenkeepers can operate.

5. Robotics are coming

One trend golfers will certainly notice is the growing reliance upon unmanned mower units on golf courses. They save on the costliest aspect of current operations—labor.

They just need to be charged up and can operate anytime, day or night. With prices falling, the technology is being more widely adopted, and soon their presence will be commonplace on golf courses. All of which will make the superintendent’s job a little easier and course conditions more consistent and less expensive.