7-Day Forecast

 

Forward Tee Aeration

 

There is no question the forward tees at HCC have been an incredibly popular addition!  We have a great problem to have, which is they are enjoyed by many!  After a season of golf, they are showing a lot of wear and tear.  In addition to that, the constant rain through the month of August took its toll on these tees.  The forward tees are not built to the same USGA spec, or sand base, that our other tees are built from.  As a result, the forward tees don't drain well, other than by way of surface drainage.  The tees were constructed with 1% slope, so water exits the tee by way of sheet flow.  However, during that rainy period, the ground was saturated to the point there was no place for water to move.  Thankfully we are past that now.  

In order to help the tees recover, we applied an 18-9-18 fertilizer yesterday.  Today, we are aerating the tees with 5/8" tines.  This allows for oxygen to get down into the rootzone, it reduces compaction and gives the tees more surface area to dry out.  While it won't make the tees look like new, it will go a long way in helping them recover from a season of use.  Who knows, maybe in the future we'll have to consider enlarging them if the popularity continues.

Tuesday

This morning, all fairways were fertilized with a 22-0-7 fertilizer analysis, which contains 22% Nitrogen and 7% Potassium. This will give the fairways a nice flush of growth and help areas recover from the period of three weeks when the whole golf course was waterlogged. Every year we do a fall fertilization, usually a few weeks later than this year. This application will also be the primary driver behind spring green up in 2026. Grass will store carbohydrates over the winter and use them come spring. 

Our new equipment lease arrived last week, which included to roller like the one above.  It's exciting to have new equipment to use to maintain the golf course and we're most appreciative of the Club continuing to invest in the agronomy department!

The Night Sky

 

James Paschall, Practice Facility Manager, took this photo at 5:00AM.  James is one of our most dedicated team players and one who takes so much pride in his work!  I'm always grateful to have James on our team!

Thursday Update

Work continues on the sink hole behind the shop.  This has tuned into a pretty big project.

On #11, during the prolonged rain period, sod started sluffing off the approach.  Today, the old sod was removed and replaced.

Sink Hole

If you recall last week, during the last few rain events, Club Lake was very muddy (AKA high turbidity).  It was a shade of chocolate milk we've not seen before. I immediately got the town involved looking for construction projects between HCC and the Town.  That turned up empty.  I looked at all the streams that flow into Club Lake and it wasn't until the last place I looked, that we discovered this massive sink hole and the source for all the sediment in the lake.  This is located behind the golf course maintenance building, right on the property line of our neighboring residence.

The pictures don't do this justice.  The hole is approximately 12' deep and about 15' diameter.  As the stream on #1 gets to the maintenance building, it is piped below ground and flows below the parking lot, under Dillard Road and daylights on #10, below the tees.  The underground culvert rusted and collapsed in this area, causing the surrounding soil to wash down stream.  We replaced several sections of this culvert over the past 10 years and it appears all of it will need to be replaced in the near future.

 

Because of the sink hole, a nearby Sycamore tree started leaning into the hole.  This tree was removed yesterday.  With it gone, we are working with Wilson Grading to develop a solution to this issue, so we don't continually loose sediment into Club Lake.

7-Day Forecast

 

Sunrise on #18

Great photo captured by the son of Chad Stockton, Cam!

7-Day Forecast

 

We've Got Worms!

 

Earthworm castings on the 1st fairway.

At Highlands CC, Earthworms can be a challenging part of fairway maintenance on several holes.  While they are a sign of a healthy soil, their castings can be a headache, creating "muddy" fairways.  During periods of rain the problem gets even worse.  There are no pesticides labeled for earthworm control since they are beneficial organisms. Earthworms feed primarily on organic material in soils, eating decaying material from plant roots, including turf. As they feed, they move and mix their waste with the soil in a moist, microbe-rich environment. Earthworm tunnels bring in oxygen, drain water and create space for plant roots. Their natural feeding habits mean that small amounts of soil pass through their bodies and, surprisingly, when they excrete it, it comes out in better condition.

Since we don't want to kill them, we rely on products that are known to irritate their skin, causing them to seek refuge elsewhere.  One product that works really well is an organic fertilizer known as Early Bird.  Unfortunately it was pulled from the market over a year ago.  I did however, purchase a healthy supply of the product before that occurred.

After the fertilizer is applied, it works best if rain moves the material into the soil.  To be effective, it needs about 3/4" of rain to move it to where it needs to be.  Anything less than that doesn't seem to work based on my experience.  

About 10 years ago, we applied this product to #8 fairway, which had a huge earthworm population.  It received the perfect amount of rain that evening and the next morning, there were so many earthworms at the surface, we couldn't mow the fairway.  I pulled the staff from their other jobs and we spent the next 2 hours raking earthworms up and carting them off by the wheel barrow load.  The earthworms were relocated to some compost piles we had at the time to the right of #13.  I'll end this story by asking- do you know what a wheel barrow full of earthworms smells like?         

Practice Facility Closes at 5PM Today!

Due to a short break in the rain, we will be closing the practice tee at 5:00PM this afternoon in order to pick the range body clean for mowing in the morning!  Thank you for your understanding!

All you wanted to know about Divots

Replace or sand?

As a golfer, replacing your divot or filling your divot with sand is your responsibility.  At Highlands CC, we ask that all divots be replaced and then lightly topdressed with sand to help smooth the imperfection and prevent the edges of the divot from drying out.  This is something we are constantly promoting because many members and guests do not replace divots.  This is unfortunate because it's one thing you can do to keep the golf course in great shape.

One reason that many golfers at HCC fail to replace divots (in my opinion) is that they are more accustomed to playing golf on Bermudagrass or Zoysiagrass fairways; two grasses that are impossible to take a divot from.  These grasses have dense canopies and a strong network of rhizomes and stolens that keep the grass knitted together.  When you hit from a fairway like this, the tiny void left is better filled with sand because these grasses are extremely aggressive and heal within a matter of days.

Bentgrass is a much more delicate grass compared to its warm-season counterparts.  It isn't aggressive compared to these other grasses and an unrepaired divot will take a month or more to properly heal.  This why replacing the divot is best policy.

What about sand?

Filling divots with sand should only be done if your divot "explodes" on impact.  Otherwise, as mentioned above, the sand is only used to lightly topdress the divot you replaced on your last shot.  The sand in the bottle on the carts is just sand, no seed mixed in with it.  This is because we don't want bentgrass seed getting in the Kentucky Bluegrass rough on the golf course.  We are challenged with that as it is, and don't want to exacerbate that situation.

What about on Par 3 tees?

If you create a divot while teeing off, this is the one place divots are not replaced.  In this case, you're welcome to fill the divot with sand or, do nothing.  The golf maintenance team fills divots a couple times a week and after they put a sand/seed mix down, they will use a hand tool called a "Levelawn" to be sure the sand and seed mix is nice and even.  Maintaining a smooth surface on tee boxes in a priority and that's why it is best left for the maintenance team.

Summary:

In fairways, replace your divot and lightly topdress over it with the sand provided in carts.

On tees, you're welcome to fill the divot with sand, otherwise, do nothing and let us handle the tee divots.

7-Day Forecast and Rain Data

 

The total rainfall for the last 7 days has been 8.8" The breakdown is as follows:

Sunday 10th: 0.55"

Monday 11th: 0.6"

Tuesday 12th: 1.75"

Wednesday 13th: 3.0"

Thursday 14th: 0.65"

Friday 15th: 1.0"

Saturday 16th: 0.65"

Sunday 17th: 0.6"

You can see the forecast above looks like more of the same to continue.

USGA Green Section Record

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

7-Day Forecast