Mole Activity

Early every fall, mole activity picks up and we deal with tunneling around the golf course.  Currently, we are battling these guys on holes #3, 6, 9, 17 and 18, with more areas sure to pop up each day.  Getting rid of these guys is difficult.  First, they are illegal to kill in North Carolina.  There are no pesticides that can be used on them.  Second, they are mammals that feed on earthworms and grubs (if present, which they are not at HCC).  They are NOT rodents (like mice etc) and because of that, typical rodenticides don't work.  They don't eat the things that rodents do.  Our only method for removing them is physical removal by using traps or stepping the tunnels down until we see it move and then grab it.  That is much easier said than done!  I pay my staff a $10 bounty for every dead mole they bring me.  This started about 20 years ago and generated a lot of interest in killing moles amongst the staff!

Mole activity is always intense during fall and spring when the soil is more damp compared to summer and tunneling occurs at the surface rather than a foot or more below ground.  They are also eating more this time of year because they know winter isn't too far away.  Of course they don't hibernate, but they know food is scarce once worms start moving deep in the soil.

This week, you'll notice mole traps being set.  We'll keep doing what we can to eradicate this animals and minimize the destructive tunneling they are capable of.  

Fall Greens Aeration Plans

 

I've been asked about greens aeration plans for the fall a couple times recently.  We will not be performing any greens aeration until Monday, November 2nd, when all putting greens will be DryJect aerated two directions.  We'll also be doing the same process to our approaches, one direction.  Again, there will be no disruption to greens through the fall season so please don't be concerned about inviting guests to Highlands CC.  Enjoy the golf course!

Snow Prediction Model?

  

This is an early snowfall predictionc model for the coming winter. I never put a whole lot of weight into these early models. 

USGA Green Section Record

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Click above to view the latest edition of the Green Section Record.

Mowing Patterns

For something new and exciting, we decided to mow fairways with the stripes going from front to back, on #3, following contours.  This just throws another angle of cut into the mix, giving us an even better quality of cut.  

7-Day Forecast

 

Help Needed! Replace your Divots!

 

Every morning when I walk the golf course, this is a common site.  Many deep divots taken from a fairway, often laying within 10 feet from where the ball was hit.  Instead of replacing the divot, the golfer decided to ignore it and fill the void with sand.  Having sand on golf carts gives most golfers the idea that sand is the best practice for repairing divots. It's not, however.  On cool season grasses, replacing the divot is far superior to using sand.  In order for that divot to fully recover by filling it with sand, will take weeks!  Bentgrass does not have the aggressive growth characteristics as Bermudagrass, which heals rapidly.  With the amount of play we continually push at Highlands CC, our fairways become unplayable in areas because of the concentration of divots- most all are not repaired correctly, exacerbating the problem.  This is the one thing that golfers can do to take pride in your golf course and help keep the condition of the golf course where it needs to be.  The best practice is to replace your divot, firmly step it down to ensure good root to soil contact and if you want to take it a further step, lightly topdress the seams of the divot with the sand on your cart.  If you divot were to 'explode,' and nothing was left of it, this is the only scenario where filling the void with sand is acceptable.  However, on Bentgrass fairways, this is rarely the case.  Most divots are small pieces of sod that fit back in the void like a puzzle piece.  I hope you'll share this information with others in your golf groups and together, we can improve the condition of your fairways by putting forth a little more effort by correctly repairing divots.  Thank you!

Deer on #3 Tee

 Five deer were caught standing around #3 tees this afternoon.

Zoysiagrass Update

Our Zoysiagrass on the practice tee is now lowered to the height of cut of the rest of the tee.  In the coming weeks, we will be setting up one or two stations on this turf for you to try out.  Of course, it will take some time through topdressing and aeration to firm up the surface to make acceptable.   

USGA Green Section Record

For the latest edition of the Green Section Record, CLICK HERE!

7-Day Forecast

 

Deer at Practice Facility

This morning, James was visited by three bucks at the practice facility!

Employee Recognition

 

Alberto Zetina

We have a awesome team at Highlands CC!  We all work together to make the golf course the best it can be.  While everyone on our team plays a critical role, I do want to recognize Alberto, who is one of our seven seasonal H2B visa workers on the golf course.  He has been with us for 5 years now and is the man who prepares the bunkers for play every morning.  He does a wonderful job and is very meticulous, always leaving the bunkers without a blemish each morning.  Raking sand bunkers is a tedious and mundane job but Alberto keeps finding ways to make them better.  He's done extensive research on which specific type of leaf rake gives him the best finished look.  He developed his own methods of using different types of rakes, depending on the moisture content of the sand.  I very proud of the ownership that Alberto takes in his job and this is one example of many, that allow us to keep your golf course looking and playing great all season long.

For Your Information…

During the storm last night, it's reported that Old Edwards Inn experienced a major fire at their 'Pavilion' structure on their OEI Farm property on Arnold Road.  Several tanker trucks were dispatched from surrounding communities to help get the fire under control.  As a result, portions of the golf course were covered in charred debris that blew away from the fire.  We spent the better part of the morning cleaning this material up but there is more to do.  The worst holes were #7, #8, #9, the croquet lawns and #18.  There is material in the lake as well that we've been scooping out as it floats to the edges.  Please be advised of this because you'll be seeing charred material like this for the next few days as it blows around.     

PLEASE NOTE: This information is based on the first responder calls received from dispatch.  Several members of our Greenkeeping team are volunteer firefighters.  As days go on, I'm certain we'll learn more information on exactly what happened at the OEI property last night.  Obviously, we hope no one was there at the time and more importantly, no one was injured.      

Here are two photos of the croquet lawns this morning, covered in burnt ash material.

Above is a baseball size piece of what appears to be burnt insulation that was found on the golf course.  We found pieces the size of a golf ball all the way up to that of a basketball.  We feel most of the debris is actually burnt tar paper.  

7-Day Weather Forecast