Springtime in Highlands

Native plants... it just doesn't get any prettier than this!  If only more members were around this time to appreciate it.  Houstonia caerulea also known as Bluets, inundate our pond and creek banks during the month of April.  Many areas like this on #17, are spectacular! 

New Rain Shelter at #14 Tees

 

Chris Raby, our Director of Building Maintenance, is working with a local builder to construct a new rain shelter behind the restrooms at #14 tee.  If you recall, a large white pine fell two years ago, crushing the shelter that was located behind the green.  This new shelter will be in a more hidden location and allow for golf carts to pull underneath it during inclement weather. 

Tuesday

Today we received what will be our last full load of sod for the golf course.  This load allowed us to complete #11 and #12.  Both areas turned out great!  We will need about 14 pallets of sod to finish off the golf course and the earliest we'll be able to get that sod is Tuesday morning, April 28th.  

On a positive note, we are expected to receive a measurable amount of rainfall this weekend which will help get us caught up on irrigation and also help new sod root into the soil.  I'm occasionally asked about our irrigation system and why we need rain, if we can provide our own, through sprinkler heads?  The simple answer to that is, no irrigation system is designed to replace natural rainfall.  Rather, it is used to supplement rainfall.  No irrigation system can deliver the uniform distribution of water as well as great water quality, that Mother Nature can!  After a needed rainfall, you often see a nice green-up of lawns and plants.  This happens for two reasons.  First, is the obvious plant need for water, given the cells that makeup a plant, contain 90% water.  The second reason for the green up is atmospheric nitrogen.  Nitrogen is the main nutrient that drives the vegetative growth of plants.  When combined with rainfall, it's the equivalent of turf receiving a fertilization of a rate of approximately 1/10th of a pound of Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.  This is the amount of nitrogen that we foliar spray the putting greens with at HCC, over a two week period, to give you a comparison.

Monday

In times like this, I am so grateful the Club made the investment in a new irrigation system in recent years!  Despite the severe drought, the golf course is just fine and Hap is more than relaxed than ever about the situation.

If you follow my blog, you'll know how much time and effort we spend over the winter months cleaning out overgrowth and weed growth in and around the golf course.  Below are a few photos showing the work that's been completed over this past winter.  One of my major professional goals for this year, is to better control the regrowth of those weeds in these areas.  Without proper management and treatment, we'll be back in these areas, doing the exact same thing a year from now.  To combat that, I am experimenting with a few different herbicides at different rates to see what is most effective at selectively removing the briar and weed growth while it's young and just now starting to emerge after a long winter.  I'm certain that we'll find the most effective solution at controlling these aggressive weeds that overtake natural areas on the golf course.  In the next month, I will talk about the results of these various trials and let you know what kind of success we are having.  Stay tuned!

7-Day Forecast

Unfortunately, we missed out on what seemed like a decent chance of rain in the early morning hours.  We did receive a brief shower, but it wasn't a measurable amount and it didn't wet the ground below tree canopies.  Today, wind gusts up to 50 mph are predicted.  The good news is, there is rain predicted for next Saturday at this point.  While we are hanging in there just fine on the golf course, despite the fact that hand watering pulls valuable labor away from other jobs that we're trying to get finished.  However, as a community, this is very concerning.  That has already been about 3 or 4 brush fires that were fortunately handled swiftly by the local fire department and the US Forest Service.  Not only is it very dry, but the humidity is extremely low and most days there is a nice breeze.  This makes for a situation that can get out of hand pretty quickly.

If you wonder how far behind we are on rainfall, here are my stats:

Year to Date, we are 18.55" below normal.

Combine 2025 to this year, and we are 35.55" below normal.

The total for the last 5 years is 42.55" below normal.

*These deficit totals are based on my personal Highlands CC rainfall measurements and I chose 90" of rain as the annual average to compare against.  Depending on the source, I've seen anywhere from 86" to 96" listed as the area's annual average rainfall total.

Rounds4Research

 

Tomorrow begins the annual Rounds4Research auction that raises money for turfgrass research at universities across the country.  Superintendents and their respective clubs, donate a foursome of golf that is then put up for auction.  If the round is sold, the proceeds of that round goes to the Agronomy Department of the university in that State.  In the case of Highlands CC, NC State University receives the funds; they have a fantastic Turf program.  It's no secret that state legislature has been reducing funding to land grant institutions over the years, forcing many departments to seek creative ways to make up the difference.  Just recently, in North and South Carolina, we surpassed the $1M mark of funds going to NC State and  Clemson University.  Highlands CC has been a proud supporter of this program for a long time and I appreciate the membership's willingness to continue that level of support.  A foursome of golf at Highlands CC has historically brought it anywhere from $1,600 to $2,200 annually.  R4R is a great way for average golfers to play "bucket list" courses and there are many who pay top dollar to do so.

CLICK HERE to access the auction website if you'd like more information.

USGA Green Section Record

 CLEAR HERE

Click above for the latest edition of the Green Section Record!

Thursday

 

It's all in the details... today we are freshening up the rock on our 2-track maintenance paths on #14, #15 and #16.  Even more of a detail- we are painting the guard rails that are located within the Highlands CC corridor on Dillard Road.

And even more interesting, Billy Brooks saw a Red Slider Turtle this morning, like the one shown below, on #18 this morning.  While they are not native to Highlands, our guess is someone released a family pet into Club Lake!

Cherry on #6

 

This past winter, on the 6th hole, the wild Cherry growing on the fairway side of the cart path (at the landing area) had to be removed because it was about 80-90% dead.  It's been in a severe state of decline for a number of years.  The wood however, hasn't gone to waste.  The live edge bowls above, were turned by my father, John Stiehler.  In addition, several sections of trunk were sold to two different sawmills to make boards from.  It was a tree that was sad to see go, but it definitely didn't go to waste.

Wednesday

Great job by Lyn and Jesus who put the final touches on the new stone patio extensions at the croquet pavilion!  Our next and final load of sod for the spring is coming Tuesday morning from a Maryland based sod farm.  That will finish off #11 and finish the tie-ins around this new stone work. 

We are continuing to have to irrigate every and all day!  The low humidity is drying out sod faster than we can add water to it.  There is a 30% chance of rain on Sunday and hopefully we can get some form of a measurable amount.  Right now, Highlands is 32" below where we should be.  

Landscape Improvements

Our team is working hard to improve the landscape in front of the Clubhouse using a plan developed by Mary Palmer Dargan.  It is looking great under the leadership of John Branson, our fearless landscape technician!  Yesterday, over 20 Boxwoods were planted in this area.

Monday

 

Fairway striping has commenced today!  I love this photograph taken by our Spray Tech, Billy Brooks!  Starting today, fairways will be mowed at angles for the remainder of the season.  During the early spring weeks, we mow fairways at what is called light/dark or 50/50 simply because it is faster and requires less labor...only one mower is required to mow 18 holes.

We are working to lower the height of cut of greens starting Tuesday morning.  In the meantime, we are brushing greens as well as approaches to stand the turf in the most upright position possible prior to mowing.  Doing so, will result in turf that is more dense and upright in growth habit.

Poa annua/Bentgrass Greens in Springtime

 

Springtime in Highlands is always an exciting time!  However, the golf course greens are rolling bumpy and slow.  Why is that?

First, the height of cut of the turf right now is 0.135" compared to our summer height of 0.115".  This is a pretty big difference.  The reason for this is because April isn't a time to be pushing turf for performance.  Rather, the grass which has just come out of winter dormancy a couple weeks ago, needs time to develop a deep root system that will sustain it through the summer.  Soil temperatures are still on the cooler side and even though our day time air temps are 70*F, the soil temperature is far from optimal yet. It takes time, and pushing turf too hard now, will lead to a lot of trouble in the summer.  Early April is too soon to open a golf course in a cool season climate like Highlands.  HCC is the first golf course to open in the area.  Most are May.  

Second, the greens are healing from spring aeration.  This is the most critical cultural practice we do, to reduce organic matter below the greens.  Failure to do so, will result in soft, soggy greens that would be unacceptable to our membership.

Third, the Poa annua on our greens is producing seed head.  We are on a program using plant growth regulators to reduce seed head production of Poa annua.  However, the results can be mixed because that science is not completely understood and there are many factors that affect it.  In short, the seed head produced by the Poa annua (better known as annual bluegrass) creates a surfaces of varying heights compared to the surrounding Creeping Bentgrass, that requires warmer temperatures to resume growth.

The final and forth reason the greens aren't smooth this time of year, is caused by winter itself.  In a sand based greens, a winter of freeze-thaw cycles creates uneven putting surfaces.  In April, we do a lot of lightweight rolling to smooth the putting greens.  However, it takes time and isn't accomplished by rolling one time.

To conclude, spring is great in Highlands, but it must be met with reasonable expectations.   Rest assured in another 2 weeks or so, we'll be where we need to be for the season!

7-Day Forecast

 

No rain in sight!

Opening Day!

With the golf course open, we are working the height of cut on putting greens down to our summer normal of about 0.115 inches.  During the next week and a half, we plan to be there.  Right now, labor is a temporary challenge.  The humidity is so low, coupled with drought.  We're having to have as many as four team members water new sod areas to keep it alive.  On top of that, we are trying to get all these projects knocked out all while maintaining a golf course (mowing etc.).  I couple use 35 people right now!  Rest assured we are doing our best to balance it all, and once our H2B labor arrives, we'll catch up to where we need to be in a short amount of time. 

Water, water, water!!

We have 2 more truckloads of sod to install to finish our winter projects on the golf course.