Sunday Plans

By 2:30PM on Saturday afternoon, we received 1.75" of rain with more to come, off and on, throughout the evening.  Fortunately the wind has settled down quite a bit.  We do have a lot of leaves and debris down on the golf course and while we'll start picking up larger material on Sunday, the blowing will not happen until the golf course can dry out a little more.  Sunday morning, the game plan is to blow off all greens and tees.  No mowing will take place until Monday at the earliest after getting the course cleaned up.  The golf course will reopen Sunday morning at 9:30AM.  I've been around most of the golf course and so far, it doesn't appear that we lost a significant trees.  Thank you for your patience and understanding!

-Brian

Course Closed

The golf course is closed today (Saturday 10/10) for your safety and the health of our putting greens.

DryJect Date Postponed

Our original date for our fall greens aeration (Dryject) has been postponed until November 9th instead of November 2nd.  This allows you to have great greens for another week.  This morning, I spoke to the DryJect contractor who mentioned they had the following Monday available on their schedule, which I took advantage of.  The course will obviously remain open until after the Thanksgiving Holiday, but the greens will have some sand on them following this Dryject aeration on Monday, November 9th.

Rain the Weekend/ 7-Day Forecast

 

Looks like this weekend we'll be experiencing some rain associated with the tropical storm currently in the Gulf.  Several inches of rain could fall on Highlands.

Golf Mornings!

 

I always feel blessed and lucky to be the golf course super at Highlands CC!  There is nothing better than beautiful golf course mornings in the mountains!  I took these photos on the 2nd tee this morning as the sun started peeking through the trees...

It's a Boy!

Congratulations to Matthew Green, Highlands CC's Head Equipment Technician (and employee since 2008), on the birth of his son, Danny Green! Danny was born on October 1st and weighed 7lbs 10oz and 21” long. Mom is doing well and Sunday evening, they were released from Mission Hospital in Asheville.  Congratulations, Matthew!

USGA Green Section Record

CLICK HERE 

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

Bentgrass Encroachment

With the Men’s Member Guest Tournament behind us, we picked back up with Mesotrione applications in the rough- a chemical that selectively removes Creeping Bentgrass in stands of Kentucky Bluegrass, where the Bluegrass is the desired species of turf.  This does turn the Bentgrass a bleached white color before it starts turning brown and dies. You’ll start seeing this in the next couple days on the first few holes on the golf course. Nothing is wrong, the chemistry is doing exactly what we want it to do.  

Upcoming Maintenance

As you plan the remainder of your season at the Club, I wanted you to be aware of some maintenance occurring on the golf course.

Greens will be DryJect aerified two directions on Monday, November 2nd.  This is the same program we've done to the greens over the past 15 plus years.  No greens aeration of any kind, will be done before this process in November.  

Tees on the other hand will be aerated on October 20th.  We'll be withholding the application of sand until after we close the golf course in November.  Again, this is not a very disruptive process to the tees.  

In mid November we will be aerating approaches and also starting on roughs.  This will be accomplished as weather allows.  Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to November.

Divots

This divot, taken on the 1st fairway measured over 12" long and at a minimum 2.5" wide and an inch deep.  In short, it was a healthy piece of sod more than it was a divot.  After this golfer took this shot, the turf that was displaced landed less than 24 inches from where the shot was hit from.  Yet, the golfer still elected to fill the void with sand, rather than replace the turf.  As I walk the golf course most mornings, I find myself replacing dozens of divots everyday.  The point of this post isn't to be negative, rather to educate members on what we'd prefer you do with divots.  On Bermudagrass golf courses where divots aren't taken, filling the damaged area with sand is preferred.  On cool season grasses, replacing the divot is a must.  We don't have the luxury of the aggressive and fast, weed-like growth that southern turfgrasses, like Bermudagrass or Zoysiagrass, provide.  A divot like this won't come close to healing this year, if it's not replaced.  Please don't underestimate how much you can impact the day to day condition of the golf course by replacing divots and properly fixing ballmarks!!  You can help keep your golf course in top shape with little effort.  I'd be happy to talk more about this if you're interested in more information!  

Club Lake Dam Work

 

This afternoon, divers were in the lake, removing the old drain valve from the inside of the dam.  At this point, the new drain valve, installed last spring, is fully functional.  You can see in the photos, the diver bringing the valve to the surface.  The divers are also installing a piece of half round pipe that will prevent sediment loss when the lake is drained in November.  We are on schedule to have the dam abutment walls renovated starting in late November.  This is a 2.5 month project and should be complete by mid March, with the lake back to full capacity at that point.  

Interesting fact…

USGA Green Section Record

 CLICK HERE!

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

Fall Decorations

John Branson, our Landscape Leader, started working on fall decorations today.  This one is at the croquet lawns, ready for tomorrow's Sadie Hawkins Tournament.

7-Day Forecast

Potential rain back in the forecast for the next week...