USGA Green Section Record

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Friday

 

It's great to be back out on the golf course today!  On #11, we are cutting back Rhododendron that are taking over the stream on the left side of the cart path.  As you know, this has been a big effort of ours to keep our many water features from  becoming hidden due to excess shrub growth.

Below, we are installing silt fence according to plan to get ready for our dredging project to begin.

A Little More Snow and Ice...

We woke up this morning with the ground covered with snow and ice.  That doesn't stop Happoldt, who will chase his ball in all sorts of climatic conditions!  This minor snow event was unexpected and hopefully will be gone once the sun pokes through the clouds.  

Wednesday

Dredging (Club lake portion behind the LEC and Tennis courts) is still going to happen this winter!  In fact, equipment will start rolling in here Monday of next week.  Below the Hudson House, we created this 50' x 20' level gravel pad for the dredging equipment.  The large machine the dewaters the sediment and separates the material, will be parked on this gravel pad, leaving the asphalt parking lot open to hold the sediment before it can be hauled off site.  Tomorrow, we'll be installing two row of silt fence according to the plan and permit.

You can see what is left of the snow we received on Saturday.  Warmer days and a tenth of an inch of rain last night helped get rid of a lot of it, thankfully.

Above, we have a handful of trees we need to get off the golf course.  As mentioned before, we have our tree contractor but the tree on the ground and then our team cleans up the limbs and hauls off the trunk.

This week is the Golf Industry Show in Orlando, FL.  While I wasn't able to attend as planned due to the weather, Highlands CC's presence was there on this advertisement on the trade show floor.

7-Day Forecast

 

Warmer weather and a 70% chance of rain tomorrow will ensure a majority of the snow will be gone by the middle/end of the week!  That's a good thing because we are ready to be back out there!

Storm Totals

Saturday’s winter storm dumped about 8” of snow on the golf course. Saturday and Sunday were spent clearing roads and shoveling walkways around the campus. On Monday, we continue to do the same. The wind picked up Saturday night and so by Sunday, 3’ drift piles were common on some roads, particularly on the higher elevations like lower and upper brushy face.

Winter Storm Update

 

What started as 1-3" of snow prediction a few days ago, is now 5-9" of snow!  Looks like it will be an interesting weekend in Highlands.  Our plow is hooked up and ready to go and all club roads have been pre-treated with salt.

Dillard Road Guardrail

 

This morning, additional guardrail was added along Dillard Road, behind the 18th green.  This past season a Club member brought up the concern that golfers could potentially be in harms way because there was a 250' section of roadway that did not have a guardrail behind #18 green.  This section of road did not have a guardrail because the NCDOT has strict guidelines on what roads require guardrails.  They look at things like the slope off the edge of the road and whether not a vehicle could stop if it's driver failed to stay on the road.  The Club asked me to pursue this and I started with a contact I have at the DOT.  After the DOT approved the projects, I worked through a private contractor that works for the NCDOT, we were able to get this installed.  This spring, my team is planning to paint all of the guardrail along the Highlands CC corridor, black forest green so your eye isn't drawn to the reflective metal. 

Value of a Master Plan

 

Great piece on the value of a master plan written by Donald Ross author, Bradley Klein.  If you click on the image, you should be able to zoom in and read the article without any issues.

Snow Forecast

 

The forecast is calling for several inches of snow starting Friday evening into Saturday.

Winter Storm Watch

 

Another potential east coast snow event for this weekend.

Tuesday

It's safe to safe that this winter, which started off warm and mild, has turned into one of the coldest I can recall in my 25 years at HCC.  For the past week and the next couple, our low temperatures have potential to reach single digits or in the low teens.  This means the ground is frozen solid!  Our drainage contractor pulled off of the job yesterday and will be working in Atlanta for the next few weeks.  The plan is to reassess the situation by March 1st at the latest, and get them back up here to finish our drainage improvements before the season begins.  They only need about 2-3 weeks to finish.

As I reported, we received about 1/8" of ice last weekend.  We definitely dodged a bullet with that storm!  However, even with that little bit of ice, we have our fair share of limbs to clean up.  Obviously as expected, it was our White Pines that were impacted the most.  We'll spend the next few days cleaning up from that storm.  I can't help thinking what the golf course would look like if we did get that 1" of ice!!  That cleanup would have been far worse than Hurricane Helene!

With the ground frozen, much of our time will be spent under-brushing and trimming around the golf course in addition to all of our indoor projects like refinishing all the wooden benches, refinishing tables from the croquet complex, making new tee markers, making new entry/exit stakes etc.  There is never a time when we have nothing to do and that's how we prefer it!  All those little things that get done while your away for the winter, are the focus of this team.  One project that we are working on is creating a walking trail from employee housing to the farm, to keep staff from walking on Dillard Road.  Part of that project included building a small footbridge, which you can see Hap knocked out on Tuesday.  Not only are Border Collies smart, put they can also use power tools.

7-Day Forecast

 

Putting Green Rootzone Analysis

Every year, rootzone samples from your putting greens are sent to a lab for analysis.  This allows me to see how the rootzone is evolving and if our topdressing and aerification programs are effective.  This isn't the entire report but allows you to read the executive summary on the findings.  In short, the greens are in great shape below the surface!

 

Sunday Weather Update

While the ice storm is creating some power issues in the area, the storm hasn't been nearly as bad as initially expected.  From what I am seeing on social media, those who lost power seem to be having it restored within a few hours.  Roads that were pre-treated with salt, seem to be fine. However, walkways and other areas are very slick, with about 1/8" of ice covering everything.  There has no snow accumulation.  Today, we are experiencing mostly sleet and rain.  Again, the initial prediction was as much or more than 1" of ice.  If that occurred, the added weight on tree branches would have led to many downed trees, power lines etc.  It is still best to stay home and not be out and about if you don't have to... everything seems to be closed in Highlands, regardless.  This storm could potentially go through the night.  Tomorrow, mid-late morning my team will be evaluating road conditions around the Club and will more than likely be making another salt application to the roads to ensure safety for those traveling on them.  Be safe and stay warm!

This gives you an idea of the thickness of ice on everything.