On Saturday April 20, it was officially announced that Westham Golf Club will begin construction on the unfinished nine holes!! Construction will begin in March/April of 2014 and we will be set for a Grand Opening in May of 2015. Late this year we will begin the expansion of the existing pond to ensure that we have enough water to make it through the grow-in. Bermudagrass will probably start going down in June. This will give us plenty of time to grow in the bermudagrass before it goes dormant. The greens will be seeded around August 15 and will be ready for play the following spring.
This is very exciting news for all that are involved and we have been eagerly awaiting this day. I hope everyone has a great week!
Monday, April 22, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Aerification recovery
We have almost completely healed from aerification. This picture was taken on Apr 9, 2013. Once the weather warmed up a little, we finally started to see some grass growing. The greens have grown through all of the sand that was put on them and we have started lowering the height of cut. Within a week or so we should be mowing daily at our normal height of cut.
Also, along with this warm weather we have started seeing a green up in the bermudagrass. This year we did a little experiment. We used a turf paint on #1 fairway. The true reason we did this was to add a little color as you drove down Magnolia Green's main entry. What we found is that the paint has helped that fairway green up much more quickly than the other fairways. This happens because the dark paint helps keep the soil temperature a little warmer than the dormant bermuda normally would. The pictures below were taken on April 15. The difference is pretty drastic. I think we are going to have to figure out how to come up with money for the other nine fairways this year!
We are gearing up for a great season and hope you are too! Enjoy the rest of your Spring!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Spring is here
Spring is here! The only problem is we had close to white out conditions Thursday morning and possibly more snow coming Sunday. It didn't last long, but it was long enough!
The greens aerification at Westham was scheduled for Mar 25. Because Mother Nature is being difficult and we are possibly getting more snow on Sunday and Monday, we decided to start aerifying this past Tuesday night. We were able to finish up everything Wednesday afternoon. In the coming days, we will go out and topdress some of the holes that were not filled with our initial sand topdressing. We will also be applying some granular fertilizers and lime. The fertilizer will hopefully get the bentgrass moving and help us have a rapid recovery. The only thing else we need to do is to pray for some warmer weather.
The greens aerification at Westham was scheduled for Mar 25. Because Mother Nature is being difficult and we are possibly getting more snow on Sunday and Monday, we decided to start aerifying this past Tuesday night. We were able to finish up everything Wednesday afternoon. In the coming days, we will go out and topdress some of the holes that were not filled with our initial sand topdressing. We will also be applying some granular fertilizers and lime. The fertilizer will hopefully get the bentgrass moving and help us have a rapid recovery. The only thing else we need to do is to pray for some warmer weather.
None of this could have been done without the help of the great crew at Westham! Thanks to Chad, Luis, Josh, and Andrew!! Also, a special thanks to Wayne Carter for coming over from Hanover Country Club to lend a hand. I know he wishes he hadn't left Westham! We are looking forward to a great season!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Course Etiquette
Course etiquette is a very touchy subject for myself and many other superintendents. Poor etiquette is something that is going to happen, I understand. Some people just have no respect for others and normally they are the first to complain about things.
In case you didn't pick up on it, there is some sarcasm in this post. These are just a few things that bother the staff and myself here at Westham Golf Club. Please do your part and clean up after yourself.
I don't think there is anything that makes me more mad than the picture above! Not only is there a divot, it is right next to an unfixed ball mark!!! Also, Chad sent me the picture of this bunker last weekend. He mentioned that if we had just one more rake in this bunker the golfer probably would have raked his way out. Not sure if you can see it or not, but there are three rakes within arms length of the area that he or she apparently used an excavator to hit this shot! I do realize that the green rakes are difficult to see up against the dormant Zoysia grass, but come on!!
In case you didn't pick up on it, there is some sarcasm in this post. These are just a few things that bother the staff and myself here at Westham Golf Club. Please do your part and clean up after yourself.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Spring Preperations
I think I have been slacking a little recently. It's been a while since I have posted. For the last week I was in Florida for our annual meeting. I was lucky enough to play a couple of rounds of golf on the way down. The weather was beautiful and I was not excited to get home to a cold rain!
Spring is almost here! Right now we are in the process of spraying out any winter weeds that have popped up in the dormant bermudagrass. We should be done with this process within the next week or so. That is if we aren't under a foot of snow after the storm that is supposed to hit us Wednesday. We are also applying a pre-emergent herbicide to control any new weeds from germinating.
Once we are done spraying out weeds, it will almost be time to aerify. I know this is a touchy subject, but we are going to do everything we can to help this process heal as quick as possible. By the time they heal we will be watching The Masters and not even thinking about what went on two weeks earlier.
I look forward to seeing everyone out on the course!
Spring is almost here! Right now we are in the process of spraying out any winter weeds that have popped up in the dormant bermudagrass. We should be done with this process within the next week or so. That is if we aren't under a foot of snow after the storm that is supposed to hit us Wednesday. We are also applying a pre-emergent herbicide to control any new weeds from germinating.
Once we are done spraying out weeds, it will almost be time to aerify. I know this is a touchy subject, but we are going to do everything we can to help this process heal as quick as possible. By the time they heal we will be watching The Masters and not even thinking about what went on two weeks earlier.
I look forward to seeing everyone out on the course!
Monday, February 11, 2013
Audubon International
Audubon International is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the environment. Westham Golf Club is currently a member and we are in the process of becoming a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. The certification process starts with a Site Assessment and an Environmental Planning Form. Once we have a plan in place we then start working on these categories:
Environmental Planning
Wildlife and Habitat Management
Chemical Use Reduction and Safety
Water Conservation
Water Quality Management
Outreach and Education
We also have to do a Case Study. This study gets you to find a way to not only help the environment, but in most cases it helps the golf course financially as well. With our case study we decided to convert our bentgrass approaches to bermudagrass. In doing this, we have saved on fertilizer, chemicals, water and labor. This winter we will kill off what is left of the bentgrass and the bermuda will finish filling in this spring. Here is a picture of the approach on number one.
Here are some pictures taken by Kim Hatala of some of the things that we are working to protect.
We also have to do a Case Study. This study gets you to find a way to not only help the environment, but in most cases it helps the golf course financially as well. With our case study we decided to convert our bentgrass approaches to bermudagrass. In doing this, we have saved on fertilizer, chemicals, water and labor. This winter we will kill off what is left of the bentgrass and the bermuda will finish filling in this spring. Here is a picture of the approach on number one.
Here are some pictures taken by Kim Hatala of some of the things that we are working to protect.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Winter playing conditions
This is always a hot topic this time of year. We always hear "the greens are bumpy, the greens are slow." During the winter months, the bermudagrass is obviously dormant. The bentgrass greens basically go dormant as well. This time of year is almost as hard on greens as the summer. The big difference is, Chad, Luis and I are not dragging a hose around at 5:00 in the afternoon!
During the winter, all of the grass on the course basically stops growing. We may go out and mow greens once or twice a week, but all this is really doing is cleaning up the green. There isn't a tremendous amount of grass cut off of them this time of year.
So far this year the ground has been frozen more than thawed. When they do thaw and we have golf played on them, it doesn't take long for them to start foot printing. The thawing process makes them very soft and footprints form easily.
The biggest winter issue is there is very little or no healing taking place. Any thin area, any ballmark or any divot taken does not heal! I ask that everyone please be careful and be patient with any inconsistent conditions. The Masters is almost here! Azaleas, butterflies and prefect conditions will be here soon enough!
For some my more technical followers here is a link from the USGA. They go in a little more depth than me. Actually a lot more detail. http://www.usga.org/course_care/articles/other/winter_play/Politics-Religion-and-Winter-Play-on-Greens/
During the winter, all of the grass on the course basically stops growing. We may go out and mow greens once or twice a week, but all this is really doing is cleaning up the green. There isn't a tremendous amount of grass cut off of them this time of year.
So far this year the ground has been frozen more than thawed. When they do thaw and we have golf played on them, it doesn't take long for them to start foot printing. The thawing process makes them very soft and footprints form easily.
The biggest winter issue is there is very little or no healing taking place. Any thin area, any ballmark or any divot taken does not heal! I ask that everyone please be careful and be patient with any inconsistent conditions. The Masters is almost here! Azaleas, butterflies and prefect conditions will be here soon enough!
For some my more technical followers here is a link from the USGA. They go in a little more depth than me. Actually a lot more detail. http://www.usga.org/course_care/articles/other/winter_play/Politics-Religion-and-Winter-Play-on-Greens/
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