Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Golf Course Update

It has been a few busy weeks centered around the Thanksgiving here at LVC, we have received two measurable snow events with a couple of inches of rain thrown in the mix. The week prior to Thanksgiving, we put a lot of emphasis on cleaning the golf course in preparation for the winter months with leaf removal throughout the property, along with applying our yearly snow mold applications to all playing surfaces for protection from prolonged snow cover during the upcoming months.  Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week were dedicated to draining and blowing out the irrigation system and water fountains.

Here is a update on some other tasks:

Woodlines:


Frosty mornings and snow cover have allowed us to put focus on cleaning woodlines to remove underbrush, dead trees and down debris that has accumulated over the years to improve aesthetics and airflow to certain areas of the golf course.  The pictures above and below give before and after shots of the woods between #2 tee and #3 green.  This is just the start of the little projects that will make a huge impact but will take years to complete and serve as perfect projects when the conditions are not favorable for us to be on the golf course. 

 
 
Ryegrass in Fairways:

 
A couple of post ago, I gave the above picture and mentioned how we have started to experiment with selective herbicides for the removal of the ryegrass that has infested many of our fairways.  The week prior to Thanksgiving we applied our second treatment to the 8th fairway which is serving as our test plot.    As you can see from the two pictures below, yellowing is occurring on the existing bentgrass in these spots and the ryegrass is no where to be found indicating that the treatments are working.  The yellowing should not be alarming as multiple factors are contributing to this discoloration and serves as the main reason we chose #8 as a test plot to monitor this upcoming season for recovery, root development and the status of complete ryegrass eradication prior to treating additional fairways.



 
Tee Identity Restoration Project:


 
Before on #8 (Back White Tee)

The warm-up this week has allowed us to continue chipping away at the project of restoring all the tee boxes to their original square design.  As of today, all of #8 is complete, with the hopes of knocking out #9 before the rain sets in on Friday.  Visually it is making a world of difference to the layout and will go a long way towards the classic design.


 
After on #8 (Back White Tee)
 
Stay tuned for our next update in the next couple of weeks....till then, Happy Shopping!