This past Monday was the first Oxmoor Ownership Program and it turned out to be
a great success.  We began installing a pasture fence along #16, trimming trees,
weeding flower beds, and filling divots.  We will finish up the fence next Monday, so
come out and join the fun.  I would like to thank all the members for their hard work
and in making this event a success. 

Master's just next week!


This is my favorite time of year, with the Master's starting next week, spring is sure to be on the way.  I have had several members asking when the spring aerification will begin and at this time it is unknown.  We are waiting for the new greens aerifier to arrive from the dealer.  I will keep everyone posted on the dates and times.  We will perform a solid tine aerification with a heavy topdressing, so play should not be affected.  Below are a few reminders and course cultural changes for the year. 

When you see the black posts, please return carts to the path.
This is done to reduce stress to approaches and keep green
banks healthy. 



We have extended the approach cuts on all holes with fairways.  In past
years we only mowed 10' of an approach, so now we have extended it to
~ 50 ft.  Hopefully this will aid in your short game.



We have now added a 5'3" step cut around all fairways to aid in improving those
lies adjacent to the rough.  The step cut circles the entire fairway and green complex.
So heights from fairways are now rough at 3", step cut at 1.25" and fairway at 1/2". 
Green surrounds are now rough 3", step cut 1.25", collar 3/8" and greens 1/8". I
hope this will help in turf transitions and your shots.



Spring is also the season when Poa annua is popping seed heads.
These seed heads can affect ball roll tremendously, so we have
applied a turfgrass growth regulator to suppress them.  This regulator
turns the turf yellow and makes the greens appear weak. This will
subside after a few weeks.   



All bunkers have now been edged and two semi loads of sand have been added.
A third load has been ordered and will soon be incorporated into the bunkers.

 


You may have noticed all these circle areas throughout the course.  These were
trees that had been removed and we have now prepped the ground for
sod.  Trees adjacent to greens cause a variety of turf issues, such as root
encroachment, shading, moisture loss and playability.

We have added two sand bottle stands to the course.  One is at the practice facility and
the other is at #10 tees.  Please place your empty bottles in the lower box to be refilled.





I have also noticed a large amount of ballmarks on the greens.  The rule of thumb is to

repair your ball mark and two others.  If you are unsure of how to properly repair
a ballmark, check the course conditions board next to the pro shop.
Repairing your divot and ball mark allows the golfers behind you to have your
same experience.  

 

Course Update

I hope everyone enjoyed last weekends warm weather and I certainly hope spring is just around the corner.  The seasonal maintenance staff is now beginning to ramp back up.  We should be fully staffed by mid May, so I appreciate your patience as we improve areas throughout the course.  Bunkers will soon be edged and today we will be receiving two semi loads of sand to the maintenance facility.

Through the winter we removed some trees around greens to improve air flow, reduce roots encroaching into greens, increase sunlight and improve overall bentgrass health.  The pics below show you the trees removed.


This Austrian Pine was on the back right of #2 green.  Notice
the weak turf in the foreground where roots are causing
the turf to decline.




This Austrian Pine was back left of #2 green.  Hopefully the bentgrass will recover
on the collar and green.

  


This Spruce was behind #7 green.  The rough, collar and green
should begin to recover.





This Spruce was removed from back right of #5 green.  The
roots encroaching into the green have been taking out
turf for a while now.





This Spruce was behind #15 green.





This pine was removed from right side of #1 green.



This winter we also built two divot sand bottle stands.  Hopefully
these will make great additions in improving turf quality.  One
will be placed at the practice facility and the other at #10 tees.



Course update

The last couple of years have given us record heat waves and this year Mother Nature has blessed us with an outstanding fall.  All the fairways and tees have been seeded and are beginning to show great recovery.  Yesterday, greens were seeded in poor areas and will receive another total surface seeding next week.  Practice facility green, chipping green and target areas will be seeded this Monday.  We will continue to seed all these areas until we receive adequate germination.

Aerification on the course is now coming to an end.  We applied DryJect aerification into the greens again this year.  The process involves blasting high pressure water into the green soil and completely back filling with kiln dried sand.  Below is a picture of this process along with a plug showing the sand injected into the green profile.





We are currently aerifying fairways with only four more remaining.  Today we will finish
up #15 and #18, depending on weather tonight, check with the golf shop for the remaining hole
closures.

The fall is also the time of year when we begin laying off the maintenance staff for the winter.  We are currently at six employees and over the next two weeks there will be three remaining for the winter months.  I would like to thank everyone in advance for there patience, as some daily jobs will be delayed.



The bridge from #7 to #8 has now been replaced with new lumber.  Sounds a lot
better too!




We used all the old wood from #7/ #8 bridge to build 8 raised beds for vegetables. 
These vegetables will be used next year by Chef Jesse for Oxmoor dining.  I hope
this will help in reducing some of Jesse's food cost, while also having fresh veggies
for the members.





This is a perfect example of why we need to stay in the rough/ cart path during
extreme heat and droughts.  These are cart tracks that completely killed out
an area of the bentgrass fairway.

Course Update

Holes 2, 4, 5, 15 and 17 have been sprayed with Round-up, per the Spencer Holt
Master Plan, around the outer edges of the fairways.  These areas will soon be
seeded with fescue and next year will be apart of the new 2 "step cut.  This decrease in
bentgrass is approximately 3 acres and throughout the entire season there will be a
reduction of $6000.00-$10,000.00 in the maintenance budget. 



We attempted earlier to seed #4 fairway and had poor germination rates.  We 
attempted again and received 75% germination. With cool nights approaching we will
continue to seed these areas.  Irrigation will continue to run periodically throughout
the day to ensure proper moisture levels for germination.





A walk path has been installed behind #7 green and will soon be seeded along with
more stones adjacent to the cart path.  We will also construct a path leading to the
men's tee on #4 in the fall. 



Some of the brown areas are now showing signs of recovery.  Today, I even noticed a few seedlings germinating on #4 fairway.  The rain water we received on Saturday really helped the bentgrass out.  Though any water is beneficial to plants, rain water is more beneficial because of the nitrogen in the rain droplets.  The atmosphere consists of about 25% oxygen and 75% nitrogen.  The nitrogen in the atmosphere is not available to plants until it converts to nitric acid and then is available for uptake through rain water.  Bored yet?? Ha...high school biology.  Pictured below is some of the bentgrass in recovery.

The picture above displays some of the shoots regenerating through the thatch.




Some areas throughout the course may not show signs of recovery due to trees.
As we all know trees and turf do not grow well together.  Pictured above is #9
fairway and the tree roots competing for water with the turf.  In this case the
tree always wins and causes the turf to die. Many people think that tree roots
only extend to the outer area of the leaves or drip line.  Roots continue to spread
well beyond the drip line, though these roots are not grown for stability of the
tree, they are used to obtain water and nutrients and are known as the feeder roots.
Last year we installed a root barrier at #13 green and it has proven very successful
this year.  Later in the season, we will install a barrier here and at #17
approach to block the tree feeder roots.