2013 Ramble

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Tyler Ingram

The 2013 Ramble has come and gone. Thank you to all the members and guests that made this a very successful event. Other than a few spotty showers the event went smooth. Congratulations to the winners and we look forward to doing it again next year.

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Divot Night Success!!!

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Tyler Ingram

I want to personally thank all the members and families that came to participant in Divot Night tonight, without member support like we had, improving the golf course would not be possible.  With all the help we were able to repair all the divots on all 18 holes and provide the kids and pets a fun place to spend some energy.

Thank you to all the attendees the Nutting Family, Crenshaw Family, Todd Bridges, Mike Huggins, Jake Barnes, Chris Lancaster, David Boger, Chris Maynord, Harry Tarpley, Rick Slough, and Phillip Kile.

Divot Night Party

Divot Night Party

 

 

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Warm Season Turfgrass News Bulletin

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Tyler Ingram

Around the Southeast the cool, wet spring has plagued warm season turfgrasses and recently I came across a news bulletin published Dr. Grady Miller of the North Carolina State University Turfgrass Department.

Spring Green-up of Warm-Season Grasse
Article contains terms, results, and products that are targeted to home owners. Article contains terms, results, and products that are targeted to turf professionals. Article contains terms, results, and products that are targeted to turf students.
Grady Miller
May 31, 2013

Spring Green-up of Warm-Season Grasses – Grady Miller

 

Once again Mother Nature seems to be causing problems with our warm-season grasses in NC, particularly zoysiagrasses. In addition to zoysiagrass, the other warm-season grasses—-bermudagrass, centipedegrass, and St Augustinegrass are generally well behind in their normal growth for this time of year.

There were limited days with warm temperatures in early spring followed by mostly below average temperatures in April and May. This has caused some differential green-up among the cultivars and species. Microclimate and cultural practices may also significantly influence the green-up response among cultivars and species. So, two golf courses may have the same grass and one golf course may be totally green and the other golf course still not 100%. And until we get consistently warm temperatures (lows in the 60s) the warm season grasses will not begin growing to their full potential.

On a positive side, reports of winterkill have been low with the greatest number of incidents coming from areas that had late-seeded bermudagrass (less than 1 year old). There is also still a fair amount of ryegrass that was overseeded that is holding on due to the extended cool temperatures. This may result in greater damage to warm-season grass stands from competition for light.

Generally, all the site needs is some time and warmer weather combined with reasonable fertility/irrigation practices. In most cases growth has been initiated at the plant’s crown, down in the canopy of dormant tissue. Removing some of the brown, dormant material so that more sunlight can reach this green material will enhance growth with our current warm temperatures.

So, this is another spring that patience is needed if you are growing warm-season turfgrasses.

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Bluegrass Divot Night

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Tyler Ingram

Make plans to bring the family (including dogs) and enjoy the outside weather helping to improve the golf course and promote golf course etiquette. We will be kicking off the night at 5:30pm in front of the Golf Shop on Monday, June 3rd. Come join the fun and refreshments.

– Steffie Safrit

Location:BYCC

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Warm Season Grasses

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Tyler Ingram

This year because of the cool,wet spring I have had several questions regarding the growth warm season grasses.  Typically warm season grasses, like Bermuda grass and Zoysia grass, thrive when temperatures during the day are above the 80’s and the night temperatures are above the 60’s.  This year, marked until today, we have currently had 10 days above the 80’s and last year at this time we had had more than 60 days above the 80’s. With that being said, there are different warm season grasses that do actively grow when cooler temperatures approach their optimum growing temperatures.

Early in the season is the perfect time to witness how these different grasses actively begin to grow. Zoysia varieties begin growing well before Bermuda grass varieties and some Bermuda grasses begin growing before other older Bermudas. There are several examples around the club that this can be illustrated. Below is a picture from three varieties of warm season grasses on the course, Vamont Bermuda, 419 Bermuda, and Zorro Zoysia grass. The golf course is primarily 90% Vamont Bermuda and a few renovated areas on the course are 419 Bermuda and Zorro Zoysia grass. From the picture you can see how much more dense the Zoysia and 419 Bermuda grass are compared to the older Vamont Bermuda.

Warm Season Grass Comparison

Warm Season Grass Comparison

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Irrigation Pond Leak

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Tyler Ingram

As many of you know, this past winter we attempted to temporarily repair the leaks in the irrigation pond with Bentonite. Unfortunately our efforts were unsuccessful to completely stop the leak. Our efforts did slow the leak down from previously losing 8″ of water a day to now losing 4″ of water a day. Since the attempted repair, we have continually checked the banks of the pond looking for any other visual leaks we can repair. I am glad to say we have found 4 more leaks in other areas of the pond and they have now stopped leaking.

Just this last week we repaired a major leak that was pulling a large amount of water out of the pond. This area was in the back corner of the pond behind #14 green. Below you can see the picture of the leak pulling a funnel of water out of the pond roughly 3′ under the water’s surface.

Irrigation Pond Leak

Irrigation Pond Leak

  

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#7 Green Sink Hole

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Tyler Ingram

We had a very unusual surprise this past week on the #7 green, a sink hole.

#7 Green Sink Hole

#7 Green Sink Hole

During the investigation of the sink hole we discovered an old terra cotta clay drain line under the subsurface of the current green. With all the recent rains occurring this year, water has been slowly finding its way into the clay pipe and removing the green’s sand mix While aerifing, the weight of the aerifier collapsed this area and gave us visual evidence of the problem.

Red Arrow Pointing to Clay Drain Line

Red Arrow Pointing to Clay Drain Line

Our staff was able to clog the clay pipe and apply concrete over the opening to stop the problem from happening again. The repaired area of the green was resodded and leveled out and the seams of the sod will heal in over the next couple of weeks.

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