Please Don't Call Me a Trap

We put new sand in the bunkers on holes: 5, 6 and 7. It's been over seven years since these bunkers were renovated and had new sand put in them. Over the years, dust, pollen, grass clippings, tree leaves and other contaminants have made their way into the bunkers. These contaminants completely change the characteristics of the bunkers. They tend to become more compacted and hold onto more water. The new sand will keep the bunkers softer and dryer.

Crop Circles

You may have wondered what those dirt spots were around the golf course. The answer is that these areas were infested with a weed, Dallisgrass. Last fall we sprayed the Dallisgrass with Round-Up. We recently used a sodcutter to remove all remnants of the dead Dallisgrass, and are now in the process of sodding these areas.  

17th Hole

2011 in Review

Measuring Green Speed With a Stimpmeter

     During the summer of 2010 it became obvious that we needed to make some  changes to our greens management practices here at The Villages. The greens had become soft and puffy with unacceptable putting quality. After talking to the USGA, fellow Golf Course Superintendents and several suppliers, I came up with a game plan on how to make the greens smoother, faster, firmer and more consistent.  Here is a list of the changes we implemented during the summer of 2011:

1. The biggest change we made was in how we verticut the greens. We set the verticutter blades much deeper into the green than ever before. (7/32” below the green’s surface) We verticut the greens twice a week for a total of 16 times. We were planning to apply light sand topdressings after the verticutting, but found that the verticutting brought sufficient sand up to the green’s surface that we were able to blow off the thatch and drag the sand back into the green’s surface for a nice light topdressing.
2. We lowered the green’s ‘height of cut’ by 1/100”. We also started mowing the greens with hand greens mowers five days a week, instead of only once.
3. We changed our green’s small tine aerifications from hollow to solid tines. It isn’t possible to get sand into a small aerification holes. I made this change because I felt that removing a plug and not filling the hole with sand was contributing to softer greens.
4. In 2010 we switched from Unipar to the smaller  #30 topdressing sand for all light topdressings. We will continue to use Unipar to fill the holes with the large tine aerification in April.
5. This past summer we also began working with a new vendor who specializes in greens maintenance products. We began using several of his products, including fertilizers, growth regulators and a soil wetting agent. I feel that this change has helped keep our greens healthier than in past years while maintaining good turf color and reduced excessive turf growth.

Fortunately, all the changes seem to have paid off. I think the consensus of the golfers this year has been very positive. Stimpmeter readings for the months of August and September have gone from an average of 10’ in 2009 to 10’6” in 2010 to 11’7” in 2011.

           

     

     

      

2012 Annual Birdhouse Tour

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

  

Bluebirds

The second annual golf course birdhouse tour will take place on May 21st. The tour will again be lead by local bird experts, Mary and Dave Fullerton, who will talk about the inhabitants of the houses, as well as any other birds spotted during the tour. We will be handing out maps of the golf course, showing the locations of the birdhouses. We will also handout a complete list of birds that have been observed at The Villages. Stay Tuned for more information!

Many Thanks to the Bandini Patrol

The Bandini Patrol had its best turn out in many years this past season. President, Richard Warren, implimentation of a new rule allowing Bandini Patrol members to come out on Monday mornings until 9:00 AM was a big hit. As a result many new residents joined the Bandini Patrol as they filled divots on the golf course tees and fairways.


Bandini Patol Members enjoy the annual end of the season Irish coffee and doughnuts.

New Location for 'Bandini' Box

The Bandini Box by the first tee was moved to the center island. This should make it easier for golfers to access the divot mix from either side of the box.


Francisco, Alberto and Beto fill box with fresh divot mix.

Goose Patrol

The Villages G & CC has recently hired Losee's Goose Control to help rid the golf course of the Canada Geese. The dogs are specially trained Boarder Collies. When you see them chasing the geese, they are trying to heard the geese off of the property. They are not trying to catch the geese. If there is a hurt bird in the flock that cannot fly, the dogs will ignore that bird and consentrate on the other birds.

 

 Mike with Jack and Charlotte