Sunday, December 23, 2012

New Hand Rail



A new hand rail was installed last Wednesday leading up to the ladies tee on # 6 Masters



 Willie Contreras primed and then painted the new railing

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Ralph Guldahl



Ralph Guldahl was a golf pro here at Braemar CC from 1959 until 1987. He won the Western Open in 1937 & 38, the U.S. Open in 37 & 38 and the Masters in 39 ( after finishing 2nd in 37 & 38 ). He was also on the Ryder Cup in 1937. What a champion.


2012 Overseeding finished



Now that the overseeding process is over for 2012 and the carts on paths restrictions have been lifted ( except for holes posted in the golf shop and on the carts ), I wanted to share some photo's I took earlier this week.


Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Overseeding/Aerification Update

The greens on the Western course have been aerified and the course has been overseeded. The course is now open to play but please keep all carts on cart paths until the restrictions have been lifted.

The U.S Open course is now closed until October 6th. The greens have been aerified and the course was overseeded. The course needs to remain closed so we can now grow in the new ryegrass seed for the winter months.

We are in the process of drying out and preparing the Masters course for spreading of the seed along with green aerification. The course will be closed from October 8 and reopen on October 20.

Thank you for your patience during this very busy time of year for my maintenance crew.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

2012 Overseeding schedule with course closure dates

We are almost at the time of year when we begin overseeding. Below is the schedule for overseeding along with the course closure dates for each nine. Greens aerification on each nine will be performed when each nine is closed.

Western Course - Closed from September 10 and will reopen on September 22.

U.S. Open - Closed from September 24 and will reopen October 6.

Masters - Closed from October 8 and will reopen October 20.

Please note that starting two weeks prior to each nine being closed we will be reducing the heights of the grass in all areas in prep for the throwing of the seed. The courses will take on a very brown and dry look; this is intentional.

Please keep your carts on the paths when the courses reopen until the restrictions have been lifted.


Friday, August 3, 2012

Dryjecting the greens

Aerification is a necessary turf maintenance practice that must be done for the long term health and playability of the turf.  For the summer aerification process this year, I have decided to try a new method that hopefully produces the needed health care benefits of the turf but also has less negative impact to our members and guests. This method is called Dryjecting. With conventional aerification the greens are left bumpy, slow and covered in sand for days and takes 4-5 weeks to be back to normal. The Dryjecting method leaves them playable the same day and back to normal within 1-2 weeks. Below are some video's and pictures of the process.


With a Dryject machine there is minimal distruption to the surface of the green. The hole in the green is made by a series of nozzles that have water shot at 3000 pounds per square inch down to approximately 7 inches deep. The dry sand is then sucked into the holes by a venturi effect by the water. This leaves the greens aerified and the holes filled with sand.

After the dryjecting is finished, the green is rolled and it is back in play within 4-5 hours


(above) Willy Contreras rolling the putting green

This is a photo of a finished green the next morning. It rolls smooth, fast and is in a state that would normally take a traditional aerification process to take 3-4 weeks to be in the same condition.

I don't feel that the dryject process eliminates the traditional aerification process (which removes biomass) but I do feel this process can be incorporated into our maintenance program. The greens on the Masters course were aerified with this method on August 1. The U.S.Open course will be aerified on August 6 and the Western course on August 8.

Turf Improvement on # 4 Masters


Over the last week we have been working on improving turf conditions on # 4 Masters in the fairway and rough. We have been removing the cool season grasses ( poa and Rye ) that struggle in the heat of the summer and been replacing them with warm season turf.

Area near # 4 green prepped and sod being laid with hybrid bermuda sod 

Work completed in this area

Prepping on # 4 fairway for Kikuyu sod

In total we installed 5000 square feet of Kikuyu sod on the fairway


Over the summer so far we have installed 8,800 square feet of hybrid bermuda in the rough and 5000 square feet of Kikuyu on the fairways

August Maintenance Plan

Below is what we have scheduled for the month of August ( subject to change ):

Week of August 6: Dryject greens on the U.S. Open and Western courses ( Masters course has been completed ). Fairway aerification of U.S. Open course

Week of August 13: Fairway aerification on the Western course

Week of August 20: Fairway aerification on the Masters course

Monday, July 16, 2012

Course improvements


Over the last couple of Mondays we have been working on removing some dead/dying trees on # 1 Western course and as pictured below on # 4 Masters. After removing the dead eucalyptus tree we also removed some oleanders, did some tree trimming and planted pennestiums. This has really changed the view from the clubhouse.. for the better I think.





Nature

One of the joys of working in the golf course industry is seeing wildlife in the natural setting. While some of them are my nemesis they are still great to see.








Everyonce is awhile I will bring my dog, Dakota, to work. She enjoys the exercise while encountering wildlife that is completely foriegn to her.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Help needed

To help keep the course in good condition for all members and guests to enjoy could you please remember to do the following:

* repair any ball marks you create or see on the greens
* rake the bunkers when leaving them ( hopefully after only one shot )
* fill your divots with sand. If you don't have access to a sand bottle then replace your divot
* observe cart path only restrictions
* observe direction signs and exit the fairways between the exit stakes

Thank you for your cooperation and help in making Braemar CC are better place for all to enjoy.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Rattlesnakes

This is the time of the year when we start to see rattlesnakes on the course. Please use caution at all times but especially when searching for your golf balls in the wooded/brush areas.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Improving Turf Conditions



We are at the time of the year where the annual poa and overseeded ryegrasses start to die. Ryegrass and poa are cool season grasses and our base grass is kikuyu and bermuda, both warm season grasses. We are experiencing this throughout the course but it is more evident in the rough around the greens.
We have started a program that will continue over the next 2-3 months where we will remove the cool season grasses in the high play areas around the greens and replace with warm season turf, hybrid bermuda. This will be an on-going process and not all areas will be replaced this season but this is a step forward.


An example of being able to easily lift the turf which is only rooted in the thatch and does not have any substantial root system in the soil.

Nolberto Mesa sod cutting out an area on # 9 Masters

An area prepared for new sod on # 9 Western

Uvertino Almanza ( left ) and Nolberto laying new sod on # 9 Masters

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Verticutting and topdressing

Verticutting of the greens is the mechanical process of removing excessive thatch by using a machine that mows vertically rather than horizontally like reel mowers. Thatch is a build up of dead and decaying organic matter that if not maintained can lead to puffy greens and the onset of diseases and pests. That being said, thatch is important to healthy turf; it helps keep the green cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The addition of a light coating of sand also helps breakdown the thatch layer, aids in water infiltration and helps keep the greens smooth and firm.

 Verticutting the greens
Light topdressing with sand

Tennis

With 20 tennis courts we get alot of balls that end up on the golf course or in the vegetation on the outside of the courts. My golf course maintenance staff picked up and as many balls as we could get last week. I estimate that we collected around 5000 balls.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Modification to # 7 Fairway on the U.S Open Course


On Wednesday we had a company come in and open up the left side of the fairway on the # 7 U.S Open course by removing a Pine tree and trimming two Carrob trees. Before this work was performed, the angle into the green from the left half of the fairway was more than challenging but now you will have a better angle for your second shot.

Looking across # 7 fairway before work began

Superior Tree Company at work

After work was completed 

Before work began 

Work completed

Friday, April 13, 2012

Course closure due to heavy rain today

Today we had to close the course due to the wild weather we received. Below are a few photos to demonstrate how the course can become unplayable. The course will be open for the weekend but will be cart paths only.

# 4 green on the Masters course competely under water

# 4 fairway on the U.S. Open course

# 4 fairway on the U.S. Open course

Saturday, April 7, 2012

The crew at work

Jorgy Reyes rolling # 6 green on the U.S Open course after aerification

Nolberto Mesa (left) and Edwin Martell planting Pennestiums on the U.S Open course

Sabino Huerta performing irrigation repairs on # 8 Masters

Alvaro Fernandez spraying foliar fertilizer on # 9 Western fairway