Rain storm in April

 I need to go out of town more often in order to receive rainfall. This weekend I went to my mom's house in the outback woods of East Texas up on Toledo Bend. So after visiting Louisiana for several hours I got back to my moms house and decided to watch the weather; and holy cow! I was hearing like up to 6" in Katy and up to 9" in Sugar Land.
 Once I did return to Katy I was able to receive the rainfall totals. At the course here we received 3.85", Sweetwater Country Club received 3.75", however just to the east of Sweetwater up to 9.50" of rain fell.
 The rainfall was greatly needed, it filled all of our lakes so Thank you Mother Nature. Keep the good work up.

Greens aerification update

 Monday April 15th we had aerified the greens and all went well. The greens are well on there way to recovery.

4 days later the temperatures plunged, a cold front moved in and we experienced record low daytime and nighttime temperatures. How about a high of 51 degrees on Friday April 19th then Saturday morning April 20th, the low temperature was 36 degrees, we even had some frost on the course. The greens basically shut down growing.

2 days later April 22nd the temperatures had rebounded slightly. Greens began to show signs of rebounding to recovery.

Then 2 days later April 23rd another cold front blew in and Wednesday April 24th the high temperature was 59 degrees. The greens shut down once again.

Everyone please remember the 150 degree rule that I preach. Add the nighttime and daytime temperatures together and we need to equal 150 degrees or higher on consistent basis in order to grow turf. So far since February, we have managed to make just 6 days on the 150 degree rule.

Some good news, the temperatures are forecasted to reach the 145 to 155 degree area after Saturday April 27th and continue to warm up slightly. Of course, remember there is no control of the weather so we are always at its mercy.

Willy Plowman
Golf Course Superintendent

New Equipment

Willow Fork is in line to receive three pieces of equipment in 2013!

Roller-our unit is riding on 10 years old and is history. We will be receiving the new version of the roller shortly.

Riding greens/tee mowers-our last of four mowers is nearly history, so Century Golf is stepping up and purchasing Willow Fork 2 riding mowers for the greens and tees. This is a great purchased for us and I am looking forward in getting these machines here!!!
We still have one original mower on site and that one will be used in helping to mow the tee tops, collars, and approaches.

Century Golf can make additional Capital Improvements because of members like you. With you being a member of Willow Fork and helping to keep a full club; This helps a bunch in funding these types of improvements. So as I always say

THANK YOU FOR BEING A MEMBER!!!

Willy Plowman
Golf Course Superintendent

Greens aerification

Monday April 15th the greens were aerified with a 3/8" side eject tine on 2" centers. Then sand was used to fill the holes. The sand is dragged into the holes throughout the day until we get a smooth consistent surface. From there we'll bring out the blower and clean up any grass clipping left behind as well as any large amounts of sand left over. We then will water the greens during the later part of the day as well the night hours.
Once these procedures have been completed on the first day, we usually have a fairly good surface recovered and ready for golf to take place. For the next couple of days we will continuously drag the sand around on the green to help in leveling and/or getting the sand even through out the green, this helps big time in the coming future of the green speeds and developing a smooth putting surface. When we finish dragging and blowing the sand we then bring in the roller to help in smoothing the surface for better putting consistency. This is generally repeated until the sand had diminished into the holes and the mower can be brought out and the roller contunues day after day.
I know no one enjoys or looks forward to aerification but bottom line is; If you want to have top quality putting greens you have to do this. I thank all of you for your patience and understanding, the golf course maintenance crew is working in full stride to get the greens back to top quality.

THANK YOU FOR BEING A MEMBER!!!

Willy Plowman
Golf Course Superintendent

Take the 10 gallon water conservation challenge!

 Water plays an important role in our lives...in fact, no living thing can survive without it! We can all learn to use water wisely. If each of us used 10 gallons less each day, think how much water we could save by the end of a week! or a month! or a year! It is amazing how fast the savings will add up.

1. Take shorter showers = 4-5 gallons per minute.

2. Tell an adult about a leaky faucet or "running" toilet = repair will save 2 to 200 gallons per day.

3. Use a broom instead of a water hose to clean the driveway and sidewalks = 9 gallons per minute.

4. Ask an adult to adjust the irrigation system controller to water a maximum of twice a week - can save up to 40% of the water used for this purpose. Turn systems OFF during winter months - October - February.

5. Only run the dishwasher with a full load = 12 gallons per load.

6. Wait for a full load before running the washing machine = up to 43 gallons per load

7. Turn off the faucet while brushing teeth = 4 gallons per minute.

SEE HOW EASY IT WILL BE TO SAVE 10 gallons a day!

Additional tips for the disposal of grease and leftovers from TCEQ...

1. Place grease and used cooking oils in covered collection containers. Let them solidify on the counter or in the refrigerator before placing them in the garbage.
2. Scrape food scraps into trash cans or garbage bags; minimize the use of the disposal. Non-meat and diary food items may be placed in a compost pile.
3. Remove oil or grease from dishes, pans, and griddles by using a rubber spatula or paper towel to absorb it instead of rinsing it down the drain.
4. Do not pour cooking oil and grease down the drain...ever!
5. Overall, be careful what you scrape into the disposal. Once the walls of the pipes begin to clog up, all kinds of discarded scraps can make a bad problem a whole lot worse.
6. Don't run hot water over dishes, pans, fryers or griddles to wash oil and grease down the drain.

Irrigation 101

"Top 5 things to do if you have an irrigation system"

 The North Bend Water Authorty sends out a mailer to the homeowners and I received mine. There was a few topics to bring out that I see improvements could be made on the homeowners part. On the golf course there are particular houses that continue to irrigate there yard night after night, even after heavy rains. So basically, the sprinklers are never turned off; just imagine if the golf course followed the same rules and watered night after night. Imagine all the calls I would receive from the homeowners and/or members saying "why are watering so much". Here's a good example on hole #3 on the right side, there's a house or two that waters weather it's shining or raining and the right side of the cart path along the fence line remains flooded. Once this area can no longer hold the water it crosses the cart path and begins it drainage onto the playing areas of the course. Just imagine if I watered the golf course the same way they water there lawn, that would not be good the course would basically be unplayable.

 How offer does your irrigation system come on? You keep reminding yourself to check the system controller, but it never seems to get done. "It's not hurting the grass," you think "so what's the harm?" Overwatering encourages turf to grow shallow roots which causes the grass to stress if water isn't available.

 There are a number of things that you can do to maximize the use of your irrigation system and avoid wasting water and your money. Adopt a "conservative" watering cycle, using your house number water no more than twice week on a odd/even schedule. You can even skip a day if your grass doesn't need watering.

1. IRRIGATION SYSTEM LEAKS

 What are some signs of an irrigation system leak? How about running off your yard onto the street if a pipe is completely broken. Or maybe an area of your yard is staying wetter than any other spot, even if the controller is turned off. 

 Unfortunately when your system is underground it is difficult to find leaks until they appear. So, if you see these potential problems get it repaired immediately and also get any of your leaky heads replaced as well.

2. TIMING IS EVERYTHING

 Avoid watering your lawn during peak water usage hours. Irrigate say 4:00 a.m. Let there be plenty of water pressure for you and your neighbors.

 Timing is difficult, the key is only to water as long as it takes to get moisture down into the soil, and that could be as little as 10 minutes or as much as 30 minutes, avoid allowing water to run into the street or onto someone else's property.

3. HYDROZONE YOUR YARD

 When it comes to water, shrub areas need a different amount of water than the turf needs. Shrubs or turf exposed to afternoon sun need more water than those protected by the shade. Yet, when it comes to watering the yard and plants the same amount of water is applied to each. There's a tendency to put the same amount of water on turf as we do on the flower beds.

4. OVER-SPRAYING - WHAT A WASTE!

 The TCEQ rules governing irrigation in Texas do not allow spraying water over surfaces such as walls, fences, sidewalks, and streets. The reason for this rule is simple - it just wastes water! If your sprinkler system is set it irrigate at one inch, throws over sidewalks during that cycle, it will waste around 220 gallons. This water runs down the sidewalk into the storm sewer or runs into an area that  is saturated, either way - WHAT A WASTE! 

 Another point to consider is that watering your lawn is like running a marathon. You need to train the roots to grow deeper into the soil. If you water everyday, the roots will stay near the surface where the water is. By skipping days between watering periods, the roots will begin to grow deeper to reach water. The deeper the roots grow, the longer your grass can go between watering.

5. THE EFFECTS OF PRESSURE ON IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

 Irrigation systems do not perform we'll when the pressure is to high. Consider having your irrigation system evaluated by a Licensed Irrigator to determine how you can conserve water wasted due to high pressure at the nozzle.

 Remember, when all is said and done...irrigation systems don't waste water  - people do! Get acquainted with - and take control of - your irrigation system controller. 

Come on Spring

 I will tell you I am so ready for the air temperatures to reach the 150 degree rule. The weather/temperatures have been so up and down in the last 30 to 45 days. That is making the transition from winter into spring difficult to happen.
 The greens are confused, they don't know whether to grow or stay in a dormant stage. Just a week ago we had high temperatures reaching into the low 80's and the bam high temperatures dropped into the 50's North winds 15-25 m.p.h. for 2 days. In fact in my home town of Santa Fe, just south of here there was softball size hail reported.
 The weather channel in predicting yet another cool down the same week the golf course maintenance staff is preparing the golf course for the Member/Member Tournament. So the green up to the bermudagrass is delayed longer and without green up very little if no turf is actively growing.
 Remember the air temperature rule of thumb; add the night time and the daytime temperatures together. You are looking for 150 degrees combined to have a steady active growing turf.

Example:

Low: 50  High: 68  = 118 degrees combined--turf will remain shutdown.
Low: 60  High: 78  = 138 degrees combined--turf will begin to green and show signs of life
Low: 70  High: 80  = 150 degrees combined--turf will actively be growing and turf recovery now begins.

Thank
Willy Plowman
Golf Course Superintendent

Artifact Excursion

 My daughter and I took a drive towards the Colombus area and spent the day looking for creek beds that has rock laying in the bottom and found some nice pieces of petrified wood and some bones.