Course Update: October 11, 2012

Unfortunately, as I sit down to write this update, I can't help but be a bit discouraged by the weather forecast for this weekend.  By the time it's all been said and done, we could receive up to 90mm of rain through Monday.  Not ideal weather, but I guess it's to be expected on the "wet coast" this time of year!

What are we doing to prepare for the rainy season?  I'm glad that you asked.  This morning we removed the slides from our "pond levees" that control our pond heights to drop the water levels.  This is important to realize the full potential of our extensive drainage system as many of our main drainage collector lines dump into the ponds.  These drainage outlets remain below the water level of the ponds during the summer months as we they take on very little water during this time.  Yes, that does mean our ponds will not be very aesthetically pleasing over the winter months, but again, it is necessary.  Here's what you can expect to see around the pond edges during and after heavy rainfall:

drainage collector line on #3

We are also mowing the rough down to our "winter height" of 1.5 inches since wet conditions reduces our mowing frequency in the rough as it becomes soft and the potential for rutting increases.  The 1.5 inch height-of-cut isn't a drastic change from our regular "summer height" of 1.75 inches so we don't anticipate clumps of grass clippings or scalping to be an issue.  We have attempted to go lower than 1.5 inches, but the results were less than desirable as it resulted in lots of scalping and left the rough quite messy.  In addition, we have been mowing down some select naturalized areas on the course in preparation of the heavy rains.  These areas have very little drainage installed in them so this is our best chance to mow them down without making a muddy mess.  We routinely mow the naturalized areas down once a year to help reduce and control the weed population in them and to encourage new growth for the next growing season.

You will also notice our GREEN and RED traffic markers making their way back onto the course Saturday morning for carts.  Again, when we are on "FAIRWAYS ONLY" for carts we ask that carts remain on paths at tees until you reach the GREEN marker and then immediately exit the path directly to the fairway.  Please then REMAIN ON THE FAIRWAY and only on the fairway until you reach the RED exit marker and then immediately exit the fairway directly to the path.  ALL CARTS MUST REMAIN ON PATHS ON ALL PAR 3's.  Following this system will help to eliminate any unnecessary turf damage to our rough.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Head Horticulturist and Quilchena's most recent employee of the month, Jacqui, has put together some fantastic plans to renovate many of the landscaped areas throughout the property.  I'm sure you've noticed that some of this work is already underway.  The old and tired plant material surrounding the pond between #9 and #18 greens had seen better days and was removed to make room for new plant material.  The small stones that surrounded that pond have also been removed to help reduce the maintenance and provide a more suitable area for the new material.  She will be planting iris', azaleas, ornamental grasses and a few flowering ornamental trees that will all complement each other.  She has also removed all the periwinkle in the landscaping surrounding the gazebo and will be replacing it with lavender, heavenly bamboo and blue oat grass.  In the coming weeks, she will also be removing the mugo pines along the west perimeter of the main parking lot as many of them are damaged and many others have grown past the point of being properly pruned.  They will be replaced with a mass planting of California lilac and "Limelight" mock orange shrubs that will provide a splash of blue blooms during the summer months and golden foliage year round.

California lilac

Many of you will be happy to hear that we've purchased two "cigarette disposal stations" for those that smoke to properly dispose of their cigarette butts.  Did you know that a single cigarette butt can take 10-15 years to completely breakdown?!?!  We will be locating one at #1 tee and the other on the balcony above the Club's main entrance as this is where we've been finding most of the cigarette butts.  If you smoke, please use them.

Last, but certainly not least, we've sent a sample of what we believe to be bryozoans for species confirmation.  The lab technicians have reviewed all of the information we've provided along with the photos we've taken and they are confident that we are indeed dealing with bryozoans.  Once the species has been confirmed, they will then recommend control options for them.  Here are a couple photos taken today of one of our pond levee screens and one of the rocks around the edge of the irrigation pond between #3 and #9:

bryozoan mass on one of our pond levee slides

 

rock from our irrigation pond covered in bryozoans

We will update you as soon as we receive any further information.