Major Turf Talk

Pictures of #14 fairway waterfall and Dana Point outflow to the Pacific

rockymajor54 — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 04:42:17 +0000

“Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful”

rockymajor54 — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 01:37:21 +0000

Wow! What a storm!!! As I write this blog Shady Canyon has received 12″ of rain since the beginning of the storm on Friday, December 17, during the Men’s ‘Ho! Ho! Ho! Tournament.’ Attached are a few photos of the course and our natural waterfall on the 14^th hole.

The golf course will open tomorrow, Thursday 12/23 with a few rough edges. The storm has washed out the bunkers and walking paths to the tees. The priority the next few days will be getting these areas back in “Shady Canyon” shape. The greens have not been mowed since December 17. It will be interesting to see what they “stimp” tomorrow before and after we cut them. We may have to raise the height of cut to make sure they do not get scalped. Our mechanics will be on hand to make sure any needed adjustments are made.

Wishing you and yours and Wondrous and Prosperous Holiday and New Year!

David

Hole # 6

Creek crossing to 15 white tee.

Bunker repairs will be on going for a few days.

Mother Nature did some selective pruning for us but she neglected to clean up after herself.

Quite a few areas on the course need to drain overnight to allow us to begin our cleanup efforts. High water did keep us from getting around today in the rain. Some cart paths had water levels over the floorboard of my cart.

Shally making sure that it’s safe to pass.

Happy Holidays Everybody!

New Trial on 14th Fairway

rockymajor54 — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:51:10 +0000

The Green Committee has requested we try an intermediate rough cut on the course. The picture below shows green spray paint dashes to mark this 6 foot wide rough cut. With the cooler weather it may take a while for this area to grow up to the 1 inch height of cut that is desired. This will help keep some of my errant shots from reaching the more penal cool season ryegrass rough. If this becomes popular we will continue with this new feature to your course.

We recently applied a herbicide to remove the Poa annua and remaining Ryegrass from the fairways. We are starting to see the target weeds (Poa and Rye) to turn yellow and die out. This will cause some thinning in areas that were heavily infested with these undesirable grasses. We are paying close attention to our diminishing irrigation requirements and topdressing with sand on thin areas that develop. We want to keep the fairways as dry as possible without allowing them to desiccate. I am aware that some golf balls are picking up mud which we will manage to the best of our abilities. This will be more of an issue after rain events as the grow of the Bermuda fairways is slowing down. This is part of the conversion process and will improve next season.

First Frosty Mornings of the winter season have arrived. Just in time for Thanksgiving!

Wow, What a Storm!

rockymajor54 — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:54:01 +0000

What a wild week that was. Talk about the perfect storm with perfect timing. We had just finished the overseeding of the roughs the Friday before this week’s 1.75″ rain event. The rain really will help with the germination and successful establishment of the rye seed. Some of the tee tops are seeded as well. We will be finishing this up on Monday. Please note that we have placed stakes and rope to help keep the foot traffic off the new seedlings. We will be using the back of the tees for an extended period of time until the middle and front of the tees are ready for play. Afterwards the back of the tees will be touched up with some additional seed as needed. It’s really great and exciting to get the lightning and thunder. This is how Mother Nature applies fertilizer for all of her plants. You will also begin to notice the native grasses starting to emerge which is triggered by rain. I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to the next few months and especially next spring. I am very excited about getting our new fairways in perfect shape for all of you by the middle of the summer.

Overseeding Time!

rockymajor54 — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:23:58 +0000

If you have been over to the Practice Facility you have noticed our target greens have turned brown. This is due to the overseeding process that was completed on Monday. By next week you will see the new seed starting to germinate and they will be back to normal in about two weeks.

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The overseeding of the roughs were completed this week. Next week we will be doing the tee tops. This will be the most noticeable part of overseeding. We will be limiting the tee area to the back of the tees for a two week period. This will allow the new seedlings a chance to get established for the winter season. After the teeing areas are ready, we will touch up the back of the tees with some additional seed to get it in shape for the cooler months ahead.

Josh and his crew are making great progress with the landscaping installation around the clubhouse.

See you on the course!

David

Fall Has Arrived

rockymajor54 — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:53:15 +0000

Well it sure fells like summer with the record breaking heat we experienced the past few days. Monday was a record 106 degrees and your new fairways loved it! We recently fertilized the golf course and the heat helped the development of the Bermuda fairways.

We are pleased to announce that Your Board has approved the opening of the fairways to cart traffic beginning Friday, October 1^st. Please be aware that we are going to keep the carts on the paths on holes 6 & 12 for a while longer to insure their development.

We are all set to begin our fall green aerification on Monday, October 4th & 5^th. I have attached a recent video on this needed cultural practice. Also included are some recent pictures of a lake aeration line repair at the irrigation pump house. The pipe repair was 15 feet down. Not an easy fix. Thanks to Ed on our staff with his brave repairs.

Fire Update

Zack Bates — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:37:31 +0000

At this time the fire seems to be contained. There is no threat to any homes in the area.

Closure Due to Fire

Zack Bates — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:11:49 +0000

As many of you can see out your window’s, a fire has broken out between the 4rd putting green and 5th tee box. The Orange County Fire Dept is out with their trucks and helicopter doing what they do best.

**PLEASE NOTE: The golf course will be closed for the remainder of the day. Please check with the Golf Shop regarding your tee times tomorrow.

I’ve taken quite a few photos out on the course. Please feel free to follow the status on the blog or on the Club’s Facebook page.

- Zack

zbates@shadycanyongolfclub.com

It’s Time for Some Golf

rockymajor54 — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:43:25 +0000

Wow, where has the summer gone? We open for golf in 3 days and I can’t wait to get you back to playing again. The 96 degree day feels wonderful as I have mutated to being part Bermuda grass this summer. It must have been
some of the seed that got in my ears during the seeding process. We will be sodding the area behind the Clubhouse tomorrow (8-25) and finishing up the Patio Expansion next to the new putting green. The new green will be open but not completely mature, compared to the rest of the greens. The good news is you can continue to practice on the original putting green until it meets your standards. The warm weather we are finally getting will help fill in any thin areas on the fairways. The following photos of the Club and course are some updates of the recent progress around Shady Canyon Golf Club.

Finishing touches on the landscape improvements behind the Pro Shop.

Cutting and removing cattails from the lake next to the first tee.

Shally the Wonder Dog inspecting the cleaning of the creek on the first hole.

Blue Heron up, up and away!

Preparing the area for tomorrow’s sod installation.

Jose Garcia doing a patio expansion next to the new putting green.

Doe a deer, a female deer. Ray, a drop of golden sun!!!!!!

Tub grinder taking lake algae and weeds to process into mulch. This saves hauling fees and it’s environmentally sound.

August 13th Update

rockymajor54 — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:33:25 +0000

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The days are starting to fly by with only two weeks before we open. The following pictures show the progress on the different areas of the club. Enjoy!

David

The installation of the slate has been completed.

The new putting green collar installation completed today.

Junior Camp! Aren’t they cute!

Green grass, blue sky, I love it!

Concrete repairs start today.

Sod installation around the new putting green was completed today.

That’s all for today. Looking forward to seeing you at the Car Show/Concert tomorrow August 14^th at the Driving Range.

David

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!