A Cover Update

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about covering portions of our driving ranges that are in need of recovery.  The covers the golf course maintenance crew put down were moved two weeks later and the results were excellent.  Below are some pictures that were taken on the Reserve and Members Club ranges.  The first picture is on the Reserve Club range after the cover had been moved.  As  you can see the covered turf has recovered nicely.

The second picture we have added is on the Members Club range and it shows perennial ryegrass seed that has germinated while being covered for 2 weeks.  The area directly under the cover was topdressed and seeded directly before the cover was put down.  As you can see the ryegrass has germinated well under the cover.

Wait a Minute!

     If you have spent any amount of time outside during the "winter" months thus far, you have probably noticed that the temperatures have been abnormally warm.  This is great news.  Sort of.  One problem with the warmer temperatures is that the bermuda grass on the golf courses is being tricked into thinking that it is time for spring green up.  Well, the time to break dormancy hasn't come just yet.  Below is a picture that was taken in the dormant rough beside of a tee on # 2 at the Founders Club.

      As you can see here, there is a lot of green grass showing in the dormant rough.  When bermuda grass greens up prematurely, there can be a negative implications on the turf when it tries to break dormancy in the spring.  When there is an early green up, the grass plants use stored carbohydrates as energy to grow.  Therefore, when it is the appropriate time for growth in the spring, the plants have used up most of their energy for the early green up.  

     

New Range Covers

      If you have been on the driving ranges at St. James this week you may have noticed some black covers on certain spots of the range tees.  These covers have been placed on spots of the tees that need recovery and seed germination.  While we believe that this idea will prove to be a success at St. James, we can not take the credit for it.  Troon North, our sister course in Scottsdale, Arizona, have been using covers similar to this for a while and have found them to be a great tool for regenerating used parts of their driving range.  The areas under the covers will be checked during weekly range maintenance on each course and will be moved to different portions of the range as needed.  Below is a picture of the covers on the range at The Reserve Club.  We will post pictures of the turf after the covers are moved in a couple of weeks.

  

Greens Maintenance

     For those of you that do not know, the USGA has an excellent set of educational videos for all golfers to view concerning important parts of golf course maintenance and the game of golf.  Recently, I came across a video that details what the golf course maintenance crew does in regards to greens maintenance.
     Greens maintenance is the main focus of any golf course maintenance operation.  We spend most of our time and energy trying to ensure that the greens at St. James are in good condition.  Please take time to view the USGA video we have linked below to better understand the maintenance practices that we routinely use on your golf course greens.

http://www.usga.org/videos/2013/03/05/video--making-a-great-putting-surface-2205021413001.html

Flooding at The Clubs at St. James

Last night, The Clubs at St. James received approximately 7 inches of rain during a 6 hour span.  As you can imagine the courses are extremely wet and impassible in spots.  Virtually every bunker on all of the courses was washed out and will require a lot of repair. We will be working diligently in the next couple of days to get the courses back into optimum playing shape.  We appreciate your patience during this time.  Below is a picture from #2 at the Founders Club.

Soil Testing

     Soil testing is used to determine nutrient levels in the soil and an important component in developing a fertilization plan. Over the next week, samples will be taken from greens, tees and fairways on all four golf courses at St James Plantation. Homeowners would benefit from soil testing as well. To watch a short video on sampling techniques, click on the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-nCCxjomlE

     The golf course maintenance crew uses Brookside Laboratory in Ohio to read all of our soil samples.  However, the closest place to get your soil samples read is the Extension Office at N.C. State University.  If you have any questions about soil sampling, feel free to ask the golf course management team at St. James.  

New Evergreen Covers

            On Monday, January 4th, the temperatures in St. James dropped to the mid to high 20’s.  At these low temperatures, the warm season greens are subject to winterkill.  Recently, the golf maintenance staff purchased Evergreen Covers to be placed on every hole when the temperatures drop to unacceptable levels.

 

When the covers went out on the greens on Monday, this was the first time the crew had fully covered every green.  The next morning the covers were removed and played resumed at 12 o’clock.  In the future, please be aware that some time will be needed to remove covers before play.  Thanks for your understanding while we try to keep your courses in the best playing conditions possible.

Winter Adjustments

    During the winter months, the golf maintenance crew will begin to move holes with less frequency.  When the weather becomes colder, the cool season turf will slow its growth.  On the courses that have warm season greens, the cold weather will induce dormancy.  Due to the slower growth rate and dormancy the plugs that are moved on the greens will have a hard time healing. 
    Also, with the cooler temps, green speeds will increase.  During the colder months, we will closely monitor the Strackaline pin locations to make sure that pins are placed in accessible locations.  As always, we are continually making an effort to better your courses at St. James Plantation. 

Cart Traffic

     As of Friday, November 6th, all of the Clubs at St. James Plantation have placed black stakes at the beginning and ending of all of the par 4 and five fairways.  These black stakes are in place to alert you where to enter and exit the fairways.  The reason we are asking you to use this policy is to limit the traffic on the overseeded portions of the courses.  The stakes will regularly be rotated to ensure that the regular cart and mower traffic will not damage any specific area.  Thanks for your cooperation while we try to improve your course conditions.

STEM Tour

                On September 29^th and upcoming on November 30^th, the golf course maintenance team at St. James Plantation hosted the 8^th graders of South Brunswick Middle School in an effort to teach them about our daily operations.  As a part of the STEM Program (Science Technology Engineering and Math) the kids were selected to visit our facilities to encourage them to look at professions involving the selected fields.  The tour involved 3 sections; green set-up, fairway mowing, and bunker maintenance.  The sections were led by assistant superintendents and Brunswick Community College staff.  On both days there are 2 tours with 50 children per tour.  The question most often asked by the kids so far has been “Is that grass real?”

 

 

Historic Flooding Hits St. James

Since Friday October 2^nd have experienced an abnormally high amount of rainfall.  The total rainfall since Friday was at 14 inches on Monday morning.  Also as of Monday morning, most all of our courses were not able to be traversed by a golf cart.  Once it is safe to begin working on our courses, our crews aim to be diligent and swift in our clean up so that the members of St. James can resume play quickly.  Please be patient as we try to repair any damages caused by this historic storm.  Below are some pictures of the damage we saw this morning.

 

 

Flooding #8 at Reserve Club

 

 

 

 

Members and Founders Club Shops

 

 

Bunker on # 2 at Reserve Club