The evidence left behind

Over the years, I've stated many times "there's a little Caddy Shack in every golf course". Every golf course has  issues with critters of somekind. Shadow Glen is no exception. With our natural buffers along hole perimeters, we provide the perfect setting to enhance wildlife populations throughout the golf course. Unfortunately, with the abundance of wildlife comes the issue of co-existence. In frustration, I've also stated that we lose more turf  to animal activity than golfers Here's some photos of what's left behind as our friends play on your golf course.

 Each morning you never know what you'll find. Our little bambis like the sand at #15 green. Where's the rake!

The foxes don't like the bunker liners because they can't bury their food deep enough into the bunker.

Hole #17 fairway bunkers

Grub damage along #7 fairway.

An abundance of grubs feeding on grass roots.

This little guy tunneled up to the cart path edge and he decided to cross the cart path and continue on with his excavation work. With the dry conditions, the moles are moving from the tree lines to the golf course in record numbers. In the last two months, approximately forty of these subsurface explorers have been TERMINATED!!

 I caught this guy in the act. This red fox was burying his catch in the sand pile at our holding bins by the shop. I wish they would dig in the sand piles at the shop instead of the course bunkers more often.

The deer rut season will arrive in the next two weeks. Hopefully the king of the woods will prove his valor off the green surfaces. We will know soon enough..........

Catching Up

It's been awhile since the last post, so I have alot of catching up to do. September has been an extremely busy time on the golf course with member events  and trying to encourage the golf course to heal from the stresses of the summer.  The temperatures have been very nice and the rainfall minimal. In the last forty-five days, the golf course has received about one inch of rain. The course is dry in some areas and wet in others depending on how the irrigation sprinklers throw water and the course topography.  The zoysia fairways are off color in some areas due to the drought and a couple of spotty frosts. At this point, we have experienced four frost delays.

The native grass conversion on holes #8 and 18 is pretty much complete. The tall fescue is well on its way of establishing itself and filling-in. Both areas have been mowed one time in the last week. The following pictures represent some of the preparation steps taken to encourage a successful transition to the tall fescue native area.

Round-up spray of the existing warm season native grasses.

Native grass boundary defined by round-up spraying.

The seeding effort is underway with a walking aerifier, a verticutt/ seeder and a rotary spreader broadcasting seed also.

Part of the renovation work involved removing years of silt accumulation below a storm drain culvert that dumps water and debris across the native area. The guys did a nice job excating the silt and grading the area to direct water to an existing drainage collection basin located in the right rough.

Once the storm drainage path was graded, fescue sod was planted to minimize erosion while the seeded areas establishes itself.

The tall fescue is actively growing and returning a green look to the area.

The Native Grass Conversion project is complete on hole #8. Next spring the grass will be allowed to grow to eight inches. An area behind the green as been defined to receive minimal mowing also. Change is underway.....