HIGHLAND CC GROUNDS

Following the Killeen Invitational on Monday, we will be applying a light topdressing of sand to our greens. We will be out in the evening after the tournament has been completed. We will follow up with a coco matt to work the sand into the canopy. On Tuesday morning we will be using needle tines to vent the greens which will then be rolled to ensure as little disruption as possible. Both of these practices were scheduled for the week of July 15th, but were postponed due to the intense heat and humidity. As always, we will put forth every effort to not disrupt play.

It has been a busy month for our department so I would like to update our membership on a few topics of choice. Golf Course Aeration dates rescheduled: We have decided to reschedule our course closure for aeration to September 24th & 25th. A number of factors were considered while making this decision. Our current aeration program of core aerating in May offers us the opportunity to both inter seed our greens with creeping bentgrass and remove a decent amount of organic matter. Previous to this year we only performed a single core aeration per year. This early season event allows us more flexibility with our second scheduled aeration. September is a much less stressful month for aeration. Both heat and drought stress are minimal in the early fall allowing for a speedy recovery. Drier Weather: We have experienced some drier more typical July weather and it shows. Green speeds and firmness that our member expect and enjoy are back to normal. I often tell people that we perfor...

This week we will be applying a light topdressing and following it up with a needle tine venting. We are going to split the process over two days to limit the disruption to golf. Tuesday: Front 9 topdress, vent, coco matt and roll Wednesday: Back 9 topdress, vent, coco matt and roll

Seems to be getting old...talking about the rain, but that is the topic of choice for 2013. Luckily we have had decent warm weather for some of our tournament dates in the month of June, but for regular everyday play the weather has not cooperated. Even at this point in the season we have not really had a consistent period of routine maintenance. We have only had two weeks all season without a "no mow" day or a rain out. Unfortunately this disruption in regular maintenace shows in conditions. At this point we have not been able to apply any herbicide to the rough to control clover. Diseases like Dollar Spot have popped up on tees and fairways, yet we need to wait for dry weather to apply curative fungicides to control. We are all looking forward to some sunny, dry weather...also with school coming to an end we are looking forward to our summer students joining our team on a daily basis. They provide a great help on detail work and a great number of other tasks on the golf cou...

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Even though the weather has not cooperated this past month (rain and cold), we have been busy working away at our spring to do list. Along with our capital projects of fairway drainage and greens perimeter irrigation we have been very busy keeping up with mowing and grooming the golf course. Both of the previously mentioned capital projects have been completed and are working very well. Further information about the golf course- Greens:Our greens are starting to firm up and get up to speed. Our mowing and rolling program is now in full effect. With some cooperative weather we will see the speeds stay consistent.  What we really need is for the greens to dry out. Wet, soft greens rarely will allow you to get them up to speed with out creating disease and or compaction issues. Tees, Fairways and Approaches: All are in good shape, cultural practices are constantly being performed to ensure a successful season. Bunkers: We have been plugging away in the bunkers consistently al...

                                                                  In progress Yesterday TDS finished phase 1 of our drainage project. The landing areas on  #3, #9 and #13 were completed. During phase 1 new collector drains, catch basins and slit drains were installed. This complete system helps with all avenues of water removal and dispersal. Slit drains pull water in a wide range from both the soil and the surface. In the case of a down pour the new, properly sized catch basins will allow the water to drain off. With the installation of new large diameter collector drains we are able to handle alot of water that the existing drainage, slit drains...