January

 Happy New Year to all!

The maintenance facility faired well this Christmas. We will bring in the new year sporting a new greens mower and sand trap rake.

         

In addition to new equipment we will begin work to the front nine cart paths.  

The maintenance staff and I would like to thank all who played in 2020. Furthermore we would like to thank ownership for their continuous investments to our facility.

2021 will be great! Remember **** Covid. Play outside. Play WinterStone!

Novembrrr?

Will it be cold? the wooly worm indicates yes. I predict that more than half of the days this month will be nice with more moisture than October....hopefully! We have reduced all mowing to a minimum. In fact, if you see a mower it’s most likely out there for leaf clean up. With excessive cart traffic this year we will be laying cart path edges with new sod and aerating compacted areas in the rough. While weather is favorable the cart rule will remain 90 degrees. Please adhere to stakes and do not drive on the sod. Hope to see you on the course when it s in the 50’s.

Bryan

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Hole #3 Oct. 26 

March Madness is HERE!

With the season around the corner all the course accessories; tee and yardage markers, ball washers, watercooler stands etc.. will venture back out on the course.  The equipment is tuned and turf products ordered, spring fever is amongst the grounds crew.  The weather has been inconsistent this winter and I suspect March will be the same with slightly higher temps.  Early in the month we will begin spraying pre-emergent herbicide to Fairways, Tees, and approaches. Nothing really starts to grow until the soil temps reach 45 degrees. Hopefully, mother nature gets this accomplished mid-month. As soon as she does we will wake the greens up with some fertilizer. Soon after we will aerify, then we will be around the corner and ready for the season. We look forward to seeing you on the warm days!

- Bryan Gandy

  Fairway reel set for sharpening

 New cart path on #9

Hello Fall!

October is by far one of the best times to play here at Winterstone.  All of the hard work put into the course this year is flourishing and with good fall weather, nothing beats it.  With all of the excessive rainfall this year there had been quite a bit of erosion along cart path edges. This fall we will be working on these areas.  Most of the erosion ends up in lower areas of the cart paths elevating the grass which compromises drainage.  We will be stripping this sod off and removing the excess soil. The soil will then be transported to the maintenance facility to dry. When the moisture content is desirable an artificial amendment, crumb rubber (infill) will be mixed in. This material will improve the porosity of the soil. In turn alleviating compaction, improving infiltration and root space. The recycled soil will then be taken to the origin of the erosion and sod will then be replaced.

See you on the course!
Bryan

Yes, we are still laying sod!

We have some smaller spots to lay in our fairways and should be completed by the end of next week.  With this project behind us, we will continue to detail the course. This entails spot spraying the second round of herbicide to clean up any remaining weeds. Yellow nutsedge will be the primary target. 
In addition, we will begin mowing all the native areas.  

As always, please remember to fix ball marks. See you on the course!

It's Summer already?!

Is summer really here? Yes it is.  For most Golf Course Superintendents July 4th is the warning signal for all hell to break loose! With hot wet weather this year, high disease pressure will be prevalent.  To help combat these issues we perform cultural practices.  Most common is venting and topdressing.  Venting allows fresh Oxygen into the soil profile and allows gasses to escape helping the plants respiration.  Topdressing is a light application of sand.  This aids with keeping the grass plant growing upright as well as keeping the soil profile drier to prevent anaerobic conditions.  For a golf ball, it helps it to roll smoother.

In addition, we will continue to lay zoysia sod on our fairways.  The Cart Rule will be to drive in fairways or cart paths only.   Please remember to be an alert driver and avoid newly sodded areas.  Please lift, clean and replace your ball off of the new sod.  And please don't forget to hydrate, use sunscreen, find shade and have fun! 

See you on the course,

Bryan Gandy
Golf Course Superintendent 

June Course Update

June will be a very busy month here at WinterStone.  Since May was a wash, we will be continuing to lay zoysia sod on our tees and fairways that that fell pray to harsh winter conditions.  Remember to play it forward!  The tee markers on tees we are working on will be moved forward to help us help you.  In addition, we have began revamping landscape areas including the parking lot islands.  Tee sign/ball washer areas as well as various spots on the course.

As always please remember to fix ball marks.

See you on the course!

Bryan Gandy

Head Superintendent