Divot Mix Tubes Have Arrived

May 30, 2010

For those of you who walk the golf course and would like to fill divots, we now have small refillable tubes for sand & seed mix. The plastic tubes have a clip that attaches to your bag and are available free of charge in the Golf Shop.

Notes: The tubes can be refilled at the boxes at #8 tee and at #14 tee. Empty containers can be returned to a storage box in the golf cart area after the round.

Birds Seen Yesterday

May 27, 2010














These baby Killdeers just hatched from a nest behind #1 green. The nest was on the ground in the bark chips. Last week I saw four well-camouflaged eggs. And yesterday I saw all four chicks, so all the youngsters made it! Photos were taken in front of the Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex.






A duck swims lazily in the ditch on hole #6. Water from the San Francisquito Creek is being pumped into this ditch at hole #9. The water then flows to Lake Lagunita to provide breeding habitat for the threatened Tiger Salamander.

Spring Observations

May 26, 2010

We received 0.08" of rain over the last 24 hours which is very welcome at this time of year. The trees are showing incredible growth. Here are a couple of young Italian Stone Pines (Pinus pinea) on hole #4. If you look closely, you can see over one foot of lighter green new growth.

This is the time of year when most Poa annua is visible in the greens. This year has favored the Poa more than usual due to the cool, wet spring. Fortunately, the upcoming Memorial Day weekend looks to finally be warm and sunny. This will definitely help the favored bentgrass in the greens!

One of my continual concerns is poorly repaired ball marks. Poorly repaired ball marks are not only bad to putt over, but they provide a site where Poa annua can invade. This is an example of a poorly repaired ball mark on #4 green. This is not how a repaired mark should look. It is raised up and has dirt showing. A properly repaired mark will have the turf pushed neatly back together without any dirt showing.

Birds around the course have nested and the young are fledging. If you get a chance, walk by the bird box behind #2 green and have a listen. The youngsters are chirping like crazy!

Stellar's Jays seem to be becoming more numerous near the creek on holes #3 and #8. Here is one on bridge #3.

2010-05-21 Cart Path Repair #15

Yesterday we replaced a section of broken cart path near #15 green. The newer paths on the course are 4" of non-reinforced concrete. The path was broken during maintenance on the Hetch Hetchy aqueduct line last fall. The repair took one cubic yard of concrete to complete.

2010-05-19

May 19, 2010

We received 0.33" of rain yesterday. It was a good shot, but not enough to restrict golf carts.

Rain at this time of year is a blessing, as it saves us from applying irrigation water. This results in a budget savings of about $1,500 per night! For the season, we are up to 22.22" of rainfall, about 6" more than normal.

The downside is that the native areas that border the fairways continue to grow. In some places the grasses are five feet tall! And unfortunately, the weeds like thistle and mustard in those areas continue to germinate and grow. Normally those areas are browning out rapidly by now. Expect to see new generations of burrowing animals move from the native areas into the golf course as things dry out in the coming weeks.

Spring growth spurt begins as does topdressing program

As I write this, the golf course is just beginning its spring growth spurt.
Due to this year's cold and wet winter, we are about a month behind where we
normally would be.  We've made our first fertilizer application between the
Men's and Women's collegiate events and the rough is showing its "teeth!"

We've also begun our bi-weekly Monday topdressing program, now that the
greens are growing.  The light sand topdressing allows us to keep the greens
relatively firm without the unwelcome core aeration process.  Without the
sand topdressing, the greens would become puffy, scalp easily and the
drainage would become compromised.

Play is definitely picking up, so we especially need your help with ball
marks.  When done properly, a repaired ball mark should be started at the
tuft in the back, tapped flat, and have no brown showing. Practice it and
see how good you can get at it!  Thanks as always!

Ken Williams