Pine Hollow Green Department

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

GOLF COURSE UPDATE 8/23/24

WOW!!!!! That went fast! Amazing that the summer season seems like it started yesterday and here we are after Club Championship preparing for camp season to end, final summer vacations, and Labor Day festivities fast approaching. I always take time to reflect on our year since I am now finished with aeration week and summer renovation work starting to erase the summer stress. I always look at this as a new year while we will prepare for fall golf and continue to build healthy surfaces for 2024 and regrow areas affected by the year's abuse. With this year's reflection being how proud of what we accomplished this year with project work and how our course handled the challenges of the summer grind. I'd also like to thank my staff and Assistant Will Travers for all the hard work and our property and culture would not be the same without the help of a great team across the Club where we are again demonstrate that Pine Hollow is an exceptional experience. In the coming days and weeks we will continue the great golf experience you have always enjoyed while healing up from the necessary evil that is GOLF COURSE AERATION. This is never an exciting time here but we ask for your patience while we make the property better thru healthy and progressive aerification. The renovation work performed over these couple weeks will pay huge dividends with better turf quality going into the fall for awesome conditions over the next few months while also giving us a great foundation for 2024. If you have any questions in regard to the process and healing time please refer back to the aeration post.

Please also review the golf course etiquette post about divot repair, ball marks, etc. and please be mindful with golf cart traffic while our tender turf continues to heal from aeration and shallow rooting from the excessive rains we have had since mid July.

Thanks again as always for your support and your help making Pine Hollow a special place for all of us!

Aeration promotes air exchange, nutrients, and water availability

MOWING HEIGHTS - Greens will be mowed at .110" 7 times per week and rolled Wednesday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday. TEES/COLLARS/APPROACHES Mowed at .325" 3 times per week. FWYS Mowed at .375" 3 times per week. ROUGH will be cut weekly at 2.25".
AERATION/RENOVATION- Aeration wrapping up. Please review the previous post for specific details.
TOPDRESSING - Sand will be applied bi-weekly to dilute the seasons growth, smooth the surface, and create a more consistent growing medium for our putting greens
BUNKERS - As a reminder most bunkers have been rebuilt due to this process we are able to spend less time and money repairing after storms and this also helps get you on the course quicker. Also I want to remind you that these new bunkers will take time to settle. Soft sand will get dirty with some contamination and will settle in nicely after a few seasons. I'd also like to remind you that our hazards need your help throughout the year, if you are in a bunker please think of your fellow members and rake yourself out if no caddie is present.
Dots help staff recapture collar consistency
SILVERY THREAD MOSS - You may have noticed quarter sized black spots on some greens, this is due to the chemical applications necessary for our eradication program. Over the years we have had great success cutting back populations and just recently got aggressive with the program again. This process will be slow and has shown significant improvements on most greens with populations decreasing by 90% since I took over thru plugging and chemical applications. This process has again worked great this year and we are on our way to 100% control.
DETAIL WORK - You will see in the coming weeks we will begin painting and dotting the course. These lines and dots are to indicate where mowing lines should be adjusting the seasons mistakes or recapturing straighter more defined lines. Please excuse our painting as we begin the process of detailing the golf course.

Re-squaring our tees with sod or scalping

Monday, July 31, 2023

GOLF COURSE AERATION SCHEDULE AND COURSE CLOSURE

COURSE WILL BE CLOSED 8/15/23 and 8/16/23

TEE AERATION - MONDAY 8/7/23 *5/8" on 2" SPACING HOLLOW CORE NO SAND* This process will take one day with good weather and should be healed within 10 to 14 days.
FAIRWAYS - MONDAY 8/7/23 *1" SOLID DEEP TINE w/ NO CORE This deep and aggressive practice will take 7 to 10 days and will be ongoing until completion. There will be no major disruption to play and should roll out with 7 to 10 days.
GREENS - TUESDAY 8/15/23 *1/4" HOLLOW TINE CORE w/ LIGHT SAND TOPDRESSING* This process will take one day to core and clean. You can expect softer and slower conditions while we heal and should be unnoticeable within 7 to 10 days.
APPROACHES & COLLECTIONS WEDNESDAY 8/16/23 *1/2" on 2" SPACING HOLLOW CORE NO SAND* This process should take one day to core and clean. We are expecting to be healed within 10 to 14 days.

Friday, July 21, 2023

GOLF COURSE ETIQUETTE REMINDER 2023

All, as we continue to enjoy this great game I wanted to remind everyone with Club Championship approaching to please be mindful of fellow member and do your part to preserve our golf course. As a friendly reminder from your turf care team we ask that you remember to rake bunkers when finished, please be mindful where we drive the carts, play fast, refrain from stepping in other players lines, and view some of the most common questions examples below. Thanks and see you on the course!

LINEAR PATTERN HELPS HEAL FASTER AT DRIVING RANGE

PLEASE REPAIR PITCH MARKS

FILL DIVOTS W/ SAND MIX AND SMOOTH SURFACE

Thursday, June 22, 2023

GOLF COURSE UPDATE 6/22/23

Summer is upon us here at Pine Hollow and we have been fortunate to have one of our best starts to a year that I can remember. For most of the past couple months we have had 70's and sunshine to showcase our great golf course and provide you all with exceptional playing conditions. Looking ahead at the coming weeks we should continue in the favorable forecast and kick off the summer solstice ready for whatever the dog days of summer brings our way.

Now that I have reflected back at what we have all accomplished it has really been an exciting spring with all the project work, getting caught up with property detail, and with helping our staff progress the overall product. A few of my most proud accomplishments this season within my department has been reestablishing our culture and dedication, and I can notice every employee here is working to elevate your club experience beyond anything we have had here before. With a firm grip on our schedule and the support we get from our team this is shaping up to be our best season and on behalf of everyone we are so happy to spend it with you.

Around the course and the property, you may notice some small projects but in the the coming weeks we really start the transition into maintaining and preserving the property. Scaling projects back helps us focus on your day-to-day experience with our daily/weekly property conditioning and to make sure all touch points for you are in the best shape possible. Along with our maintenance, water management will be incredibly important and take priority as summer temperatures rise with daily overhead and hand watering during hot stretches and pushing and pumping water off grass during inclement weather. Please know that these measures along with course restrictions are to help preserve our turf for season long success.

In the coming months we expect to bring lots of joy to you and your guests and I'd just like to say THANK YOU for giving us the opportunity to be part of your escape. I hope that the 2023 season has been as good for you as it has been for us, and I'd like you to know how proud we are to be part of this wonderful family. Enjoy and see around the course!!!

MOWING HEIGHTS - Greens will be mowed at .110" 7 times per week and rolled Wednesday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday. TEES/COLLARS/APPROACHES Mowed at .325" 3 times per week. FWYS Mowed at .375" 3 times per week. ROUGH will be cut weekly at 2.25".
TOPDRESSING - As you may have noticed we have started our Sand Topdressing Program again. This sand will be applied bi-weekly to dilute the seasons growth, smooth the surface, and create a more consistent growing medium for our putting greens
BUNKERS - All golf course and practice bunkers have been edged, sanded, and raked out to keep free of stone and weed encroached. We have been raking daily and/or keep disturbed surfaces touched up. New sand will be added to bunkers throughout the season where necessary in bunkers not being renovated this spring. As a reminder most bunkers have been rebuilt and have been already saved us time raking after storms and also helped get you on the course quicker. Please remember our hazards also need your help throughout the year, if you are in a bunker please think of your fellow members and rake yourself out if no caddie is present.
SILVERY THREAD MOSS - You may have noticed quarter sized black spots on some greens, this is due to the chemical applications necessary for our eradication program. Over the years we have had great success cutting back populations and just recently got aggressive with the program again. This process will be slow and has shown significant improvements on most greens with populations decreasing thru by 80% since I took over thru plugging and chemical applications.
CLUBHOUSE CONSTRUCTION - Our Patio/Outdoor Seating Area came out great and all the grass detail surrounding the patio has grown in for the busy party season. We have also finished re-grassing the front circle, added new landscape around the front pond, and have been aggressively pruning existing plant material to cleanup the properties first impression membership experience.
GOLF COURSE CONSTRUCTION - All major work is complete at this time. #11 has grown in beautifully and we have had great feedback on the new teeing options. Our new bunkers are also settling in nicely. Thanks for all you patience while we had open ground and temporary greens.
AERATION - 7/5/23 Solid needle tine non-disruptive w/ light sand topdressing. 8/14/23 GREENS - 3/8" hollow core no sand / TEES - 1/2" hollow core no sand / FWYS - 3/4" solid deep tine
TENNIS COURT UPDATE - Courts are currently being brushed daily and rolled as necessary with a goal to improve consistency and court conditioning. Due to our efforts and working with Alina and her Professional Staff our playing surfaces have continued to improve and we have had great feedback while working towards our goals of excellence. Courts are also receiving extra attention on Maintenance Mondays with bi-weekly Calcium applications and additional Har-Tru where necessary.
PICKLEBALL / PADEL UPDATE - All Pickleball and Padel Courts are open for play. Pickleball Courts will be hosed off on Mondays along with cleaning of the Padel glass. We will also add sand to our Padel courts at the direction on our Professional Staff.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

GOLF COURSE UPDATE 4/27/23

On to the next phase here at the Club! As many of you have noticed this has been the best April weather we have had in my 10 years as your Supt. and possibly since my time on the island. We have all been busy tweaking our programs and dialing in our changes as we welcome all members back home and wrap up our off-season improvements. Not only has the weather put us on a great pace to be finished by early May with construction but the warmer weather has jump started our golf course conditioning programs. As we move from project season to maintenance mode in the coming weeks we will be preparing the golf course and property facilities daily, while building on the momentum we have built since re-opening. The energy I have felt from our staff and the membership is exactly what all of us here at the club have been excited about since we closed last December. I honestly can't remember a season with so much anticipation to begin growing in our property and continue training my crew to excel and enhance your daily experience. Next week we will focusing efforts our playing surfaces with more mowing, tighter clip frequency, and some extra rolling in preparations for our opening tournament. We are in great shape for late April and all signs point to Pine Hollow having another great season!

Please enjoy the ride as we continue navigating the project season phase and know that in the coming weeks our property will be awake with all the amenities that you have loved and new updates you will enjoy for years to come.

MOWING HEIGHTS - Greens will be mowed at .115" 4 times per week and rolled 3 times until grass growth and demand dictates otherwise. TEES/COLLARS/APPROACHES Mowed at .325" 2 times per week. FWYS Mowed at .375" 2 times per week. ROUGH Will be cut for the first time Monday 5/1/23 to clean up remaining winter debris and keep turf tight as needed.
GOLF COURSE / CLUBHOUSE CLEANUP - By this weeks end most if not all Golf Course, Tennis, Pool, and remaining Clubhouse beds will be initially cleaned out, treated w/ herbicide or fertilizer, and mulched for the season.
BUNKER CLEANOUT/SAND - All golf course and practice bunkers have been edged, sanded, and raked out to keep free of stone and weed encroached. We will now begin raking bunkers weekly and keep disturbed surfaces touched up. New sand will be added to bunkers throughout the season where necessary in bunkers not being renovated this spring. Our hazards also need your help throughout the year if you are in a bunker please think of your fellow member and rake yourself out if no caddie is present.
TEE MARKERS/GOLF COURSE ACCESSORIES - All golf course accessories will be returned to the golf course including tee markers, bunker rakes, select ball washers, etc. Hazard stakes and ut of bounds stakes will be placed next week as we are now gearing up golf.
CLUBHOUSE CONSTRUCTION - You will notice from the lunch room we started the Patio / Outdoor dining area this week. Our disturbance will be wrapped up quickly as we have a great contractor on-site to expedite the work and my team will wrap up any finish work necessary before we get into party and function season. Along with the patio we are also working on re-grassing the front circle, adding landscape around the front pond, and will be aggressively pruning existing plant material to cleanup the properties first impression membership experience.
GOLF COURSE CONSTRUCTION - #11 Tee Complex is complete and growing in nicely. Our projected opening will be for the new tee on Men's Opening Day. As mentioned before this exciting work is continuing with McDonald & Sons one of the premier golf course construction companies in the country. This new tee ground was expanded and shifted away from #12 fairway. The next phase of work is wrapping up on approximately six holes of greenside
bunkers (#2,#6,#7,#8,#15,#18). All existing sand and subsurface will be excavated from our bunkers, drained/regraded, lined using the Better Billy Bunker System, and new sand to finish off.
TENNIS COURT UPDATE - Reconditioning of courts started last week on Courts #1 and #2. These courts have been rolled daily since the surfacing and will open on Tuesday 4/25/23. Courts #3,#6, and #7 will be available Tuesday 5/2/23 and Courts #4 and #5 will be available Friday 5/5/23. We will follow the same process with rolling for one week after completion and open with nets at that point. Once the courts reach the desired firmness and speeds we will brush daily and roll as necessary with a goal to improve consistency and court conditioning.
PICKLEBALL / PADEL UPDATE - All Pickleball and Padel Courts are open for play. You will notice new plant material along the retaining wall at the pickleball courts and all construction areas will be seeded and cleaned up once court resurfacing is complete.