by Brian Duthu
Pro Shops
Total rounds for May were down slightly from prior year, however revenue did increase. The percentage of public play year-to-date is consistent with recent trends, with less than 5% of total rounds played by public players. For the year 172,057 rounds have been played on our courses.
With longer daylight hours, this is the time of year we like to remind our residents that After 5:00 cards are available for purchase in the pro shops. The cards allow residents to play after pro shops are closed for the day. Cards are sold for $44 to RCSC Cardholders and sold for $12 to RCSC Cardholders that purchase the surcharge pass on an annual basis. Please remember to carry your After 5:00 card during your round, they serve as your receipt should a Ranger be on duty. Irrigation start times vary by the efficiency of each course’s irrigation system, this time of year they are set for as late a start as possible.
Snack Shops
Snack shop hours have now changed to summer operating hours and now have 1:00 p.m. for a closing time. After the snack shops are closed, the pro shops have a limited selection of beverages and snacks available for sale.
Courses
With the extended cooler weather, the normal transition from winter rye to summer bermuda was later than normal. The fairway aerification and suddenly hot temperatures has pushed out any remaining rye grass. Conditions will vary depending on the efficiency of the golf course’s irrigation system and the strength of the rye overseed. Watering a “hot spot” to recover turf coverage, often leads to overwatering otherwise healthy areas. The overwatering will lead to saturated wet spots. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we move through transition.
Green aerification will begin July 6 at South and continue through July 28 at Willowbrook. Though originally scheduled, the greens at North will not be core aerified. Therefore North will remain open for play on July 13 and July 14. The full aerification schedule can be found at www.sunaz.com, under golf.
The Riverview renovation project is progressing as scheduled, with grassing complete on the front nine and in process on the back nine. The newly planted sprigs have responded well and are actively growing. Much of the process of growing in greens, is patience, though there is also rolling and fertilizing. After the greens have been established and watering scaled back, mowing will begin, along with continued fertilization. For a successful grow-in, the newly planted sprigs need to be saturated and remain moist day and night. We have had many incidents of curious residents driving through the course, into heavily saturated, newly planted areas. The results of this curiosity result in hundreds of dollars of repairs, we implore everyone to remain off the course for the duration of the renovation.
As a reminder, the greens at Riverview will not be over-seeded for the upcoming winter season. Therefore, the greens will perform similarly to the North greens this past season. The greens will have pigment applied, to give them color through their dormancy. The greens will be firm and will become firmer throughout the season. The greens will look the worst in April and May, before they begin actively growing. It will be a full 18 to 24 months for the greens to begin playing as expected.
Lawn Bowling
New to the report this month is a lawn bowl report. The renovation to the Lakeview Lawn Bowl greens is nearing completion, with the west green expected to be sprigged the week of June 29. In order to give the best chance for a successful grow-in, we have put in place a temporary, diesel powered pump to assist with watering. This augmented irrigation system will ensure that the newly planted sprigs receive enough water to keep them moist day and night. Improper drainage and undesired grasses were two reasons for this renovation to take place. Both greens now have the proper profile for drainage, a herringbone system to gather the water and a 20 foot hurricane hole collect the water. The greens will be sprigged with tiff-dwarf Bermuda grass, the same surface as the Bell Lawn Bowl Greens. The project is proceeding as scheduled with final grassing to be in place by mid-July and the greens ready for use for the upcoming fall/winter season.
The remaining lawn bowl greens have been aerated, top dressed and fertilized. Another round of aeration, top dressing and fertilizing will take place in July. Once humidity has increased the Bell Lawn Bowl greens will be planed, to remove uneven surfaces.
Grounds
Tree trimming is underway and continued cleanup from rains earlier in the month. Tree and shrubs have been planted at Lakeview. The soft ball field has been aerated and additional 1/4 minus ground gravel has been added to the walking track at the Sun Bowl.