Fairway Top Dressing

We are top dressing the fairways this week.  This will be the first of 4 fairway top dressings this season.  We are confident in our execution and believe the impact is minimal to members and guests. The benefits from frequent fairway top dressing are, reduced thatch accumulation, increased water infiltration, firm playing surfaces and reduced disease severity to name a few.  We appreciate your support during this important application.

Rough Aeration and Seeding

The recent dry weather has given us an opportunity to aerate and seed the areas in the roughs still recovering from the drought.  We identified the areas we felt would have the most impact and then expanded the scope throughout the week.  Once we get some warm rain these areas will germinate and fill in.  Weather permitting, we will continue to aerate throughout the entire property.

Water Restrictions

Water Restrictions have been postponed due to excessive rainfall.  We just received our year end report detailing our water usage.  Our staff tracked weather data daily and did a great job utilizing every drop allocated to us the past 6 months.  The graph below shows our allotment in red and our actual usage in blue.

Rain!

We are off to a great start with rain totals now approaching 17.5"!  Significant rainfall is forecasted for most of the week and the long term forecast looks to be more of the same.  We could easily reach 20" within the next ten days.  The City of Santa Cruz is calling for 35"- 40" of rain for us to not be under restrictions next year.

Most of the seed we planted in the fairways germinated and will continue to mature and grow as long as the temperatures continue to be moderate.  A fertilizer application on the fairways is scheduled as soon as we get a break in the weather and are able to get some equipment on the turf.

The drought has consequences beyond loss of turf.  Turf has more competition from broadleaf weeds due to lack of coverage.  Weeds are very opportunistic and will fill voids where turf is absent.  New seedlings are vulnerable to damage from herbicide applications until they mature.  The new seedlings in the fairways are now mature enough for an application.  We will make a herbicide application during our next break in the weather.

It is important to recognize how far we have come the past 30 days.  We will continue to do everything we can to improve course conditions as we distance ourselves from one of the worst droughts this area has experienced over the last 50 years.  Thank you for your support during a challenging time.

December 14th 2014

September 13th 2014 

The Well Driller is Here

If I had a dollar for every time Ken Woods asked me about the well driller I could retire and buy a share at Pasatiempo.  It's been a long and frustrating wait but the well driller is on property preparing the site for the drill rig.  The actual drill will be here next week depending on the weather and access to the site.  This is the beginning of a process we expect to last 4-6 weeks.  Cart traffic around the area could be diverted at anytime so please pay attention to signs or instructions from Ken and his staff.  We are in the process of building a temporary tee on the right side of #12 at 245 yards.  This should make for a fun drivable par 4.  Keep in mind the well drillers will be working everyday until the well is completed.  We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause while playing the 11th green and 12th tee.

Temporary Tee #12

First Day

Fairway Maintenance

The fairways are starting to fill in from the recent rains and overseeding. Rainfall totals since October 1st are now 2.6".  It looks like we are going to get some more help with rain extending into the 10 day forecast.  We are currently doing everything we can to germinate and protect the new seedlings.  Fairway heights were raised, mowing frequency was decreased and carts will be restricted more often and for longer periods of time after rain events.  Fairway heights are currently .600" and mowing frequency is bi-weekly.  These changes are not uncommon under normal winter conditions.  The density of turfgrass and germination of new seedlings has more of an impact on playability right now than mowing heights.  For example, #1 and #9 are mowed at .500" but look and play like they are maintained at a much lower height of cut because of the high density and maturity of turfgrass.  New seedlings germinating in the other fairways are difficult to cut until they mature and harden off and combined with low turf density give the appearance of much higher mowing heights .  We now seem to find our ball in areas void of turf or just beginning to germinate in the middle of the fairway.  If you currently play the ball down this can be frustrating and the complete opposite of the extremely low heights of cut and firm conditions we became accustomed to this past season.  We ask for your patience and understanding as we continue to grow in the fairways and increase turf density.  The pictures below shows how turf density and new growth can mask actual mowing heights.  The difference between the two heights of cut is only .100"!

.500" #1 Fairway

.600" #10 Fairway 

Digital Maps

The final 4 digital maps for your enjoyment!