Stonebriar Agronomy

Preparing golf courses for winter always impacts playing conditions, but the transition from fall to winter is a reality that golfers and golf course management must face. Remember that having a great spring depends on getting the course through winter in the best shape possible.   Please help us provide the best winter playing conditions by:    Keep carts on paths as much as possible   Filling your divots and repairing ball marks (yours plus one!)   Rake bunkers and always enter / exit at the lowest point closest to your ball   Avoid high traffic and wet areas when carts are allowed off paths   Be careful with the flagstick – it can be damaging to the green, especially the cup   Greens Raising mowing heights on greens will affect putting on some days. If we get a warm front that lasts a few days, the greens will grow enough to slow the greens down. However, this is necessary to keep the greens from becoming unplayable during cold, windy weat...

Fall weather and late-season rain events have arrived at Stonebriar. Another long, dry summer is now behind us. As we prepare the golf courses for winter, we are planning for the 2025 golf season. All tees were overseeded for winter play, and as communicated earlier this year, we will not have any overseeded fairways. This will eliminate the ryegrass competition in the spring when the bermudagrass begins to break dormancy.     Reflecting on the past growing season is not always enjoyable, but it is necessary when building an agronomy program. Here are a few current photos alongside the hard transition photos from June on the Fazio Course.        Wall Project Update The lake wall project is progressing nicely. The upper and middle levels are now complete, and construction has started on the lower level. The lake level is still being lowered and will remain down until the project is complete.     As work is performed around Dye 9 and 18...

Project Update - Lake Walls The project to replace the lake walls on Dye Course 9 and 18 has started. We are replacing the current concrete walls with sheet pilings. This will provide the necessary support to eliminate erosion and give a clean esthetic appearance.  To complete this project, we need to lower the lake's water level. Once the walls are completed on each level, water will be added to the desired level. This project will take a few months to complete.   We will do our best to minimize the disturbance to play on Dye 9 and 18. However, as the contractor is working around the greens or certain areas of the holes, we will need to go to a temporary green or temporary par 3. Please be patient while we make these improvements to the golf course.  Here is a photo of the current work. We removed the old landscaping, and this area will be sodded once the work is complete.   Here is a photo of a completed wall on a separate project, just to give you an ide...

No more core aerifications for 2024! The GCM team has completed another successful aerification on the Dye Course. Typically, I would show pictures. We all know what holes in greens look like by now. This update will breakdown the numbers of aerification and give a little more insight into why we are aggressive with our cultural practices. As you have likely heard before, the most important part of turf is what is underneath it. The soil must be managed properly have produce the desired playing conditions. There are numerous variables that affect soils, but we will only discuss a few in this update. Displacement This chart shows the displacement calculations. Displacement refers to the percentage of material removed. In this case, we are specifically discussing the total percentage of surface area affected. The GCM team has performed three core aerifications on greens in 2024. Here is a breakdown of material removed and replaced:  1 st Aerification ·     ...

  Fazio Course The GCM team has been working diligently on the Fazio Course during the closure and. All greens, tees, and fairways have been aerified, and are recovering nicely for the opening on Saturday, August 17th. The extended closure allowed the team time to fertilize and irrigate to expedite the transition recovery. Obviously, having a break from cart traffic removes another variable from the equation. Sod has been installed in areas where full recovery was unlikely. Areas on 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16 have been grassed, along with select tees. Please play these areas as “Ground Under Repair”. They will be marked with white paint to define the GUR area. You will still see thin areas in fairways, but these are expected to fully recover. We have at least 6 weeks of bermuda growing weather remaining. We will areas if we decide that recovery is unlikely. The golf course has come a long way since the initial transition, and it will continue to improve. Range Tee The ...

  Golf Course Progress Update | 7.19                                Fazio Fairways The Fazio fairways continue to improve. Our recovery program will continue as long as we see results. Our program combines granular fertilizer, liquid fertilizer, and bio-stimulants to encourage the bermuda growth. We have utilized growth regulators which promote lateral growth versus vertical growth.   All fairways, tees, approaches, and aprons were aerified and verticut last week during the Fazio closure. These cultural practices will expedite the recovery process and create healthier soil for optimum growth.  TifTuff sod is currently being installed on Fazio 11 fairway in areas where full recovery is unlikely. We are also preparing areas on Fazio 13 for sod next week. We should be done with Fazio 11 and 13 fairways next week, weather permitting. Rain chances look promising for Sunday and Monday.  Dr...