 | | Date | | Title - Author / Summary | | |
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| Posted On Tuesday, May 16, 2023 |
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| | LRCC Golf Course Superintendent's Spring Update - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | Hello to everyone and welcome spring (sort of). | | |
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| Posted On Tuesday, February 14, 2023 |
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| | Golf Course Update from your GCS - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | Hello to everyone at Laurel Ridge. I am excited to give a quick overview of work already completed this winter on the course and upcoming plans. | | |
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| Posted On Friday, April 22, 2022 |
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| | Quick Golf Course Update - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | Hello to everyone. I would like to give an update on a couple things real quick. | | |
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| Posted On Wednesday, February 16, 2022 |
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| | Winter Golf Course Superintendent's Update - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | Hello to everyone. I just want to give a quick update on some work being performed on the course right now.
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| Posted On Friday, October 1, 2021 |
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| | Superintendent's Fall Report - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | Hello to all, I would like to give an update as to the state of the golf course here at Laurel Ridge... | | |
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| Posted On Tuesday, June 29, 2021 |
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| | Summer Is Here and the Stress Is On - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the weather we have been having. The turf...not so much... | | |
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| Posted On Wednesday, February 17, 2021 |
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| | Golf Course Update From LRCC GCS - by Steve Akers | | |
| | I hope everyone is doing well during these trying times. I wanted to touch base and give a quick hello and update on the status of the course here at LRCC.
The turf remains dormant in most places as the winter season continues. The onset of cold temps early in the season encouraged the grass to “hibernate” fairly quickly avoiding any winter kill. The roller coaster temps of late have allowed a few areas to “break” dormancy, indicating that when we return to seasonal soil temps, things should green up rather quickly. I cannot wait!
The greens have remained frozen within the top 3 inches more this year than in years past. No doubt everyone has most likely noticed how hard the playing surface has been. With that, it has also been hard to change hole locations. But, anytime the greens loosen up, crews are changing locations to try to alleviate foot traffic and ball marks/divots on the playing surface. The future weather forecast shows that temps look to be steadily rising to the mid 40’s to 50’s during the day and upper 30’s at night. This in turn will allow us to regain control of pin placements, and soften the playing surface just a bit.
As for the rest of the course, at the time of this writing, it remains saturated from recent rainfall. February has been moderately wet through the first half of the month. I am hopeful this is not a trend that continues as we are in desperate need of “rooting” this spring. Rooting is when the turf roots extend deep into the ground in search for water. This in turn makes the turf more stress tolerant in the warmer months. The past two springs provided too much rainfall so the turf has not had to search for water, eliminating the need for deep rooting and resulting in summer decline and or stressed turf. On the other side of that coin, soil samples from the greens show massive deep roots extending 5 to 6 inches down. I am very pleased that we have made great progress in this area and will continue to amplify root mass growth going into the season.
Cultural practices will continue to be moderate this year. There will be more topdressing on the greens to alleviate thatch build up and reduce organic matter. And we will roll them more this year to try and sustain green speed throughout the season. Aerification will be arriving in the beginning of March. This year's aerification will involve ¾ solid tines at a depth of 5 inches followed by amendments and sand. It is my intention to have aerification done quickly and the greens back to exceptional playability in days not weeks. We are planning to aerify some of our problem tees and fairways as well, as soil compaction is impending growth and survival.
Let us now talk about bunkers. Our bunkers are in need of renovation. Most of them have their liner showing. All of them wash out in the rain, bringing the sand down from their faces. And most of them need new drainage. We added sand to quite a few last year only to have the sand washed back to the bottom m | | |
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| Posted On Tuesday, September 15, 2020 |
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| | Golf Course Superintendent's Update: "No Cure For The Summertime Blues" - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | Hello to everyone at LRCC. It has been a few months since my last article and I want to bring you up-to-speed. This summer has been a struggle (to say the least) as we encountered just about everything Mother Nature could throw at us in a 3-month span…even an earthquake! We have all felt the effects of COVID, even the golf course. Since outdoor activity is encouraged, average of daily golf rounds have increased, in turn creating more work and stress on the course.
AERIFICATION: Fall aerification is now complete and was successful. Our greens are now in “recoup mode” and should start to show subtle signs of “green up” over the next 2 weeks. We are heading into the grow season for Bentgrass with the onset of cooler temperatures, so the greens should rebound from the coring process and heal nicely. Extra amendments were applied to firm the playing surface and provide much needed stress relief to the greens. The soil and root structure of our greens is terrific. Moisture content is consistent with USGA specs along with microbial activity and Ph levels. Crews verticut the greens before we cored them this year to help alleviate some thatch build up. This will help water to percolate down through the soil even better. With a firm and less thatchy organic level, the greens should produce an even surface that will be noticeably quicker. So for anyone that likes a little speed to your ball roll, hang tight…it's coming! Over the next couple of weeks, a light coat of topdress will be applied to keep the surface as tight as possible.
PAVING: I am happy to announce that the new cart path is complete and paved on holes #12/14. A new women’s tee has been established on hole #12 and we are working to achieve optimum tee height. By October, the new tee should be open for play. New landscaping is slated to beautify the area soon.
HOLE #7: This hole is still having drainage issues that crews are going to tackle during the off season. There will be times during very wet weather that hole #7 will play as a par 3 until it dries.
RECORD RAINFALL: We have been more wet than hot this season. Rainfall has been a rollercoaster, sometimes giving us as much as 3 to 4 inches at once. June, July and August were mild, but the weather has not been consistent all summer. Due to the weather, we have fought a host of diseases this year. From Dollar Spot and Anthracnose, to Pythium Blight and Brown Ring Patch, it seems the sprayer has not stopped for 3 months. At this time, we are still fighting heat wilt and Dollar Spot in the fairways. With cooler temperatures coming soon, the disease pressure will hopefully subside. More rain is in the forecast this week with the arrival of tropical system Sally. Golfers will be required to follow CART PATH ONLY rules for a couple days as this system passes through. When the cooler temperatures arrive, regrowth will begin on some bare spots that suffered heat | | |
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| Posted On Wednesday, May 6, 2020 |
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| | Mother's Day Catering Available! - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | Treat your Mother to clubhouse dining at home, where she is safe and comfortable!
A special Take-Out menu crafted with love by our chefs will feature her favorites & more!
Here's just a few menu options to choose from:
~ FAROE ISLAND SALMON stuffed with lobster & house-smoked fish served with ancient grain primavera
~ VEAL OSSO BUCCO, duxelle smashed potatoes & gremolata
~ CLASSIC PRIME RIB au jus with chef's choice vegetable, baked potato & salad
~ GRILLED GULF SHRIMP with basil pesto, roasted vegetables & quinoa
~ LOW COUNTRY SHE CRAB SOUP
ORDER AHEAD! The deadline to call is 5 pm on Saturday, May 9th.
Pick up your meal(s) SERVED HOT on Sunday, May 10th in front of the clubhouse, 11a-3p.
Open to the public, (828) 452-0545 x140 | | |
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| Posted On Tuesday, April 14, 2020 |
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| | Mountain Golf With A Lot To Offer - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | Laurel Ridge was originally settled by the family of Edward Hyatt shortly before the American Revolution... | | |
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| Posted On Thursday, April 9, 2020 |
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| | Update from the Superintendent - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | Hello to all. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these uneasy times. COVID is the only talk everyone is hearing about, so I am here to talk about turf! Here is a quick update on the course as we now head into spring.
I’m sure by now everyone has noticed how green and rapidly growing the turf has become. As temps continue to rise and soil temps come up to growing range, we will see an explosion of growth and lush turf. Our spring fertilization is complete, along with our aerification and pre-emerge applications. Poa annua (annual bluegrass) has become an issue in the greens. To combat this, a new pre-emerge and growth regulator along with verticutting has been done to remove the Poa. Over time, we should see a downturn in the amount of Poa annua. Vigorous topdressing is being done to almost all tees. The smallest of the tee boxes will continue to be an issue as play dictates turf recovery and wear. Extra attention is being spent on green tees to try to ensure a better tee platform
Beautification of the grounds is underway. It is my hope (even though the club is in a holding pattern due to the recent outbreak) that we still have a vibrant and colorful output of flowers. It is my intention to also put color on the course. Fresh pine needles have been added with more to follow, along with mulch in and around tee signs.
The turf is growing back in places where we saw turf loss last year. I am pleased with the progress of the recovery and we should continue to see more and more spots fill in. The fairways are regenerating at a very good pace for this time of year, and with each mowing, they are becoming slicker and more fine tuned with regard to ball loft and roll.
New flags,cups and sticks are on hold as we are waiting for our new flag sticks to arrive. Bunker rakes will continue to be removed until after the COVID outbreak. I would also advise against using the ball washers as well at this time. I’m sure all have noticed the blue foam in the cups. This was done with your safety in mind to eliminate the need to stick your hand all the way down in the cup. Again, once this is over, we will revert back to our regular golf standards.
The driving range has been revamped a little. New flags and a few more targets have been added. We have also cut a new “short tee” that we will be working on.The range tee has been overseeded and old mats removed. I hope to have a more lush range tee this year, but it will take a commitment from everyone to ensure this happens. Please take the time to sand your divots on the range tee.
It is my intent to have 12-14 open as of this Saturday 4/11/20. Work will continue on the slide area as the spring progresses. Winter has really slowed the project, but great strides have been accomplished in a short time. I will keep everyone posted on the logistics of how we will work the cart traffic.
Please be mindful of cart signs. We have some wet springs that have pooped up and are having a hard time wi | | |
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| Posted On Friday, April 3, 2020 |
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| | Social Distancing Is Easy In The Great Outdoors! - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | We are having fantastic weather for golf! Make a tee time and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine!
While you are here, check out the marked down golf clubs in the Pro Shop. Please keep in mind that guests in the Pro Shop are limited to two at a time.
Callaway Maverick driver demos, Odyssey “Triple Track” putters $249-$299
and Odyssey “Stroke Lab” putters - $50 off! | | |
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| Posted On Friday, March 27, 2020 |
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| | "Take & Bake" Easter Catering Offered To All! - by Mandy Heatherly | | |
| | You can still enjoy an exceptional Easter meal artfully prepared by our chefs at Laurel Ridge! Our clubhouse dining is closed, but we will be offering EASTER TAKE & BAKE meals to feed your family on this special day in the comfort of your home.
Easter catering is open to the public! Be sure to tell us if your family includes children, because we want to give each little one a bag of goodies since our Egg Hunt has been cancelled. LRCC club members will be given special consideration and preferable pick-up times.
> Phone in your order before 5 pm Tuesday, April 7th, 828-452-0545, x140
> Prepay with member charge or credit/debit card
> Pick up on Saturday, April 11th (3-7pm) or Sunday, April 12th (10am-3pm) at your scheduled time in front of the clubhouse under the portico (no need to come inside!)
> Reheat your meal when you are ready
Each Take & Bake option below generously feeds a family of 4! | | |
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