8/29/10 The Golf Course Committee met again on Thursday, after a 2 month layoff and several items were discussed. Tom Hogan, the Landscape Manager discussed the Landscape long term plan and he believes the moratorium on planting will soon be over. Location and type of new trees to be planted on the course were brought up but decisions will wait until the go-ahead is given to start planting. The bare patches in the red apple hill sides should also be repaired when the moratorium is lifted. Glenn Foreman, the course superintendant, explained the need for 6 greens aerations a year (1 x 7/8'' tine to depth of 12" with sand - and 5 x 3/8" tine to depth of 4"). The aerations take place from April to September and some take place only 3 weeks apart. Glenn was also asked that his staff trim the course perimeter and replace/re-align OB stakes on a regular schedule. This particularly affects holes 12 and 14. Skip Hayden brought us up-to-date on the Landscape Committee and the fact that they had received revised information from Valley Crest and that the Landscape Committee would be discussing it in the near future. Skip is involved in the research to find much-needed ground water on OHCC property and diverting it for watering all over the community. An engineer has been hired to study the amount and viability of the water. The rakes are being shortened to make them easier to handle. If that does not work, new rakes will have to be be purchased at a cost close to $1000!! Now is the time to apply for the Golf Course Committee. Applications can be obtained from the Front desk in the Clubhouse. We need new members - please apply!! Call a Golf Course Committee member if you have comments/questions! 6/30/10 We are working on the OB stakes being correctly aligned and out of the ground cover. Maintenance has purchased more stakes and locations will be monitored. There should also be some improvement on the bunker to the left of the 9th green - clearer definition etc. There has been discussion on purchasing new, lighter bunker rakes - should be resolved at next month's meeting. A reminder: Rakes should be replaced just inside the bunker - please do not throw them into the middle of the bunker. Because of the planting moratorium, some ugly bare patches have been appearing in the hillsides ground cover, with no replanting in sight. Hopefully, that is being resolved and we may see some work on those patches within the next 4-6 weeks. New tree locations are a continuing discussion but nothing is concrete until the end of the planting moratorium! The landscape company advising the OHCC Master Board on the whole village landscaping (including the course) is still preparing its report. Don't forget - Let a Golf Course Committee member know if you have any course concerns. 3/3/10 The course looks LOVELY because of all the rain! If you have not been out there lately to play, you are missing a treat! Please Note: For maintenance purposes, the front 9 will be closed on April 1st and the back 9 will be closed April 2nd. Water statistics: Since January 1st, Tom Hogan reports the course has received 6.98" of rain, well over the average. He also notes that when watering figures are quoted for the golf course, the amounts include the pool and the RV lot usage, sometimes as much as 25%. Tee re-building: Look out for temporary tees on # 8 - men and ladies' tees and #18 - ladies' tee. Rebuilding of those tees should begin sometime during the month of March. Air Hose: The air hose rack will be repaired and replaced, and perhaps a 'shelf' put there, where shoes can be placed while cleaning up. Progress is being made on the patio furniture and the Casa overhead screening. The Landscape Committee, among many other non-course responsibilities, is looking at water retention sources on the course. Still in the discussion phase but will try and update with specifics when we know more. 12/05/09 Reseeding and Planting: is on hold until the Master Board gets the report from special consultants. Happily, we had those wonderful rain episodes in December so that should help the planting decisions. Maintenance has also completed changing about half the 836 sprinkler heads - from Hunter I40s to I60s. Tree trimming: will begin in early 2010. Tee renovations: of men's #8 and ladies #8 and #18 will begin in March 2010. Birdhouse: Skip Hayden attended the Western Audubon Society meeting concerning the Western Bluebird and it was decided to put some of golf course nesting boxes up in the trees. Hopefully, that will give us greater success with new bluebird families! Landscape Committee: Skip Hayden will represent the Golf Course Committee on this new Committee Pins and flags: have been stolen from the course during 2 episodes in the past month! Please keep an eye open for any unusual activity on the course - day or night - and report it immediately. 11/10/09 The Golf Committee began a new year at this month's session by meeting the new committee members and selecting a new board for the Committee. The complete Committee is as follows: Skip Hayden Please feel free to contact these members about any and all golf course concerns. The Master Board Representative is David Key. The newly elected Board members are: Chairman: Art Keller The golf course watering will be reduced by 30% in December. This, of course, will not be a problem if we have a reasonable amount of rain this winter! Unless you are an official blue bird box monitor, PLEASE DO NOT APROACH OR TOUCH THE BOXES! Bluebirds will abandon the nest if disturbed. 10/10/09 Temporary Tees: Tees will be closed 10/21/09 thru 11/16/09 for over-seeding. Tree Trimming: Watch out for tree trimming all over the course! That includes trimming of the trees in #5 fairway, to give the guys a better line to the green. The Casa clean-up: I'm sure you can see the on-going repairs/rehab/repainting/just plain improvements!! By the time this report is on the website, the outside of the Casa should be painted. More to be done - so please be patient with the inconvenience - it's going to be worth it. We are also working on new outdoor furniture! Tee Replacements: The Golf Course Committee will ask the Master Board to approve renovation of the 3 tees considered to be in most need - Ladies # 8 and # 18 and Men's # 8.
More later. 9/11/09 Sorry - the August report was omitted because the Committee meeting was cancelled. 2010 Golf Course Committee PLEASE consider joining us! An application can be collected at the Club House desk or HOA and must be turned in by 30th September. We need volunteers! If you feel strongly about the conditions on the course, come and help us by being vocal at the meetings! The sprinkler computer has had problems of late, so we've had some dry patches on the course - but the course is looking much better this week so hopefully, the problems are over. The Casa clean-up is on-going! The outside will be painted soon and we are still working on other aspects of the repairs. Drought problems: Special consultants are working with a committee of residents and staff, to decide how to save water during the drought. No decisions have been offered or accepted yet, but be prepared for drastic water cuts on the course! We'll try to keep you updated on the conclusions of that committee. Please let it rain! New member golf course orientation: Don Olson is working with Chris Bessey, to begin a required golf course orientation, before an initial bag tag is issued. This should help lessen some of the strange happenings we occasionally see on the course - like pulling carts across greens, wearing boots to play, and un-raked bunkers etc! 7/8/09 Casa Repair: The condition of the Casa and the attached bathrooms have been of concern to the Committee for some time. Several work orders have been placed at HOA but the Committee wants there to be more involvement in maintenance/upgrades. Being pursued. Teeing Area Renovation: Please give us your opinion on which tee areas you think need renovation. So far, men's # 8 and Ladies # 8 and 18 have been mentioned. Golf Course Orientation: There is a move afoot to require that all golfers applying for their FIRST bag tag undergo some kind of orientation. Watch here for more info. Golf Attire: Requirements are listed in the Handbook for Residents. However, there are 2 concerns. First, that men should be able to wear turtlenecks and second, that perhaps jeans should be banned (as they are on all other courses apart from some publicly owned). A Gentle reminder: Golf carts, bags or golf club racks of any kind are NOT allowed on greens or teeing areas at any time! Any comments or input welcome! Please contact any one of the Golf Course Committee members listed in this site. 6/05/09 Tree removal and replacement: Several trees have been removed and some areas will have replacement trees. However, no trees will be planted during the water shortage/drought. New trees will eventually appear in the following spots: 1) To the left of # 8 green, where the large tree was removed (creating a hazard to the homes above), there will be a 2 new plantings. 2) At the side of # 13 fairway, where the roots of the removed trees had broken a water main, there will be 2 new plantings - not necessarily on the old sites. Tree well mulching: Please remember to take COMPLETE FREE RELIEF (stance and swing, no closer to the hole) from the tree wells. The wells have been heavily mulched because of the drought, so please - let's leave the mulch in the wells! Security: Security head Darrel Rumsey was present at June's meeting. We are asked to call Security whenever we witness an infraction of the OHCC Handbook for Residents when on the golf course. Security will come onto the course as soon as they can (unless there is an on-going medical emergency) but, although they can talk to the offender - and give them a citation, they cannot force them to leave the course. Security is familiar with the types of violations we have on the course and works hard to control them. Security will not check bag tags during OHGC tournaments but may be on the course, checking other items, emergency phones etc. A great way to police our course is ....you! If you see an infraction of the rules, please let the offender know right there and then! Safety Issue: Please don't jump around using tees out of sequence. It can be dangerous and it is very irritating to the foursomes when you jump ahead of them, particularly on a busy course. From Tom Hogan: Applications of chemicals -fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers - to the fairways will help with the brown spots. The sprinkler system is now tied to the weather station, and the station is capable of same-day adjustments to the sprinkler system. Water Issues: An architectural company has been hired by the Master Board to study the feasibility of water collection, containment and recycling in the village. May 23, 2009 We hope, with this site, to keep you updated on what's going on with the Committee and the Golf Course, and report any on-going issues. Click on the specific sub-pages to take you to your area of interest. After the 2009 Officers, the first sub page is the official stuff! Purpose and make-up of the committee and the meetings schedule. The golf course superintendent, Glenn Foreman puts out a maintenance sheet every month giving details of the month's schedule, fertilizers, sand for bunkers, sign replacements, course closures etc. Lots of good information on the status and maintenance of the course. If you are a bird watcher, we'll try to keep you up-dated on the progress of the blue bird houses and maybe even mention the hawks nesting in the trees on #4! Watch this space for more info in the near future! |
Call
