12 minute read
golF
GOLF Golf
March marks the beginning of the busy Spring golf season here in South Texas. Not only is it a great time to come out and play with some friends or clients when the golf course is in fantastic shape, but we also have a number of events that highlight the tournament calendar.
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The 9th Annual Cordillera Cup will take place Saturday and Sunday March 21st – 22nd. This Ryder Cup style team competition is the most popular tournament we have amongst our members and thus continues to grow in numbers every year. Last year, the Northington team continued their victory string in one of the closest competitions in the tournament’s history. Despite the event’s one sidedness, the format is always fun and part of being a team is what makes this event so special. Members must register on-line for the tournament this year at www.clubsofcordilleraranch.com
The Cordillera Ranch Golf Professional staff will once again be hosting an Adult Short Game Clinic Tuesday-Thursday March 24th – 26th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm at the Practice Park. This always seems to be a well attended event and space is limited to the first 24 participants. Focus will once again be on Chipping and Pitching, Bunker play and Putting.
March means the return of the Valero Texas Open here in San Antonio. Golf San Antonio has done a terrific job with this event in their efforts to make this one of the best events on the PGA Tour. Valero continues to sponsor the event and help make it the leading tournament on the PGA tour with over $9 million going to charity last year. I am sure our very own Jimmy Walker will be playing this year so I hope you will consider supporting him and head over and watch the best players in the world compete at the TPC San Antonio course.
The Blockbuster Demo Day is set for Saturday April 11th from 9:00am -3:00pm. We have added a few things this year to make the event even more entertaining, including music, beer and a few apparel vendors that will help create a very festive atmosphere. We once again will have a fantastic group of manufacturers lined up to showcase the latest technology in golf clubs. We will have special discounts on products purchased or ordered that day only so I hope you have the chance to take advantage of this unique opportunity. Complimentary sodas and hot dogs will be available so come and enjoy the day with us.
The El Compadre Member-Member will take place April 25th – 26th. The format will once again be a Two-Man Quota and Net BB Quota and we will continue the popular Saturday Casino night that has become a big part of the event. Put this date on your calendar and come join us for a great time with good friends.
We also will be hosting our Major’s series of One Day Member-Guests’ this year and our Master’s One Day Member-Guest will kick us off. The tournament is scheduled for Friday April 10th and is a great way to bring up to three guests and showcase all of the beautiful Cordillera Ranch facilities and incredible Jack Nicklaus Signature Course. Check with the Golf Shop at 830-336-4653 for format and details.
As you can see, we have some great events to participate in so come out and play some golf!
See you on the course,
Marc DeWall, PGA
Director of Golf, The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch mdewall@cordilleraranch.com | 830.336.4653
GOLF
THE CLUBS
By Sarah Mason
The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida opened its doors to over 40,000 industry professionals this past January. Following record breaking attendance at the Teaching and Coaching Workshops and The PGA Show Outdoor Demo Day on Tuesday, it’s clear to see that the game is growing. PGA Golf Professionals came out to test the best of the best at the Orange County National Golf Center. The largest outdoor demo in the world gives golf equipment companies a chance to showcase the newest drivers, woods, irons, wedges, putters, balls, shafts, grips, club fitting best practices, scoring clinics and instructional aides and more.
While the tech savvy golf professionals were at Demo Day, the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM) held their Annual Retail Conference at the Convention Center. This is a place for buyers and merchandisers to network with industry professionals and learn best practices from some of the retail industry’s finest. The conference was a day full of speakers, round tables and a special product preview. The product preview gave merchandisers and buyers a first look at new apparel and accessories before they head out to the show floor on Wednesday.
On opening day of the PGA Merchandise Show, over 1,000 leading companies anticipated the opening of the doors. Outside of those doors, attendees from all 50 states and 78 countries were welcomed by PGA Tour Player, Bubba Watson. The show floor hummed with excitement surrounding the celebrity appearances throughout the week. PGA Professionals, buyers, merchandisers and other industry professionals were able to meet face to face with manufacturers and rub elbows with some of golf’s biggest names. Greg Norman, Annika Sorenstam, Graeme McDowell, Mo Martin and of course Bubba Watson, just to name a few. Golf Channel’s Morning Drive broadcasted live each day from the show, giving golf enthusiasts at home a look inside the MAJOR of the Golf Business. Fashion shows were new to the PGA Show lineup this year, bringing the latest in apparel and accessories to the runway.
The PGA Forum Stage presented by OMEGA was the hub for golf industry news. One of the hot topics was the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It has been 111 years since golf was last a part of the Olympic Games. A panel met Wednesday morning to discuss its return. The golf course where the competition is to be held is in its final stages of construction. “Golf in the Olympics is the biggest grow-the-game opportunity we have,” said Peter Dawson, president of the International Golf Federation. He went on to emphasize that the growth of the game is a worldwide endeavor. This is prevalent in that there were attendees from 78 countries in at this year’s show.
The followings days were filled with countless networking opportunities and private showings of Fall 2015 product lines. Though it’s January and most clubs are in the middle of winter, buyers are booking Summer/Fall merchandise. One of the most common trends amongst exhibitors was MADE IN THE USA! Many manufacturers have gone domestic over import and its hitting home for many golf professionals and buyers alike. Another trend was lifestyle.
It’s easy to understand why the PGA Merchandise Show is the MAJOR of the golf business. It provides the business with invaluable time networking with industry leaders, continuing education through seminars and hands on experience through product testing. The PGA continues to grow the game and in turn grow the business.
GOLF
TUrF care and THE HOMEOWNER
By Mark Semm
Spring is a beautiful time in the Texas Hill Country. Wildflowers are blooming, oaks are budding new leaves, and the weather brings the outdoor activities to full steam. I’d like to share some ideas and tips we use on the golf course to help your lawn and landscape reach its full potential. These topics include irrigation audit and repair, aerification and verticutting, and finally a fertilizer and pre-emergent herbicide application. Now is the time to have your irrigation system audited by a licensed landscape irrigator and make necessary repairs. Do not wait until the typical hot, dry summer sets in as irrigation contractors usually have a long list of procrastinators! An irrigation audit consists of checking all valves for proper operation, inspecting sprinklers and nozzles for proper dispersion, and ensuring the proper run times for each individual station. We have our audit complete by the end of March and continue to monitor it daily throughout the year. The golf course irrigation system consists of well over 2,200 individual sprinklers, countless miles of pipe and wire, 7 pumps and motors, 36 satellite controllers and a central computer in our office to operate it! An irrigation system audit will help ensure water is being applied efficiently and to the proper areas without waste. A properly functioning irrigation system will help your lawn and landscape get through short-term droughts the hill country is prone to. Check out www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org/ for more resources regarding a properly functioning irrigation system and the efficient use of water.
Next up is spring aerification and verticutting. Aerification is the process of using a specialized machine to remove a plug of soil and organic matter. This process creates a better environment for your lawn to grow and flourish by reducing compaction, providing air to the soil, and gives a place for water and fertilizer to infiltrate. Verticutting is the process of using a specialized mower with cutting blades that are vertical to the soil surface to removed dead or decaying plant material. Verticutting thins your lawn of this unwanted material, provides a place for new grass to grow and cuts new growing points. Many landscape contractors will offer these services or if you are a do-it-yourselfer these machines can be rented from many equipment rental companies.
Most homeowners on the Ranch have either zoysiagrass or bermudagrass lawns. These are warm season grasses that thrive in warmer weather from late April/early May through about mid-September. I would recommend aerifying and verticutting these grasses late April or early May and again in early September. The golf course utilizes zoysiagrass for tees and fairways and bermudagrass for the rough. We aerify and verticut the fairways, tees, and roughs several times throughout the summer months. The putting greens on the golf course are bentgrass. Bentgrass is a cool season grass and thrives in cooler weather from mid-October through about mid-May. We aerify and verticut the greens in March and October. Aerifying and verticutting are two procedures that will help the long and short-term health of any turfgrass.
Last but not least is a fertilizer and preemergent herbicide application. Spring is a great time to feed your lawn and apply a pre-emergent herbicide to keep away those pesky weeds. A good basic starter fertilizer such as a 19-25-12 (percentage of nitrogenphosphorus-potassium) with a pre-emergent herbicide included is all you need. Any local lawn and garden center will carry a variety of fertilizers, herbicides and spreaders. Scotts Fertilizer Company has some great products and spreaders that make it easy to apply the proper amount of fertilizer and herbicide.
A general rule of thumb is to apply 1 pound of slow release nitrogen for every 1,000 square feet of lawn in mid-April and again in mid-August for warm season grasses. This is the same time we apply our fertilizer and herbicide to the entire golf course except the greens. We spray liquid fertilizer on our greens in very small amounts (called spoon feeding) every 14 days. This allows a more controlled growth of the greens and a more efficient response to excesses and deficiencies of their fertility levels. I could write a novel regarding the countless fertilizers and herbicides available, proper amounts to apply and proper timing. A good resource for homeowners is the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Their website has countless articles and publications for a healthy lawn and landscape.
These topics only scratch the surface of turf and landscape maintenance. There are many resources available to expand your knowledge of the various facets of plant care. Hopefully these few topics discussed help your lawn and landscape thrive this growing season. Enjoy the beautiful spring weather of our Texas Hill Country!
GOLF
PLAYING THE COURSE
Hole #11 - 435 Yards - Par 4 – Handicap 10
Hole #11 at Cordillera Ranch can be one of the most intimidating holes on the course because of the lateral water hazard that runs down the entire left-hand side of the hole. It is an excellent hole that requires finding the fairway from the tee, and then hitting a second shot that must negotiate the water hazard and find the correct part of the putting surface.
The fairway is ample width but is well protected on both sides with fairway bunkers on the right and the lateral water hazard on the right. The bunkers are 285 yards from the back Bear tees but can be carried from the middle Blue tee, which is the aggressive line to play and would leave a player 100 yards or less and a great angle for the approach shot. There is another fairway bunker long and straight away that can also be reached from the Blue tees so this tee shot requires a great deal of strategy. Two choices here: play aggressive or conservative, but either way the player must execute!
The approach shot here requires great distance control because the green is so well protected by the lateral water hazard on the left and the angle of the green in relation to the fairway. The green has four distinct hole locations and finding the right level where the flagstick is located is important. The back left and middle left pin locations are considered the most dangerous because they are so well protected. A ball left short of the green to a front pin location is a good leave and a player has a good chance to make 4.
The green complex has undulation and a small bowl in the middle left portion that makes this green challenging and fun to putt on. Putts that are from back to front will typically be a little slower despite the fact that you may be putting down the slope.
Hole #11 is very fair and typical of many holes here at Cordillera Ranch because Mr. Nicklaus made it very challenging and yet playable. There is room to bail on the second shot to the right but because of the green contour it is not going to be an easy up and down for par. Walking off with a par 4 means the player has earned it!
