Hole 10 Tee Box -- Dec 2007 

 

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	Golf Course -- August 2008      After a hot and dry month of June, this past month has been a little bit different. The temperatures have not changed much, but the humidity has gone through the roof. With that, July brought us quite a few stormy days. We needed the rain really bad, and the course has improved aesthetically because of it. Luckily we did not have very much damage during these storms like in years past. This time around, we only had some limbs and leaves to clean up.      During the past month we did have some issues with some greens, especially on the front nine. We noticed a disease appearing on some greens during the week of the Greater Knoxville Amateur. This disease can be very severe if not treated quickly. They were treated with chemicals the next morning and then the effort began to get those spots and other wilted spots recovered. They have started to come back nicely and before you know it they will be back to normal. This disease is very common during hot and wet periods during the stressful summer months.      Last month also brought us very few irrigation problems. We did have one major blowout left of the cart path on #13. It has been fixed and it back up and working properly again. You also may have noticed that we have a wooden wall up on the back left bunker at #13. There was an area there that had caved in and need to be fixed. We put the wall up and added dirt, then put sod down to re-level the spot. Once the sod has rooted in really good, then the wall will be removed, and we will have a brand new bunker edge.      This coming month we have a crew scheduled to come and remove all of the stumps on the golf course. Those areas will be cleaned up and sodded as soon as they are finished. We also have our fall fertilization scheduled for this month. We are going to hold off on the pre-emergent for the golf course until later in the fall so that we do not have the same problem with the poa in the roughs this coming spring. The longer we wait to do the pre-emergent, the further into the spring we can have control for weeds.      This summer is almost over and fall is right around the corner. Before you know it, we will be aerifying the greens and getting the course ready for fall. We have lots of projects scheduled for this winter. We are going to install drain pipes in the bunkers that hold water after heavy rains, adding sand to lots of bunkers throughout the course, and patching some cart paths, Finally, I want to congratulate all the winners from the Blount County Amateur and The Greater Knoxville Amateur. This coming month we have the Meadowlark and the Club Championships on the horizon. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and we can have the course in the best possible shape for these tournaments. Please remember to fill your divots, fix your ball marks, and throw away your broken tees.       Brad Fox    -Superintendent                                      *******************************************                   Golf Course -- July 2008      The hot and dry month of June has come and gone. After all the mild temperatures we had in May, this last month definitely let us know it was summer. We barely had any rain at all and for awhile the temperatures were very hot. The course is in good shape, but I wish we had gotten some rain in the past few weeks to keep some of our Bermuda grass really green. The Bermuda grass really likes the warm weather, but when it gets as dry as it has been, no amount of irrigation is going to be able to do the job that Mother Nature could with some rain.      In the last month, we had some issues with the greens really drying out and getting very firm. We were able to combat this using ¼” solid tines to penetrate the greens to six inches and loosen the soil without really affecting the putting surface at all. They allow for water to penetrate the soil very deep and get oxygen to the roots. We can do the entire course in one day and all we have to do is mow behind the machine to smooth out the surface. These tines have worked out great, and we will continue to use them as needed in the summer months. Another thing we have been working on is the widening of several tee boxes. Many throughout the entire course need to be widened to their original width, but it takes a lot of time and is very hard on our mowers when the grass is as thick as it is. We are going to continue to widen the worst ones throughout the summer months. We also recently have been working on sodding some very important areas around greens. The back edge of #13 green, the front left of #16 green, and the front left of #17 green have all been fixed recently and are doing great. Finally, we have had a decent month in regards to our irrigation system, but it continues to have its problems. We have several issues to tend to in the near future. There are several small leaks, heads sticking on, heads not coming on or not turning, etc. This is especially the case in several fairways, and we are continuing to work on these small problems.      Unfortunately, we have had some problems with two of the best trees on the course in the last month. The large hackberry on the property line of #16 has lost two very large limbs in the last month, and the large tree at the top of the hill left of #18 was struck by lightning, and we are not sure if it is going to make it. In other tree news, we are going to remove the tree right of #7 that is starting to die, and possibly the dead pine tree in the mulch bed at #8 tee. It is dead and has lost several limbs lately during windy days.      Lastly, I want to congratulate all the winners from this past month’s tournaments (KAWGA, The Ladies’ Interclub, The Green Meadow Invitational, and The Member-Member). It was an exciting month, and it flew by very quickly. We have many more tournaments on the horizon, and we are excited about the rest of the summer. Please remember to fill your divots, fix your ball marks, and throw away your broken tees. Brad Fox -Superintendent                    ******************************                   Golf Course -- June 2008      Well the month of May is finally behind us. I don’t know that I can remember a May with temperatures as mild as they have been. The weather was very nice and cool all the way up until Memorial Day. It was nice weather to be playing golf, but some things on the course were affected by it. Mainly that our bermuda grass got off to such a slow start which caused some weeds to flourish. The poa annua this year has been terrible, but it has been treated and with the combination of chemicals and hot weather it will be gone in no time.      In last month’s newsletter I mentioned how we were going to have to remove the tree left of #2 along the road and the dead tree left of #11 red tee. Those two have been removed along with the large tree on the property line near #9 and the dead tree near #16 blue tee. The nursery is growing in nicely and is well on its way to being used for plugging in the coming months. There will still be some spots on it to fill in with new seed, but that is very common, and it will be in great shape before you know it. We also had several problems with the irrigation system in the last month. First we had a main line burst on #13 that caused us to have the water off for a couple of days. Then we had problems with the system not watering automatically at night like it should have been. This caused several greens on the front nine to delay their recovery from the aerification. These greens dried out tremendously and took several days to get them back into shape. Starting very soon we will begin our light topdressing and verticutting program. I have been reluctant to start these procedures until the greens healed up completely, but they are ready to go and will be instituted very soon.      Also last month I mentioned how we widened the gold tee and the red tee on #8. They had shrunk over the years, gotten out of alignment, and needed to be corrected. There are many more tees like those on the course, and we are in the process of widening a good amount of the tees on the entire course. They will be unsightly for several days, but with warm weather it won’t be long until they are back to looking like new and back to their original size.      Finally, I want to mention the green stakes located on the course to direct carts back to the paths. These stakes are still a work in progress and will be moved periodically until they are where they need to be. I know some people do not agree with some of the placements, but in no way are they there to penalize anyone, they are there solely for the betterment of the greens complexes and their surrounds. The maintenance crew and I are very excited about the warm weather arriving and being in the midst of another summer. The entire crew is back, including all part-time guys, and now we can get into a routine and still have the people and time to attend to many other things in and around the golf course. Please remember to fill your divots, fix your ball marks, and throw away your broken tees. We hope everyone will come out and enjoy the course. Good luck to everyone in the upcoming tournaments this month.            ********************************                 Golf Course -- May 2008              Assistant Greens Superintendent      Matthew R. Lawson has been hired as our Assistant Greens Superintendent.  Matt worked for Rainscape Irrigation & Landscaping Co. before coming to Green Meadow.  We are really pleased to have Matt on our staff.                                           Spring was here for a little while, but recent cold temperatures and a couple of frosty mornings have shown up lately. A lot of our roughs and flowering trees have taken a hit, but they will be back soon. Hopefully this is the end of the cold weather and we can continue on with our normal spring and summer schedule.      The biggest item we talked about last month was the upcoming aerification. Everything went very well with this years spring aerification. The weather the previous week had me worried that the greens would be too saturated, but the weather the week of the aerification was perfect. The greens started healing very quickly and were well on their way to a speedy recovery, but recent cool weather has slowed them down some. But, as long as the weather cooperates, we should be back up and running smoothly very soon.      The nursery green was planted recently and should be sprouting very soon. We planted about 90% of it with the same grass we have on the greens currently, and about 10% of it with a new blend of creeping bentgrass. We are very excited about getting this new green grown in. We also mowed a cut of approach around it so that we could plug from it if we need to fix some areas on the course. Also, we widened the red and gold tees on #8. These tees have shrunk over time and were getting very narrow and did not accommodate much play. You might have noticed also that we have been mowing the fairways differently than in the past. We have been mowing them at different angles and different directions to get some of the grain out of them. They have been mowed in the same direction for a long time and it was very apparent when you hit a shot from different stripes in the fairways. But with some altering of the mowing patterns the grass will no longer lean in the same direction, but will grow upright and vertical to give the fairway a neat and consistent feel.      The scheduled pre-emerge and fertilizer application was postponed recently and is being rescheduled very soon due to rain. We are also planning to remove the leaning tree left of #2 and the dead tree at #11 tee. The tree on #2 has started to lean more and more and is becoming a dangerous situation. The tree on #11 has quickly died and will be removed very soon.      Finally, I want to welcome Matt Lawson to our maintenance crew. He comes to us from Rainscapes and he has lots of irrigation knowledge. He is in training to become my assistant superintendent. I also want to thank everyone who volunteered their time to come and help fill divots during the time we were closed for aerification. The fairways look great and we greatly appreciate each and every one who came and helped, and to Ivory Bishop and Jeff Curtis for organizing the entire thing.      I believe that the cool weather is about to be out of here and we can look ahead the warm spring and summer ahead. I’m very excited about the course and the maintenance crew and myself are ready to finally get into a routine on the course.      Brad Fox, Superintendent                                        Golf Course -- April 2008       It is hard to believe, but it looks as though Spring is upon us. We have had some crazy weather the past few weeks with warm temperatures, high winds, a little bit of snow, and a decent bit of rain for a few days. We have been really busy the last few weeks preparing everything for the upcoming golf season.      The most exciting thing upon us right now is the construction that is underway on the nursery green behind #7 green. This green had finally run its course and no longer served us any use in its current condition. It had been used for patching and plugging for many years and needed a facelift. So we decided to strip off the top few inches and start over again. We have added the new greens mix to the green and very soon it will be seeded and fertilized. Within a few months, we will have a brand new green in which to take plugs from and experiment with and try new things.      This last month we deep tined the old greens on the back nine to relieve some compaction, introduce more air to the soil, and to improve drainage. These tines punched holes ¼” wide and 9” deep into the greens. This went really well, and these small holes are filling in nicely with minimal interruption to play. One other thing from last month that is still yet to be done, is fixing the valve between #14 and #15. This valve requires a part that has been somewhat of a mystery to find, but is currently being shipped to us. It will be fixed very soon and the water will be turned back on to the course. At that time the rest of all our fixed leaks will be sodded and completed.      We still have some stumps to remove on the golf course, and those are scheduled to be worked on the first week of April. The other half of our spring pre-emerge program is scheduled to be completed near the end of this month. This second application involves more fertilizer for the fairways, roughs, and tees than the first time around. This one will ensure lush green grass on all of our golf course along with providing us with minimal to no weeds.      Our aerification is scheduled for the 8th, 9th, and 10th of April, and the drill-n-fill is also scheduled for the 10th. We will be applying a new kind of organic fertilizer to the greens before and after aerification to help speed up their recovery. As soon as the greens begin to heal up, we will be starting to regularly verticut and topdress the greens to improve their smoothness and speed.      Please come out and enjoy the course and the nice Spring weather. Hopefully the weather will cooperate; the aerification will go smoothly; and the greens will heal up very quickly.      Brad Fox -Superintendent         Deb Husk, President 18-Hole lady golfers with      Jeff Curtis (Center) and Brad Fox (Superintendent).                                                          Golf Course -- March 2008       This past month has been filled with lots of wild weather. We have had record highs, thunderstorms, bitter cold, quite a bit of rain, and a little bit of snow. It has been hard to plan out our days, but we have made it through the worst of the winter. Spring is right around the corner and we are busy getting ready for it.      This past Monday the first of our spring pre-emerge application was put out on the course. All of this was completed, but just right around the greens. We will be spreading the areas around the greens on our own very soon. There will be one more spring application made in late April or early May. We are almost finished with our roundup application for winter weeds. We will be completing this very soon, because as soon as it starts warming up the roundup can do significant damage. The only areas remaining are those right around the greens complexes.      This past month we have accomplished quite a bit. We are done chipping up dead trees and limbs and the only other aspect remaining as far as tree work goes is the stump grinding. This will be done in the next two weeks. We have also had one other water leak show up between 14 green and 15 tee boxes. This one involves a manual valve and it will be fixed when we get the parts.      You may or may not have noticed, but there has been some vandalism on the course in the past few weeks. Most recently a golf cart did donuts on 6 green, 6 fairway, and 7 fairway. The damage was minimal, but we were very lucky. What damage there was has been repaired and steps have been taken to try and prevent this from happening again.      Lastly, please remember to fill your divots in the fairways and tees. This time of year the divots become overwhelming because of the inability of the grass to heal itself. But, if we all take the time to fill our divots the course can maintain a pleasant image, even at the end of the winter months. We have been able to get a tractor blower out on the fairways and blow the divots off to the sides to try and make them look better.      Everyone come out and enjoy these last few weeks of winter golf on dormant grass. The grass will be growing like crazy before we know it. Also, please remember the course will be closed on April 8,9, & 10 for aerification.      Brad Fox,                    Superintendent Blue Birds are Returning to Tennessee, Feb 2008 Purple Crocus Clump Announces Spring.                                          Golf Course -- February 2008   January is already behind us, and the golf season is fast approaching. We still have lots to do to prepare the course for spring. We will finish spot spraying the entire course with our roundup application and our pre-emerge application around all our greens. We will be using our newest piece of equipment around the greens. It is called a Sprayhawk, and you can attach it to a long hose and spray much smaller and more detailed areas because of its small size. We look forward to getting this new sprayer out and putting it to use in some delicate areas. In addition to the spraying, there are still some stumps that we have to remove and maybe a couple more trees. This should not take a lot of time and will be completed shortly. Also, as you probably have noticed, we have had several more water leaks. We had one very large blowout in the middle of #16 fairway. It has been fixed, and we are just waiting for the dirt to settle. Once it does we will be re-sodding this area, and you will not even be able to tell where the leak was located. Another leak was behind #13 green. It is in the process of being fixed right now and should be done any time. The last leak we had was located between the greenside pond on #9 and the practice bunker at the front side chipping green. This was a city water line that fed to the maintenance building and the clubhouse. It has also been fixed and will be cleaned up soon. Another thing I would like to mention is the schedule on which the pins are changed. Lately we have had some very cold mornings which has caused the ground to freeze. These very cold mornings make it impossible to change the pins for several days. Another thing that affects this is wet weather followed by very cold weather. This caused us to be able to change the front nine pins only, because the back nine greens retain so much moisture and were frozen solid for many days. Please keep in mind that winter weather dictates when and how often we can change them. There have been times this winter where they have gone several days without being changed. We realize this and hope everyone knows that if we could change them, we would. Lastly, please remember to stay off the putting greens and driving range tee during frost delays. We will let the professional shop know when the course is ready immediately following the frost burning off. Also, please keep the pull carts off the greens. We have noticed lots of indented streaks on the greens caused by the tires. This will cause the greens to not be very smooth. These carts should remain away from the greens just like a driving cart. Everyone please come out and enjoy every warm winter day we get. Summer is right around the corner, and the hot weather will be fast approaching. The maintenance crew and I are getting excited about the golf season being right around the corner. -Dates to Remember -Feb. 25th - Spring pre-emerge 10:00 am (will not affect play) -April 7, 8, 9 - Spring aerification   Thanks, Brad Fox, Superintendent Bob Perkinson & Brad Fox       Analyzing Water Leak on Hole 9 Brad Fox                            *******************************                             Golf Course -- January 2008         First of all, I would like to say that the maintenance crew and I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. We have been very busy on the golf course in the past month. We have fixed all of the water leaks that have plagued us in the past month or so. We have laid sod on all the previous bare areas where there were leaks. We also planted a couple of new trees between #10 and the entrance road across from #1 tees. The trees planted were a Weeping Cherry and a Bradford Pear.      The majority of all the leaves have fallen, and we will continually be cleaning them up and out of the way of play. We have also been working on all of our equipment every chance we get. Several of our machines were sent off to receive their annual maintenance. Some of them have returned, and the others should be returning soon. This coming month we will continue to take care of some of our winter tree maintenance. There are several more trees that need to be removed and a few stumps that need some attention. Also this coming month we will be putting out our winter pre-emerge application along with some roundup to prevent any winter weeds and take care of any that may have already emerged. This application will include everything but the greens and long rough areas between holes. Basically, anything that is not green will be getting sprayed. We will be adding a green dye to this application to aid us in seeing what has already been sprayed so we can see where we are going. Please be patient with us, as this is a very time consuming project.      As some of you may have noticed, there has been a fungus appear on the front nine greens. This is a cool-season brown patch. We have had some unseasonably warm weather with some rain, which has caused this to appear. The greens were sprayed a few days ago and are recovering nicely. Hopefully, we will be getting some normal weather in the coming months so that we can continue on with our winter projects. Also, please remember that when there is frost on the ground there will be some delays and possibly some back-ups on the first tee.       The normal routine for us when we are checking for frost is to check the putting green and then number 1. By the time our mowers finish mowing on those two greens, then play should be able to start on number 1. At the same time, number 9 green is still in the shade and likely to be covered by heavy frost. If people start on number 7 in front of our mowers, then there is a real possibility that number 9 is covered in frost. The same goes for starting on the back nine. The greens will not have been mowed yet, and there always is some frost on the back nine greens for a while. So basically, if there is a frost delay please start on number 1, unless you ask first. Also, when there is frost, any grass that is green will be affected by stepping on it when there is frost. This goes for the greens, range tee, 8 tee, and long rough areas with fescue in them. Please keep this in mind when you are waiting out a frost delay. The dormant Bermuda grass will not be affected, but the range tee is not open during delays.      In closing, please remember to fill your divots and fix your ball marks. The divots will grow back better in the spring if they have been filled with sand. The ball marks on the greens really struggle to heal themselves this time of the year when they are not actively growing. So please continue to fix your ball marks and look for others to ensure that the greens are as smooth as possible. Thanks again, and we’re hoping to make this next year the best ever at Green Meadow.       Brad Fox,   GMCC Superintendent           Brad Fox, Superintendent Yellow Hickory, Hole #11                                                                                                      *************************                      Golf Course -- December 2007        Winter is right around the corner, and the maintenance staff and I are doing our best to prepare the golf course for next year. We have removed four dead trees in the last few weeks. There were two dead trees on #2, one right of #17, and one tree right of #18. We will remove those stumps, along with some other old stumps later in the winter. There are some more trees that will also be cut down later in the winter, mostly those that have been damaged in the past by strong storms. We are continuing to do the best we can to remove the fallen leaves and pine needles from the course. In a few more weeks all the leaves will have fallen, and we can focus our attention on other projects. There have been several more irrigation leaks that we are about to fix. Please ignore our mess as we work to fix these unsightly areas. We will do the best we can to stay out of the way of golfers, and we will mark these areas as ground under repair until we can sod them in the spring. We will also start to reduce the number of times the pins are changed and tee markers moved. This will be determined by the weather and the amount of play. Also, due to colder temperatures, the bunkers often freeze. When this happens we are unable to rake them, so we will monitor the weather and be sure to get to them all when the weather cooperates. Another important project we are working on during the winter months is servicing all of our equipment. We will clean, repair, and service all of our equipment and vehicles and get them ready for the next year. Also, starting next week, we will begin spraying our winter pre-emergent. This application will take care of a lot of the winter weeds that are already out there along with preventing new ones from emerging. We will need to add some blue or green dyes to the chemicals to aid us in seeing what we have and have not already sprayed. Please ignore any unusual discoloration of the Bermuda grass this causes. We will also continue to have the course open on Mondays for walkers. Please check at the 1st and 10th holes for “course closed” signs before teeing off. With the Professional shop being closed on these days, please take note of these signs and know that they will come down as soon as the weather allows it. Throughout the rest of the winter I will check in with the Professional shop and let them know of the cart rules for each day. Typically this is a wet time of year, and after rain events it takes a lot longer for the course to dry out. Please check with the Professional shop for the cart rules for each day. In closing, I would like to let everyone know that we are planning to do our spring aerification on April 7, 8, and 9. The other aerification dates are still yet to be decided. We will also be rebuilding our nursery green during this time. The maintenance crew and I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. Brad Fox, Superintendent GMCC             ****************************************************                                      Golf Course -- November 2007                                     Brad Fox (right)      with David Helton (left)          First of all, I would like to say how excited I am to be back at Green Meadow Country Club. For those of you who do not know, I was part of the maintenance crew from 1999 through 2003. Since the day I left here in May of 2003 I have been an assistant superintendent in Chattanooga, Tennessee at Black Creek Club. I went to work there after I graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a degree in Horticulture Science and Turfgrass Management. I am originally from right here in Maryville, Tennessee and I graduated from Heritage High School. This has been a crazy couple of months for me, and I never imagined being able to come back home and be a head superintendent at the first golf course I ever played. It truly is a dream come true for me to be able to come home and work at a place that means so much to me.      The biggest thing that we have to worry about these days is frost. Frost delays can typically take up to several hours after the sun rises to burn off. It is very important that we have no foot traffic on any greens during these times, including all three putting greens. The effects of frost damage are very unpleasant and we urge everyone to check with the Professional Shop on mornings when you are planning to play early. We will be on the course as soon as we can to get it ready for you and your fellow playing partners.      This past month we had several irrigation leaks to fix. These areas will be touched up and seeded or sodded the first chance we have once the ground has settled. For now, these areas have been marked as ground under repair. We have several projects planned for this winter. The first is the cleaning up of several trees. Some of the trees, as you may have noticed, need to be completely removed. Others just need some maintenance on them, like removing some dead limbs, or removing a stump. Also, we also have verti-cut and topdressed the greens. We will continue to do this at least one more time this winter, and then continue with that program in the spring. Lastly, we will continue to remove leaves and pine needles from the course as they fall to the ground.      In closing, I want to say thank you to all the people who have been so good to me this first month. I remember a lot of the members and employees from my first stint here, and it has been nice to see them again. I also want to thank the maintenance staff for doing such a great job during the transition period. This has been a very difficult year to try and maintain a golf course, but they have done a great job. Please come out and enjoy this nice fall weather, and I look forward to meeting each of you.      Brad Fox, Superintendent
	Golf Course Maintenance — September  2007                  Our new superintendent, Brad Fox, will begin his employment with Green Meadow on October 1st. Brad will also be available at the membership meeting on October 11th. Please feel free to stop by and introduce yourself at the meeting.      Our current golf course staff has done a wonderful job with keeping the golf course in excellent shape. Please give them a thank you as you see them. I wanted to especially thank Billy Joe for his hard work and dedication to step up and fill JD’s shoes until Brad starts.                        ************************************                         Golf Course Maintenance — August  2007      I would like to start this month’s article by congratulating the winners of the Greater Knoxville Amateur, Blount County Amateur, the TGA State Amateur, and the Member-Member Tournaments. We hope everyone who participated in these events enjoyed playing the course here at Green Meadow. Also, thanks to everyone who complimented the condition of the course.      It’s hard to believe that the golf season is half over, and that it is time to start looking forward to getting the golf course ready for all. During the third week of August, we will start applying our fall pre-emerge. This fertilizer will prevent winter weeds as well as fertilize the Bermuda grass. The fertilizer will help strengthen the grass and prepare it for winter.      Mother Nature finally decided to give us some much—needed rain. With this, the short and long roughs will start thickening up and making it harder to get out of, but it also means that the condition of the course will only improve.  As you may have noticed, there are several dead trees around the course. These trees were killed by drought stress, not the Southern Pine Beetles. We will remove these tress ASAP or in the winter months. By waiting to remove these trees in house, will save the club a substantial amount of money. Of course, if we feel the trees are infected with the beetles, we will remove them quickly.      For those of you who do not already know, my assistant, Doug Brenneise, has taken another job. He is designing, building and installing custom-made furniture for a company in Knoxville. We all wish him the best of luck in his new job.    I would like to thank everyone for fixing ball marks and repairing divots. This really helps the playability of the course, and with your help and support, the course can only continue to improve. J.D. Murr, Superintendent                                                   ***************************************                       Golf Course Maintenance — July  2007           To begin, I am excited to say that the Tennessee Women’s State Amateur Tournament was a complete success. The maintenance crew and I thank everyone for his or her outstanding help and amazing support during the tournament. The entire week of the event we heard nothing but great remarks on how the course looked and played. This included members and other people from all around the great state of Tennessee. It is extremely transcendent to hear such encouraging remarks from people, who are not even from here, on how great Green Meadow Country Club is in their opinion. We are honored to have been able to host such a prestigious event, and we hope everyone enjoyed their time in the tournament.          As you have noticed, we are currently in a major drought situation. It is becoming worse and worse with each passing day. As the National Weather Service has reported, the Knoxville area is around 11 inches below normal, it is about to become severe if you do not receive any help from Mother Nature. As of now, we are limited on the amount of water we have and are able to use. The greens are maintaining well, however, the fairways, tees, and roughs are beginning to show bare spots in certain areas. We have done everything in our power to keep it in the best shape possible, but at this point it is out of our hands!          As I stated in last month’s letter, we removed the stump to the right side of #4 green. This area now has 419 Bermuda sod on it. Also, I wrote that we would be applying a fertilizer application to the tees, fairways, and short roughs. This process is now complete, and the fertilizer is in the root systems. Due to the lack of rain, the Bermuda grass has not grown as much as it should with the fertilizer, and because of this we are holding off on the Primo application to the fairways and tees until we receive an adequate rainfall amount.           It seems this month will be packed with a lot of play and a lot of tournaments. We wish everyone the best of luck in the upcoming tournaments. Also, we want to say congratulations to everyone who participated in the Women’s State Amateur. Keep up the continued great work on the course, you are a tremendous impact on how it performs. Have a fun and safe Fourth of July, and we hope to see everyone enjoying their golf course!                                       J.D. Murr,  Grounds Superintendent                                  *****************************                          Golf Course Maintenance — June  2007       Dave Adams, Lori Cate, Braden Wear, Gary Wear starting on Hole 1 It seems summer is right around the corner! The course is in great shape and the tournaments have kicked off. The Bermuda grass and most of the trees have recovered from the cold snap we encountered last month, and the greens have also recovered from being aerified. We hope everyone is taking advantage of the pleasant weather and are out enjoying their amazing golf course! I would like to start by congratulating the winners and all the participants of the first Green Meadow Invitational Tournament. In addition, we hope everyone will relish the excitement that the TGA Women’s State Amateur will bring. We are extremely delighted to be having them at our course. During the beginning of June, we will be applying fertilizer to the tees, fairways, and short roughs. This process will help thicken up the Bermuda grass, and in turn, it will establish a better lie for your ball. Shortly after this application we will start our Primo applications to the tees and fairways. The fairways are doing exceptionally well after being de-thatched. The Primo application will help fill in any bare spots caused by the cold spell we had last month. In last month’s letter I wrote about the additions which were made to #11 and #12. The sod on these areas has tacked down and is now in use. They are both great additions to the golf course, and they will help benefit your golf game. Also, I wrote about the pine tree on the right side of #4 green being removed. To add to this, we recently removed the stump and small mound, which was created due to the tree leaning. This area will soon have 419 Bermuda grass sod placed over it. It’s amazing how much better the visual aspect of this greens complex looks after these renovations. As stated earlier in the news letter, the greens are in great shape. We have started our rolling, verti-cutting, and light top-dressing programs. They have filled in nicely, and are also rolling extremely well. In closing, the maintenance crew and I are looking forward to the upcoming tournaments and the busy season. The golf course is in great shape and it will stay this way throughout the summer. We wish everyone the best of luck in the upcoming tournaments and we hope to see everyone out enjoying the course.                            *************************************************** Golf Course Maintenance  May 2007  Spring was once here and hopefully it will return as quickly as it left! The course was well on its way to looking the best it ever had so early in the season. However, Mother Nature did not think it was time to say good bye to winter. The Bermuda grass and several trees took mild set backs due to the freezing temperatures which we endured during the weekend of Easter. Everything will green up again, it will take time, but it will recover. Before long this cold snap will completely be forgotten, and the course will look like its usual astonishing self!      Last month I spoke about the renovation to be done on #11, and the erection of a new senior tee box on #12. These two projects have now been completed. We were able to work on these areas while we were closed for aerifying. As of now the areas are dirt, we will have sod arriving on the 24th of April to cover both of them. After the sod is laid, it will probably take a month to tack down to the ground enough to endure any type of playability. Also, it will take a month for us to be able to mow the sod on #11 to widen the bottle neck area. We are expecting it to be ready around the beginning of June with Mother Nature being helpful.      As you have noticed, the greens were aerified the 1st week of April. The cold snap has set them back a little from recovering as quickly as we had hoped. However, they are on their way to healing. As soon as they are ready, we will begin our usual program to speed them up for the golf season. The program consists of light top-dressing, rolling, and verticutting. These are all intricate procedures that will help the overall playability of the greens.      Recently the right side of #4 green has received a slight makeover. We now have 8 Crape Myrtles along the side of #2 cart path, blocking the tee boxes from approach shots on #4 green. Also, there are two Myrtles behind the green blocking shots from reaching #5 blue tee. The pine tree, which was located to the right of #4 green, has been removed. It was an issue of safety to golfers and airflow to #4 green. The tree was beginning to lean more and more each day. Also, the area around the tree constantly stayed wet, and we were unable to grow any type of grass around it. The Crape Myrtles add a beautiful sight to this green, and they will solve the problem of saturated turf and allow adequate airflow to the green. In addition to the Crape Myrtles, we had 5 Maple trees planted around the waste bunker. We purchased all the trees from Yogi at Parkway Nursery & Farm.      If you have filled any divots lately you will have noticed that the sand is now green. We purchased this green sand so that when divots are filled they will blend in with the grass. This sand adds an incredible visual aspect to the fairways and tee boxes. No longer will we have several brown spots all over the area. Please do your part and fill any divots you make with the sand provided. We greatly appreciate your cooperation in this matter.      In last months newsletter we wrote that the fairways would be dethatched during aerifying. This procedure was put on hold due to the renovations we did to #11 and #12, and also the freezing temperatures we encountered. As soon as the Bermuda grass greens up again we will proceed with the dethatching of fairways.      The course has taken a small set back because of the weather as I stated before. Be assured that it is only a set back. Soon it will warm up again and the grass will be green, and the trees will have leaves. Also, in no time the greens will be healed and the renovations on #11 and #12 will be ready for play. Your course will look the best it ever has when it is all said and done. Please come out and enjoy it!                     *************************                            Golf Course Maintenance — April 2007      The most beautiful time to be on a course is finally upon us! The weather is warm, the grass is greening, and the trees are blooming. Hopefully we can say good bye to winter temperatures, and say hello to spring temperatures for good. Everything is coming together quickly on the course, and the entire maintenance crew is looking forward to the golf season kicking off strong.      To begin this month’s letter I would like to talk about the renovations that are to be done on #11 and #12. First, the humps on the right side of the fairway on #11, at the bottleneck, are to be removed. This area will then be sloped to match the rest of the contour surrounding it. This will also allow the bottleneck to be widened a little, and in return give golfers a more reasonable shot towards the green. The dirt that is removed from the mounds will be transported to #12. There we will erect a long overdue and very much anticipated tee box for our senior golfers. The tee box will be built were the tees are currently located. It will be elevated enough to give you a line of sight for your ball coming off of the tee and landing in the fairway. It will also have an extremely adequate teeing surface to accommodate the numerous amount of play that our senior golfers account for. Once this area is completed, it will add significant amounts of visual and tactical aspects to this already astonishing hole.      Soon we will be adding more trees to the course. We are planning on placing trees on both ends of the waste bunker located between #4 and #5 fairways. It will be a mixture of species that will increase the beauty of this area. Also, it will enable this area to be more strategically played.      In last month’s letter I spoke about there being several tree stumps on the course. Recently we removed several of them, and began to sod these areas. They will all be removed before long, and have beautiful green grass in place of them.      As everyone hopefully knows, we are aerifying the beginning of April. During this time, we will be dethatching our fairways. This will eradicate the grain issues we have been encountering the past few seasons. The dethatcher works by fluffing up the grass, basically sticking it straight up in the air. We then come behind the dethatcher with our fairway mowers and cut the grass. This will be an extremely messy procedure; there will probably be a significant amount of clippings. We will then have to come back through with a blower and move the clippings into the roughs.      Spring is definitely here! We have begun to mow the fairways, tees, fringes, and approaches. Before long everything will be out of its winter hibernation, and this extravagant golf course will be back to life! We encourage everyone to come out and take advantage of this amazing time of year and enjoy your rounds of golf at Green Meadow Country Club.      J. D. Murr, Greens Superintendent   **************************** Golf Course Maintenance—March 2007      Since February has come to an end, hopefully spring is right around the corner! With March appearing, the golf season will be picking up extremely rapidly. We hope everyone is looking forward to the busy season as much as we are. Also, with the warmer weather approaching, it means we will be aerating soon. We are anticipating that the greens will recover quickly so they will be in great condition for the upcoming golf events.      In last month’s newsletter I stated we would be applying an application of Round-Up to eradicate any weeds. This procedure has been completed, and you should be seeing results very soon. Also, our pre emerge application has been applied to the tees, fairways, and roughs. Soon we will be applying the pre emerge to the greens complexes. When this happens, there will be small white lines around the greens so we do not waste any products on overlapping too much. These lines will dissipate in a short time afterwards.      You may have noticed that there are a few stumps lying around the golf course from the dead trees we have cut during the winter months. These stumps will soon be ground up and then filled in with dirt. When it warms up, we will sod these bare spots.      Due to the excessive play this winter we have an enormous amount of divots on the course. It is imperative that the divots are filled so when the Bermuda grass comes out of dormancy there will not be any holes in the fairways. Please do your part, and fill your divots with sand.      We have recently had to fix nearly every one of our sand buckets that are on the driving range and the par 3 tee boxes. They were bent and broken due to people sitting on and leaning on them. The stands which the buckets set on are not very strong, so any pressure other than the buckets cause them to break. Also, the stands are not very cheap. All together they cost around $100. We ask that you please do not lean on them or sit on them at any time! We thank you for your help on this matter.      As I said earlier in the letter, we are looking forward to the golf season kicking off soon. It looks like this is going to be one of the busiest we have had. Hopefully everyone will come out and enjoy the course this year as much as possible.                     J.D. Murr,  Grounds Superintendent        Check for spring purple Crocus.  Check for spring yellow Crocus.  ************* Golf Course Maintenance—February 2007      I guess we all knew the sixty-degree temperatures that stayed around for December and part of January would not last for long. The cold days have given us an empty golf course recently, but hopefully warm days are on the horizon.      The Golf Operations are proud to announce the addition of Nathan Myers as PGA of America Apprentice Golf Professional for the upcoming season. Nathan is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and currently enrolled in the Professional Golf Management Program of the PGA to acquire full Membership status as a PGA Professional. We will have his services starting March 1st and I look forward to the addition of the professionalism that Nathan will bring to the operation, all to provide more services to the membership of Green Meadow. Nathan already has a couple of years of golf operations under his belt, so I do not anticipate much training to be needed as we enter a very busy golf schedule for spring and summer. He will be on site a few times before March 1st, and I will be sure to introduce him to everyone we see.      I just returned from the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando and the “square drivers” are a hot topic from the equipment world. The Nike Sumo makes a sound that I have never heard from a driver before. But we all know if that guy Tiger what’s his name shows up hitting one, ‘Katy bar the door.’ Word is that Phil is testing the Callaway square pod and might debut one in April in Augusta. It almost makes you want to go back to persimmon heads, steel shafts and leather grips (nah). Who knows where this equipment war will end. I have a feeling the U.S.G.A. is right around the corner looking in and before long changes will be made that should make things interesting between them and the equipment companies. I have some great teaching aides coming for all of our range gurus this spring and plan on enhancing the instruction program as much as time will allow for this season. We have already scheduled a “Demo Festival” for May 11th this spring, and it should be an educational and fun afternoon on the practice facility that day. We will keep you posted as that day draws near.      From the apparel side of the Show, we will have some new and exciting lines for spring coming in. A private label colorful collection is coming along with a new “Under Armour” golf line for those who want the “Performance Fabrics” that have virtually taken over the traditional look of the past few years. There is now an energy drink that will make you hit it farther and shoot lower scores, but I did not order any. I did find a “4 Inch Tee” for those who want to tee it high and let it fly. I just hope you can use the tee for more than one shot, but it is definitely tall.      If you did not receive information on the practice facility optional annual programs in last month’s statements, and want to be on the range program for 2007, just notify the Professional Shop, and we will make sure you are signed up.      We have some great members serving on the Greens and Golf Committees for this season and plans are to create tournaments for all to enjoy as well as fair and balanced handicapping. Back nine greens construction for the future is being discussed and all input is welcome as this is a substantial undertaking for the entire membership. Kudos to all who volunteer their time to serve on these committees trying to make the total golf experience better for the entire membership.      Hurry up warm weather!!!!!      Kenny,   PGA Professional                                    *****************************                        Golf Course Maintenance—January 2007      With 2007 starting, we are hoping to have the best year ever at Green Meadow! The maintenance crew and I are determined to provide you with the best course in the area, and, with your continued support, we will be able to do so!      In recent weeks, we have planted several beautiful trees on the golf course. The landscape and greens committees sat down and came up with the locations for these trees. We have several different species, ranging from willow oaks to ginkgos. The trees are absolutely astonishing, and they will be even more so come springtime. We purchased them from Yogi at Parkway Nursery. As soon as the dirt settles around them, we will clean up at their base. The colors and shapes of the trees will add a significant impact to the visual aspect of the golf course once warm weather approaches. If you are playing, and your ball rolls up next to one of these trees, play it as ground under repair, and take the appropriate club length drop from the area.      Also, we have five special trees that have been strategically placed to honor Charles Thomas. In addition, a memorial plaque in his honor has been placed at the base of each tree. The first location consists of a weeping cherry tree at the corner of the putting green and where #7 cart path begins. The second place has a red maple, and it is next to the walnut tree at the driving range. Then we placed a ginkgo tree behind #7 green, towards the tee box on #6. A ginkgo tree has also been placed between the ladies and seniors tee boxes on #7, towards the right side of the cart path. The last tree is also a ginkgo, and it is placed behind #13 green, across from the tee box on #14.      If you have not been out to play on your course lately, you are missing out. The weather has been uncanny lately. It is almost like spring on some days. However, as it goes with East Tennessee weather, it can change in a heartbeat. We will receive our bitter cold weather in due time. So, we encourage all of you to come out and enjoy as much of the pleasant weather as you can because it may be the last of it until spring arrives.      In closing, I would like to thank everyone for the tremendously productive year we had. I encourage everyone to keep up the hard work, because your efforts do not go unnoticed! Also, hats off to my crew; they have done an outstanding job this past year, and we all look forward to doing even better in 2007! We hope everyone had a great holiday season, and wish everyone a safe and happy New Year!      J.D. Murr, Superintendent ************************************     Fawn in West Knoxville -- Aug 2006 Doe and Fawn -- Aug 2006  (by A. Wood) ***************************************************        Baby Geese and parents -- 2006. *********************************************************                                                                                            Cheryl Sanders admirers last years hybiscus flowers....they will both                                 return again in the Spring.  ********************************************************** Mulch Piles you wouldn't believe!!! Left side of Hole 7.  Shredder at work.