December 18, 2020 Update

As we move from the fall season to winter, we are experiencing low rainfall totals compared to our averages. Hopefully this turns around so our water reservoir supplies can replenish. At this point it does not look promising, but only time will tell. The items we will discuss in this blog are the driving range tee, railroad tie removal, and the completion of the Red tee at #1.

As you may recall, we discussed in a previous blog the removal of the undesirable Common Bermuda grass from the driving range tee. Since then, we have added an experimental section of a more desirable variety of Bermuda grass called Santa Ana to see how it performs in our climate here in Sonoma. We are seeing more courses use Santa Ana Bermuda due to it being one of the most drought tolerant hybrid Bermuda grasses, with a short dormancy period. In our region Diablo Country Club and the Preserve in Monterey have gone to Santa Ana fairways. Along with that, Turf Specialist Jim Baird from University of California, Riverside is performing extensive research on existing and new varieties of Bermuda to develop a turf that will perform in our cooler climates in Northern California. He currently has plots at the Meadow Club and other facilities in our region. It is essential we study and look for more drought tolerant turf with the impending water crisis that California and the west will face in the future.

You can see our plot here on the driving range tee.

As of today, we have completed the railroad tie removal and regrading process on holes 1,2,6, and 18. Along with that, we have removed the ties from holes 3 and 5. The grading work will be performed next week on those holes.