Good afternoon Tapatio Members

Spring is here! The weather finally seems to be warming up and the days are getting longer. Over the winter, we were able to take care of many needed detail projects around the golf course. You’ve probably noticed a lot of tree-trimming and tree removal around the course. This was done for everyone’s safety being that many of the pine trees around the course were heavily damaged, or killed, by the winter storm of 2021. We also spent a lot of time clearing the over-grown creek banks between holes 4 and 5, as well as clearing out in front of #5 tee box. Some much-needed cart path repair took place as well, but we know there is a lot more needed. We will continue to work on that moving forward.

One thing we’re very excited about it is our new Greens Covers! Due to production delays, we are getting them later than anticipated unfortunately, but it’s a great investment in the property by our new ownership. We will be able to protect our greens from damage much more effectively this coming winter.

Speaking of greens, I am excited about this year’s Spring Transition. If you remember last year’s greens aerification in June, we used a larger tine to poke larger and deeper holes (referred to as “deep-tine aerification”) in the greens. While it was more aggressive than the normal aerification that we are used to, the results can be very beneficial. This deeptine aerification encourages the roots of the plant to go deeper into the soil, which makes the plant stronger and able to withstand more of the harsh winter weather. I believe the greens this Spring will transition much more smoothly than the last couple years.

Lastly, if you’ve played in the last month or so, you’ve probably noticed some small green patches on the greens. This is an annual occurrence of “poa annua” grass (more of a weed). The existing herbicide on the market is losing its effectiveness in controlling the poa like it used to. We’ve started using a tool that applies a small amount of herbicide directly to those patches. This removes the poa but leaves a small yellow patch that will fill in quickly as the weather warms up. Now, let’s all continue to pray for a normal amount of rain this year!!!