Just like the Tournament Course during late May/early June, the Member Practice Tee will go through some transition from an overseeded turfgrass back to a bermuda one.  There are always growing pains associated.....

This past week we did a number of cultural practices on our Member Course to stimulate growth and get the profiles functioning again after a long fall/winter season.  I'll discuss all of these practices here...

Well, the SHO has come and gone for 2012.  All the bleachers are being taken down, the ropes are gone, the Tour Show is out on the East Coast.  For those that only get to see us on TV every year you miss out on the single biggest part of our maintenance operation for the year.  Yes, I said it correctly - the biggest part of our operation every year!  Setting up for the SHO is many hours of hard, intense work but it is a process and one that you can master over the years.  When it comes to transition of one grass to another you are dealing with what Mother Nature gives you.  The thing you've got to understand when dealing with transition is you can't have 2 fully happy grasses at the same time!...

If we call the week before the SHO Advance Week, then we might call this week coming up Advance, Advance Week.  We are now 2 weeks out from SHO Week and we are all excited for what it is going to bring.  This coming week is the week for us to get ready for the PGA Tour officials that come the week before the event to set everything up.  We make sure all of our projects are complete so when the officials get into town we are ready to concentrate solely on grooming the course for championship conditions....

Here is a link to an article I wrote for the Houston Golf Association and their Shell Houston Open page on the web.  http://www.shellhoustonopen.com/SHO_Course_Changes.cfm It bullet points some of the major things that we do on a year round basis...

The legend is building - Redstone is starting to get a reputation for some of its tightly mowed areas around the greens, mainly those that run down to water. 

They can cause headache for golfers that just barely miss the green, but they can cause serious long term headaches, backaches, etc. for those that have to maintain them! 

It is no easy chore, but over the course of 5 years we have learned how to master it.