Pinnacle Peak Country Club Agronomy: April 2024

We hope everyone is doing well!!! We are in the final stretch of the spring tournaments and events. The Sunrise, Salida, and Sunset were great events. We hope everyone and their guests had a great time. In a couple more weeks the heat will be arriving, and the end of the winter season will be here.

The course did well throughout the entire winter season. We were very happy with the turf conditions. The Greens have maintained a 12-13 readying on the stimp for the entire season. The new collars are thriving and performing well. The overseed withstood the cold snaps of winter and we are seeing a healthy amount of Bermuda grass emerging already.

You will see over the next several weeks that we will be verticutting the greens. The verticut will be visible but will not affect the playability. We will be performing a light verticutting, brush, and grooming through the spring to help remove old leaf tissue and make room for new emerging tissue. These processes also help to increase plant health and readiness for the stresses of summer.

As mentioned before, we are seeing a tremendous amount of Bermuda grass coming through the overseed. This is a great sign for transition. Additionally, we will be applying the 1^st application of 2 applications of a herbicide in mid-April and begin slowly removing the ryegrass. The 2^nd application will be applied the 2^nd week of May. This herbicide will begin the 10–12-week process of slowly removing the ryegrass and allow the Bermuda grass to outcompete the ryegrass. The effects will not be sudden or immediate and will not disrupt play. The only indication will be the ryegrass will be slightly lighter for about a week. This is the same process we have been using for several years now and has proven to be very successful at transitioning the Bermuda grass back.

Green and Grounds have begun to add more vegetation to the deserts. Several areas were not completed when the project began during the Bunker Renovation Project. We recently completed the area by #7 bathroom, #2 tee box, and #17 green. We have several sporadic areas 10-17 that we will be finishing up through the summer.

Progress continues on the Golf Course Maintenance Facilities. The demolition has been completed and signed off by the City of Scottsdale. The footers for the foundation have been dug and partially framed. However, several unexpected challenges have arisen including;

Engineered plans had to be re-engineered to secure two foundations together, as the existing foundation was different than expected.
The water source line for the bathroom on #7 had to be relocated.
The septic line from the bathroom was found to have several issues causing the need for replacement.
The City of Scottsdale required our permit to be changed from a renovation to a new build.

These items are being worked on but are currently delaying the footers and foundation pour.

Despite all the challenges the General Contractor is still optimistic about finishing the building by July.

In addition to the new building, several other items are being remodeled and/or improved. Upon completion of the new building, the entire yard and existing structures will all be updated to match. The following is a list of the other areas in addition to the new building.

Important to note that the additional projects below were included in our estimated budget approved by the membership.

A large room was segmented last fall into 3 smaller rooms. The new storage area allowed us to relocate from the old building the chemical/fertilizer storage, operation supplies storage, and the irrigation parts room. By moving these storage areas out of the old building we were able to expand the future lunchroom for the staff.
Another large room was segmented into 2 separate rooms. These 2 new rooms allowed us to relocate the mechanical parts storage into a new climate-controlled room. The other room is our temporary lunchroom for the staff until the new building is completed. Upon completion, the room will be converted into a small power tools storage area.
The rear gate and wall were moved late last summer to allow us to expand the building.
A new gas tank is also required. The life expectancy of the fuel tank is 25-30 years. Our current fuel tank is 25 years old. The fuel is being relocated to a more convenient area in the middle of the yard for better accessibility. Instead of moving the old tank and having to replace it again in a few years, it was decided to purchase a new tank for the new location.
The west side of our yard is currently a dirt yard. We will be paving this area with asphalt. The new area is approximately 13,000 sq. feet.
A 20ft x 80ft shade structure will be installed along the west wall to protect our large specialty equipment from the sun.
The remaining portion of the building will also be refurbished. The roof will be resealed/repaired, and all walls will be repainted.
In the mechanics bay a small new room will be constructed with ventilation to enclose the reel grinders. This will help shield the noise and help control the particulate matter from sharpening out mower reels. Additionally, a small wall will be constructed to enclose the large air compressor to help with the noise.
A new water line from the meter by #17 green to the shop will also have to be installed. A portion of the line was trenched from the meter to the parking lot. The remaining line will be trenched and installed later.

G&G has been aiding the contractor with several of the trenching projects to help keep the costs down. This requires removing labor from the golf course during these special projects. Additionally, the operation of G&G has been impacted significantly by the demolition and construction. We continue to ask for your patience and understanding as we work through this large project.

We look forward to finishing out the season. We wish everyone a safe and fun summer wherever you may be.

Regards,

Cody Horstman, Director of Agronomy