Course Update: Early Spring Growth and Ongoing Improvements

This week’s weather continues to run nearly 20 degrees above normal, bringing a true taste of spring with each passing day. The warm temperatures have encouraged early green-up of tees and fairways, though we still have some time before fully entering the active growing season.

On Monday, the greens were lightly sand topdressed and fertilized to manage early growth and support recovery from traffic and ball marks. As a result, green speeds may be temporarily a bit slower over the next week.

Throughout the week, we planted four truckloads of sod, focusing primarily on the right side of #6 Gold and on holes #4 and #5 Blue. In conjunction with this work, six new sprinkler heads are being installed to improve irrigation coverage, promote healthier turf, and help minimize erosion over time.

We are also actively addressing the sewer odor in the #5 Blue restroom. The source has been challenging to pinpoint for both DAC staff and a professional plumber, but additional corrective steps were taken this week, and we are hopeful the issue will soon be resolved.

Next week, sod installation will continue, shifting focus to areas around the tennis facility, the parking lot, and select bunker faces. The forecast looks outstanding heading into the weekend, and we look forward to seeing everyone enjoying the courses.

Course Update 2.19.26

 

We were fortunate to receive 2 inches of rain last Saturday — our first significant rainfall since Thanksgiving week. The moisture was much needed, and our crew did a great job cleaning up storm debris and repairing bunkers to quickly restore playing conditions.

The rain combined with exceptionally warm temperatures has provided an early green-up on most tees and fairways. That said - we are still a long way from active growth in these areas and will continue to keep a few holes on each course as “Cart Path Only” . On Monday, we lightly aerated and fertilized all greens to promote healthy spring growth, and we will repeat this process in a similar way again next week. We have also begun preparing areas for four truckloads of sod arriving next week, including larger sections on Holes 4 and 5 Blue along with several smaller repairs throughout the property. Additionally, we are repainting/staining the walk bridges on 10 Blue and 11 Gold, as well as the cart bridge at the 5 Blue tees as part of ongoing improvement efforts.

The weather looks great for tomorrow’s first MGA event of the year. Thank you and have a great weekend.

Course Update 2.12.26

 

It has been a beautiful week to work and play at DAC. However, we are now approaching three months since our last significant rain event. Fortunately, this time of year we do not feel the effects of an extended dry spell nearly as much as we would during the summer months. One area where it is noticeable, though, is in the way our bunkers are playing.

 

There are several factors that impact bunker performance, with sand depth and moisture content being two of the most significant contributors to firmness and consistency. Dry sand plays much softer than sand with adequate moisture. During summer dry spells, we irrigate most areas of the course nightly, which helps maintain some level of moisture in the bunkers. In the winter months, irrigation is greatly reduced, resulting in some bunkers remaining much drier — and therefore softer — than others. We are actively working to minimize this variability by checking sand depths, refining raking methods, and managing moisture where possible to improve overall consistency.

 

In other course news: The perimeter fence on holes 4 and 5 Blue has now been re-installed, and we plan to begin replanting grass in this area in the next two to three weeks. Our team also began improvements to the walk bridges on #10 Blue and #11 Gold, continued tree work, and completed multiple important spray applications. Heading into the weekend we will continue to keep two to four holes per course as “cart path only” to help protect the turf during dormancy — a practice we will maintain over the next several weeks. Other than a slight chance of rain Saturday evening, the forecast looks excellent for golf, and we look forward to seeing everyone at the club.

Course Update 2.3.26

 

After staying closed for 10 days due to freezing conditions both courses and all practice facilities fully re-opened today. The forecast looks great for golf over the next several days and we look forward to seeing everyone back out on the course! 

Many of you may have noticed the new driving range target posts and flags. We fabricated these "in-house" in order to provide a cleaner look and be much more durable than the "barber poles". Additionally, we used our GPS sprayer to apply turf paint on target greens. 

New poles and fresh paint for the target greens

Fabricating new pole in our shop