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The Circle R Round-Up - Feb 2008 |
WITH THE NEW YEAR COMES RAIN
 
The first week in January brought a deluge of water to Moosa Valley filling the stream running through the golf course to it's banks. A lake formed in front of number 6 green and the surging Moosa stream was lapping at the foundations and the upper edge of the newly built footbridge leading to the eighth green. Those players walking that day reported the walk over the bridge with water surging less than a foot below their feet made them feel somewhat uneasy. The groundskeepers did a magnificent job clearing the water from the bunkers and other areas of golfing activity. Thanks to their efforts, by noon the course had almost returned to normal. Of interest is that almost exactly three years ago (January 11, 2005) we experienced another more severe storm with water that did lap at the edge of the number 8 green, widened the stream banks, and took away a few dozen yards of fairway.
TREE PLANTING PLANS UNVEILED
Castle Creek has unveiled a new tree-planting program to replace the undesirable eucalyptus trees with beautiful Coastal Sequoia Redwoods. We have started by planting 6 along the boundary between #1 and #9 fairways, and plan on adding at least a dozen more. The Redwoods are not messy. You don't have to worry about leaves in the fall. Our goal is to eventually remove the eucalyptus trees as the Sequoias grow in size. These majestic redwoods will be our contribution to the future beauty of our great course. If you are looking for pavers or paving stones and live in the San Diego area be sure to consider Tuscany Pavers. They are located in San Diego and offer installation of pavers and paving bricks.
MANAGER'S REPORT
I am pleased to tell you that we have solved the problem of the relocation of the maintenance building. We have decided to move it to the present site of the #17 back tees and #16 green. We plan on moving the 16th green westward to the open grass area 50 yards away, creating an exciting dogleg around the large sycamore tree. In addition, we will be lengthening #17 green by adding an additional 20 yards northward. These changes will result in making the holes more challenging as well as more exciting. I’ll be providing more details in the upcoming RoundUp issues. Larry Taylor- General Manager
OH'S TEE SHOTS
Frost Delays. How can a footprint be a killer? When it’s a footprint made on a putting surface that’s covered with frost. It’s hard to believe that simply walking across a green (or any grass, for that matter) covered with frost can cause so much damage. Although you won’t see any immediate damage, the proof will emerge within 48-72 hours as the leaves die and turn brown. And, since just one foursome can leave several hundred footprints on each green, the damage can be extensive. That’s why most courses will delay starting times until the frost has melted. And it’s also why golfers who appreciate a quality putting surface will be patient during frost delays.
The green is an extremely fragile environment that must be managed carefully and professionally. Obviously, Mother Nature never meant for these plants to be maintained at 3/16 or even 1/8 of an inch for prolonged periods. This stress makes greens constantly vulnerable to attacks from disease, heat, drought, cold, and frost.
Although frosty turf grass that is walked on or driven on suffers leaf damage, the area of most concern is the crown area of the plant and the portion just above the ground level, which is called the apex. This is the area where shoots and leaves come from. In cool periods, shoot growth slows down considerably, hence little damage may be seen immediately after a frost. Taller grasses have more leaf area to insulate the crown, so damage there is usually restricted to the leaf, which will soon grow out. Even slight damage to a leaf can bruise the apex and slow its recovery and shoot growth in the spring. Simply put, walking on frost-covered greens in the winter more than likely will be the cause of spongy, thin, weak and sick greens in the spring. It weakens the plants, making them susceptible to disease. Even plants that survive foot or wheel traffic can be deformed and slow growing.
Frost is essentially frozen dew. It can form when the temperature or wind chill is near or below the freezing point. The ice crystals that form on the outside of the plant can also harden or even freeze the cell structure of the plant. When frosted, the normally resilient plant cells become brittle and are easily crushed. It’s not much different than cracking an egg. Once the shell is broken, you can’t put it back together.
There are many techniques we employ to reduce frost damage. We use high potassium fertilizers to help protect that plant from stress, and we raise the cutting height of our greens mowers to provide more of a blanket about the crown. We skip mowing on some days and use a dew whip to remove dew on the grass. As morning temperatures begin to rise we will also water frosted areas in an attempt to knock frost off. But we must also reduce traffic compaction by enforcing frost delays for our players.
We apologize for any inconvenience frost delay may cause. Please be aware that the damage caused by walking or driving on frost turf not only affects today’s play, but can affect the following season as well. Tee Oh, Superintendent
CORRECTION
Due to an oversight, we did not mention the generous contribution of Fred Holtermann for our employee’s Christmas fund. Again, thanks to Fred and the other kind members in helping make our employee’s Christmas that much brighter!
MEN’S CLUB NEWS
Everybody would like to make a Hole In One. But how many enjoy paying the bar bill? For a very small optional fee, all members of the Men’s club can escape the customary payment for a “round of drinks” in the Circle R Saloon by investing in “Hole In One” insurance. The purpose of the insurance is to defray the cost of the celebration. It is neither prize money nor the winning of a wager. Will Nelson will be posting the details of how this system operates. Please read. The 2008 Handbooks are out. For those who do not have a copy, please pick up your copy in the Clubroom. There have been many changes to the Roster. The Master copy in the Clubroom will have all those changes entered. If your e-mail is not listed or is incorrect please notify our Membership Chairman, Lee Estes.
TRAVEL TEAM
The season’s first match was held January 11 at Meadow Lake. Our team of Steve Gjorkovski, Fred Holtermann, Ron Williams, Tom Hughes, Dan Albee, and Frank Betonte got pretty badly beaten up - more by the course than by the competition - and came home with a loss of 2 to 16. The re-match here at Castle Creek on the following Friday was a repeat of the match the prior week only REVERSED. Our men came away with a win by the score of 16 to 2.
Myron Vanetsky, Hal Helfand, Charles Newcomb, Ed Harbour, Bud Hedlund, and John Stepp hosted a group from Sea N Air on Jan 24th. The day was a cold, blustery and wet one but our guys hung in there and whipped the competition 13 to 5. Ken Smith, Team Captain
JOHN KODA SCORES HOLE IN ONE
On hole #8 John selected his nine wood (in younger days he used an eight iron) and watched as his ball landed on the green five feet from the hole and roll precisely toward the white pin placement and ended directly into the center of the hole. The best of congratulations he could get out of his playing partners, Will, Larry and Frank, was “Great shot John”. Fortunately John had invested in Hole-In-One insurance. His bar bill was $138 - his Hole-In-One insurance paid $139!
2008 SENIORS CLUB OFFICERS
From left to right: President George Steiner, Treasurer Ray Miller, and Vice President Bill Shiba. The three new officers elected started work on January 1st of 2008. The first 2008 Monday luncheon is currently planned for the 25th of February. More Information will be provided when available.
WOMEN’S CLUB NEWS
“No cold or rain on Tuesdays because the women of Castle Creek are going to golf.” If only we could order the weather that we want. Thanks to Jeannie Fredenburg for continuing to handle sweeps for CCWGC during January. Members needing to sign up or make changes for Tuesday games in February should contact Joyce Brown at (760) 415-0431 or joycebrown@cox.net. Barbara Bell will coordinate sweeps in March and Vao Scanlon will take over in April. We all appreciate the work done by members to help our organization operate smoothly.
The Castle Creek Women’s Golf Club Memorial Tournament will be held the last Tuesday of February and tournament chair Jeannie Fredenburg has posted the signup sheet. All members who have participated in six Tuesday play days in the last six months are eligible to play in the Memorial Tournament. Play in this low gross and low net tournament will be from the red tees and the February handicap will be used. In 2007, the winners were Irene Fedeli with 87 for low gross and Dorothy Berger with 66 for low net. Joyce Brown, President
2007 ACE OF THE YEAR TOURNAMENT
 
A frost delay on January 15, 2008, greeted the 12 competitors for the title of 2007 Red or Green Ace of the Year. Fortunately, it was not a long delay. A brilliant sun soon appeared over the mountain top and thawed out the course enough to begin play. A huge thank you to Pro Aaron Kelsey for allowing the four groups of Aces to start their tournament competition from the first tee. The remaining women's club players and other early morning golfers were sent to the back nine for a shotgun start. The seven players from the red tees and the five players from the green tees had a common goal to finish the tournament with the lowest net score from their tees. The competition was intense. After 18 holes of play, the winners were Lynne Cardarelli from the red tees with a net 72 and Dee Dowling from the green tees with a net 72. Congratulations to Lynne Cardarelli, 2007 Red Tee Ace of the Year and Dee Dowling, Green Tee Ace of year. A special recognition to all the monthly aces for their outstanding accomplishments. Jeannie Fredenburg
MOST IMPROVED 2007
For the year of 2007, the most improved CCWGC golfer was Lori Hurst. She managed to reduce her handicap from a 35 to a 29. Not an easy accomplishment considering she works full-time and is also an active bell ringer. Congratulations, Lori. Pam
MOST IMPROVED JANUARY
Fumie Shimazaki has done it again!! She is CCWGC most improved player for the month of Jan. She reduced her handicap for 27 to 22, a decrease of 16.8%. Congratulations Fumie, that is some GOOD golfing. Pam
ACES OF THE MONTH
 
In spite of frost delays and inclement weather, Dawn Jessee and Thelma Koda focused on their golf games and became the first 2008 Aces of the Month. From the Red Tees, Dawn scored a very respectable net 71. From the Green tees, Thelma scored a 63. Congratulations, ladies. You have set really high standards for the rest of us! Jeannie Fredenburg
Related Links:
The Circle R Round-Up - Jan 2008 >>
The Circle R Round-Up - Archives 2005-2007 >>
Castle Creek in the News
10/25/04 - Local Golf Course Renovated >>
11/09/04 - North County Times >>
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