Do you remember your best Valentine day? It could be a memory of a loved one or a memory from your childhood friends with whom you exchanged cards and candy at school. I am blessed to have a spouse who thinks of me every day of the year, I hope you have experienced this or if you are young enough that you will someday.
I am a sucker for a good memory and the Oaks Course wants to celebrate you and your special someone this year. On February 11, 2019 we will be drawing the lucky person to have a private dinner or lunch FOR 2 catered by us with a complimentary bottle of wine and bouquet of flowers.
Please go to the pro shop or the restaurant to put your name, email and phone number for a chance to make a memory for you and your loved one or to add one more to store in their heart for a lifetime. You won’t regret it, I have too many memories to share, but they, too, are stored in my heart forever.
A common question that I get during the winter is "when the course has a rain event, why are the cart rules “Path Only” for longer periods of time than in the warmer months?" The main reason is that the bermudagrass turf is dormant. Since it is not actively growing, dormant tur will not uptake water. So, any amount of rainfall the course receives only passes through surface and subsurface drainage, as well as a small amount through evaporation. When the turf is actively growing, it can uptake surprisingly high amounts of water, thus drying the course out much faster. The Oaks Course received 68” of rainfall in 2018--9.5” of that in December. We’ve started 2019 with 2.5” already, so we ask for your patience. Please abide by the cart rules to ensure ideal playing conditions for all players. Not only will it benefit the course, but you will get a little extra exercise walking to and from your cart---an easy way to make sure you achieve that New Year's Resolution.
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Let us make a resolution together to get you playing your best golf in 2019. It may seem hard to do this due to all the rain and not being able to get out to practice or play, but this simple drill will help you with your putting. No matter what scores you shoot, putting accounts for 43% of your total score. If you shoot 100, you probably will have around 43 putts per round. The fastest way to lower your score will be to improve your putting.
The ability to start the ball online is half or the battle with putting. The second half is hitting the ball the correct distance. This blog will focus on your starting line, and is VERY easy to do in doors.
Take two alignment sticks (golf clubs work too) and place them parallel on the ground about 2” apart. Place your ball a few inches behind the sticks in the center of the channel created. All you will focus on is rolling your ball down the channel without hitting the sides. If you can do this, then you can start your ball online.
If your ball hits the right rail, your club face pointed too far to the right. If the ball hits the left rail, the club face pointed too far to the left. Keep stroking putts, trying to roll your ball right down the middle.
With some practice at home, you will be amazed how much better your putting will get when you can start the ball on your intended line. I hope that you will use this exercise and I am interested to hear about your results!
Happy New Year,
Coach Brad
The Coaches Corner is brought to you by our Oaks Course Golf Pro, Brad Patton. Brad is the Lead Staff Instructor and PGA Assistant Golf Professional. He has real a passion for golf and instruction, and has been part of the Oaks Course team for several years.
With the winter months approaching, the time to start our greens colorant program has begun. We use turf pigments as the base of our program, not paint as is often assumed. In our geographical location we often find that our greens, if maintained with a pigment program, do not go completely dormant under normal winter conditions. Paints are generally used after the turf goes dormant, and are much more expensive. The key to success with pigments is starting to apply them before the onset of cold weather, essentially when the turf is still completely green and hasn’t lost any color. This allows you to build up a better pigment base on the plant and in a way “lock in” some of the natural color. Once we start applying, we generally do repeat applications every 14-21 days in order to avoid losing color completely, because once it's lost the only way to return back to a natural look is with turf paint. Applications are generally made with a surfactant to aid in coverage and adhesion, and a micronutrient fertilizer containing Iron. Iron when applied makes the plant darker, which adds to the more natural look. Lastly, we believe that using pigments aids us in a smoother transition in the spring months and does not mask any potential turf problems during the winter like paints have been known to do.
