Randolph Oaks G.C.

E-Mail Newsletter
JUN 2, 2008 VOLUME 3, NUMBER 18

WEEK 2 JUN THRU 8 JUN 2008

GOLF COURSE
3 Jun Gen Stewart 1300 SG
5 Jun Ladies Golf 0815 SG
6 Jun Men’s Golf Association 0800 SG
6 Jun RoHawk Reunion 0800 SG
6 Jun 340 FTG Tourney 1230 SG

PRO SHOP
Selected Wilson & Adams Individual Woods 50% OFF
Nike Golf Shoes 30% OFF
Golf Bags (NO PING BAGS) 10% OFF

WEEK 9 JUN THRU 15 JUN 2008

GOLF COURSE
10 Jun Intramural Golf 1230 SG
12 Jun AFPC TOURNEY 1230 SG
12 Jun Ladies Golf 0815 SG
13 Jun Men’s Golf Association 0800 SG
13 Jun Graham Tourney 1230 SG

PRO SHOP
Twilight golf starts at 1500 and Super Twilight starts at 1730

TEE TIME DECK

Every Thur & Fri in May out on Deck $9 Buckets of Beer (5 Beers)

HALF PRICE GOLF (MONDAY’S IN JUNE)

You can golf for half price ($12) on Monday’s in the month of June whether
riding or walking – the BEST PRICE in San Antonio.

UPCOMING EVENTS
9 Jun & 10 Jun Aerifying Greens
12 Jun $2.00 Thursday (Well Drinks, Margarita’s, Corona’s, Taco Bar)
14 Jun US Open Pick-um $10 Tee Times 0700 to 0900
14 Jun Adams Golf Demo Day 0900 to 1400
15 Jun Father/Son/Daughter $20 (Box Lunch Included)

FROM TEE TO GREEN WITH

KENNETH BOYCE
Hello again to all the players of Randolph Oaks, it’s been a fairly productive couple
of weeks. Since I last spoke to you we have continued to spray the greens every
Monday, of course, I’ve only been here for a month so we’ve only completed four
spray applications. These mixes we’ve been using consist of very small amounts of
fertilizer with the addition of amino acids, sugar, molasses, humic acid, liquid fish,
seaweed extracts, vitamins, and various plant extracts. I am a firm believer that if
you feed the soil and not the plant the soil will work for you. By soil I mean the
billions and trillions of microorganisms that feed off of root excretions and in turn
feed the plant. Unfortunately, due to the high salt content of our soil, I don’t think
our soil is very alive at the moment. However, with the continued use of gypsum
we can reduce the salt load enough to provide an environment that’s conducive for
microbiological activity. I wouldn’t go as far to say that I never feed the plant but I
always make it a point to never apply anything that’s harmful to soil life, such as
urea and ammonium nitrate. These fertilizers are common because of the
immediate response they give you but the response is only temporary and they can
fool you in to believing you have a healthy plant when you do not. I like to compare
them to steroids, they make an individual aesthetically pleasing but it’s probably not
healthy. When I measure a plants health I go by the protein and vitamin content
rather than the look. Of course, if you have a plant with a high protein and vitamin
content it will, undoubtedly, look healthy. Much like you and I, plants also have
defense mechanisms, and a plant that’s truly healthy will be much more resistant to
disease or other foreign attacks.
Some upcoming maintenance to your golf course includes the first application of
gypsum to the fairways and green surrounds, we are currently waiting on 12 tons to
arrive and when it does we’ll spread it out. In early June we are going to punch the
greens with a 1/2” solid tine and top-dress to hopefully encourage the root system
to grow, as well as, provide water channels that can help alleviate some of the
excess salt. We are also trying to schedule a spray application for the fairways and
that will include ammonium sulfate, iron sulfate, and magnesium sulfate, all of which
has arrived. This application should help some of the minor imbalances that are
occurring in your soil.
The only other thing I would like to mention is that we have taken more soil and
water samples and have sent them to the lab. I was recently notified that the soil
tests I’ve been going by, which were taken in 2007, were taken after 45 consecutive
days of rain. I think it would be accurate to assume that the salt load was heavily
reduced by 45 days of pure water, but only time will tell and you’ll know soon after I
do.
Again, if there are any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask.