Quick Drainage Install

With a good chance of rain arriving this evening we switched gears and installed some much needed drainage behind one green. This area is always wet and is a high traffic route for golfers. We have a little more work to do  but not bad considering we started this morning with a limited amount of guys to help. 

#8 Bathroom Project

Our other project taking place is the bathroom on #8 has been getting a small make over. The problem that we have been running into is typically we would have to shut down the bathroom in November to winterize the pipes. The building was not equipped with any kind of heat nor insulation. We have torn down the siding and insulated all four walls as well as move the pipes from inside the wall to the interior part of the back wall. I discovered some structural issues in the front over hang that we will be moving to help distribute the load. This will be replaced with heavy beams and give it a better appearance. We are proud that all of this work is being done in house.

Before

After

Project Updates

Almost two weeks ago on #8 green we started the task of moving the greens loop. It finally feels good to say that we have completed this and in the process of back filling the trench and ready to replace the sod. All heads are functioning properly and we feel that from a turf managers perspective that this will help our problem in the front of the green and from a golfers perspective removing the two heads that were in the middle of the approach in front of the green. Also the drainage installation is wrapping up to a point that this to is almost ready for us to replace the sod. 

Our Tee alignment has taken a back seat so that we can progress more on the projects on #8 but we have finished up to #8 tee. Next week when #8 is complete we will re-direct all of our staff to kick the tee project in high gear and weather permitting finish this by the end of the month. 

Tee Update and 8 green complex update

Last week we started to re-align the tees that have gotten out of square and edges that have been contaminated with bent-grass from divots. As you can see in the photos not a hard process but a meticulous one because the sod will never lie when it comes to two different grasses meeting creating a straight line. We hope to be done with the front 9 this week.

Our second major project is the shifting of the greens loop on #8 green. Currently we have two heads that are in the middle of the green approach about 4 feet from the green. In order to install this properly virtually the entire irrigation pipe has to be hand dug where we will lift and move the pipe and re-set all of the heads around the green. This will insure that our irrigation coverage will not be compromised. 

Project Updates

As I am typing this it is blistering cold out there, if not for the wind it would not be such a bad day. But none the less we are pressing on with our winter projects. The fairway top dressing is moving along, with a few set backs such as blown tires and main support beam that separated it self, the back nine almost complete. As you may be aware we have closed #6 and #8 greens for the year. With the amount of work that needs to be done in front of these holes it was our best option in terms of safety. Since they are closed we went ahead and aerified them to keep on improving the sand profile. 

9 fairway

With that said we are close to finishing the leveling of the low areas on #9 fairway and installing drainage to pick up the water that sits on the path. We hope to  to have this completed  tomorrow. The front of the 6th green is getting a makeover with the releveling of the approach to the green along with some water diversion areas that will take place in the next 2 weeks. Starting next week the irrigation loop on #8 will be dug up and moved to situate the two heads out of the middle of the approach. At the same time there will be a rather large drainage install going on in the approach. As you can see the approach marked with red paint.

8 approach

You may remember when I brought up the fact that we top dress the rough with the contaminated bunker sand that we pull out after major storms. Well over time this gets even more contaminated with large rocks and even asphalt that is coming apart at the shop. Every time we would top dress there was a rock detail party sent out to collect them. And not to mention damage that it sometimes can do to the spinners. We had done some research and found a company that rents screens for this purpose. In the photo you can see that job taking place and it worked very well for us. The stock pile that has accumulated is around 200 tons and yes all of it was screened! So when we are not top dressing fairways we are top dressing rough. 

Stay tuned for more updates and new projects.

New Pro Tee #18

In an effort to increase the over all yardage from the gold tees we have built a new tee on #18. The existing tee is  at 461 yards and the new tee is at 491 yards. We have laid low mow blue grass as the tee surface and will intersead rye grass on the surface next year. Because of the tremendous amount of shade bent grass would just not do very well in this area. If you choose to play from this Tee you will enjoy the view!

Fairway Top Dressing

Its that time of year when we begin our annual fairway top dressing. We have already started on #18 and will proceed backwards. You also may have noticed some work being done on #9 fairway. At the beginning of the fairway we are raising and tieing in the low area. Last but not least leaf cleanup is still on going and thank you for your patience. Please stay tuned for more project updates.

Course Update

On hole #6 we have started to drill and fill the walk on area leading up to the green. With the heavy compaction that we have here grass does not grow well and eventually wears out. We will drill down to 6-8 inches and back fill the fill with sand. You can see in the photos that the guys follow a pattern and once complete they move the board over and start again.We will be able to promote air and water exchange and reduce the incidence of compaction with this method and a much better playable surface.

Finished Area

16 Creek Bank

You might be wondering what are the covers for on the creek banks on holes 11,16,17 and 18. We have seeded these areas with tall fescue to create a cleaner looking area as well as to promote pace of play. Because we have seeded late we are using the covers to trap in the warmth to promote germination. These areas, especially #16 are notorious for collecting golf balls. Just another step to improve the look of the golf course.

USGA Frost Delay Video

Frost Delays

As you are aware the temperatures are getting much cooler. And when that happens we start to experience frost delays. I have attached a video from the USGA to help with the understanding of the concept. Also attached is an example of  foot traffic on a green from one 4-some. And you can only imagine the damage that could incure if we were not to wait until the frost burns off especially on a green.

Bat Houses

On our pump house below the 10th Tees

We have installed 5 Bat houses around the golf
course, most of them situated around the pond that you see from the grill room. The purpose of this is to promote a bat colony that will not only have a place to live but also eat insects. We hope that this will limit the amount of insects around the out door patios. This is just one step of many to become a Certified Audubon Cooperative
 Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. Did you know that bats can eat 600 insects in one feeding! The pictures below show where they have been mounted on the golf course.

On the fence adjacent from #11 Green

At the Short Game Gazebo

Located near the teaching Green

In the Native area right of #9 Green

Greens Needle Tine and Top Dressing

Today we are needle tining greens 3-8 to help improve the infiltration rate and really to allow oxygen into the soil. The greens are always harder to manage becuase of there micro-climate and there size, the smallest being 3900 square feet. The smaller the greens the less pin locations you have and the higher amount of compaction it receives. I can walk on #6 green right now and its like walking on concrete. The needle tine is a less invasive procedure to the golfer but still allows us to let them breath. For all of the greens we are top dressing them as well. Regular top dressing as I have said before promotes a smooth and firm playing surface and dilutes the organic matter that we accumulate through out the year. Also today the Tees are receiving a light application for the same purpose listed above.

Course Update, Bunkers

This is always something that we look forward to doing
after a heavy rain event. This morning we accumulated close to two inches of rain. Course as a whole does very well on drainage. But we do have some issues that need to be addressed in the future, the bunkers. Bunkers have a life span of around 5- 10 years depending on the design and internal functioning parts such as drainage and contaminated sand. As you can see in the photos we are lacking on the drainage. When an event like this does happen we have to pull all of our resources together to pump out and pitch sand back up to the edges. With over 50 bunkers ranging in size from under 1000 square feet to over 7000 square feet this can be a daunting task this can take up to three days to finish. Currently we are looking into doing some test bunkers using a product that lines the entire floor of the bunker making it one big drain instead of tile drains spaced where appropriate. We hope to see good results and apply this in the future to the rest of the bunkers. I do know that this product has performed extremely well with some other clubs in the area and the feed back they give me is astounding.

Golf Course Tree Update

This week we have begun to implement a tree pruning program. Our first stop was to increase the air flow around the #2 green and #5 green. We then made our away along #4 cart path as well as back to #3 on the both sides of the hole. Not only will this improve air flow but also play ability and aesthetics. Some of the areas all ready look more maintained than before. Our plan is to make our way through the golf course before the snow arrives.

#2 Green Complex, left side

#3 left side before

#3 left side after

B/W #3 and #9

Mid-Atlantic Amateur

This past weekend was the site of the 105th Middle Atlantic Amateur which happens to be the longest running event in the country. We got off to a rainy start with rain all day Thursday with play still able to continue. Friday was not as bad and by the weekend we were seeing better forecasts. Every one seem to be challenged by the course, the lowest recorded round for each day was a 69-70. My team was very enthused for preparations but we are glad that we can get into some of the normal things we do on the course and have normal hours. Greens 1-8 have been solid tined using a tine size of 3/8" and greens 9-18 have been needle tined using a size of .200" this past Monday as well as top dressed. It was necessary to "open them up" to allow them to breath and to promote the dry down process. Already the smaller needle tine is hard to see, so the 3/8" should be just a couple of days behind. The past two weeks it has been all rain and very little sun light. Our most pocketed greens showed there true colors and how weak they are in these micro climates. For more information on the event and scoring please visit http://www.middleatlanticga.org

Course Update after Heavy Storms

What happens when you have not mowed in a week? Well you have grass clippings every where. Normally we collect all of the clippings in the fairways but in a matter of time we just could not do this. So we took them off and bailed hay, of course we blew off after completed. The rough is being mowed with our walk behind mowers and we hope to get the big rough units out tomorrow to catch up. Bunkers are almost complete, I foresee us finishing them on Tuesday afternoon. Our rye grass in the intermediate has come up nicely but we have a few spots to re-seed as well as the rough.

Here is just a few things we need to take care of for the week, finish the fan project on #8, mow all of the rough including bunker faces, re-seed areas in rough and repair #17 where we lost the big oak and repair the wash out near #7 walk bridge. Basically give the course a face lift from the bad weather lately!

#3 Fairway Update

The sod was delivered yesterday morning and with some last minute preparations we were able to get it all down and watered as soon as possible. As sod sits on a pallet the heat produced inside will essentially cook the turf grass. This is why it is extremely important to lay it as fast as you can. We really did not have an idea on how much we needed because all of the spots were irregular shapes. So we took a round about guess and we guessed right needing just under 10,000 square feet which is what we ordered. Some of the extra pieces will not go unused but rather areas such as #8 approach. We save everything!

Course Update

With that passing of Hurricane Irene the course fared really well. With the usual debris to clean up and two trees that came down on #17. The rain was very slow which helped our bunkers make it through with very little wash outs.  A few other things that will take place this week is the stripping of the sod on #3, the sod will be replaced  on Wednesday. Continuing to seed our rough as well as the intermediate that have been sprayed for Bermuda control. There is one important thing I would like to bring up as it pertains to seed in the rough. We have already begun the germination process and we are seeing a lot of seed popping in our thin areas. With that said it is extremely important that we keep off the rough to allow the seedlings a chance to grow. If we do not control the cart traffic then all will be for not. So this week we are cart path only as well as for blue flags. I know that this will be an inconvenience but this is necessary to regain grass in the rough. Now one last thing, because we are cart path only please be aware as you park and drive near the cart path edge, it is very important to remain on the path due to some areas being wetter than others.