Monday run down

This past Monday was a busy one for us to catch up on some cultural practices that were delayed because of member and outside events. The greens were spiked and top dressed  and our sweep-n-fill was used to drag in the sand, this is a routine process so we can dilute our organic matter. 

You can see the spike marks along with the sand ready to be sweep-ed in

Brush in action

Finished product

On the three greens that we have drainage problems (3,6,17) we used our deep tine machine that penetrated to 8 inches and back filled with a heavier top dressing application. Because the greens stay wet for longer periods we developed a hard pan starting about 4 inches below the surface. By doing this we are de-compacting the inner part of the green to allow for air and gas exchange as well as to help the moisture move farther into the drainage system.  

Deep tine in action on green

After the heavy top dressing and sweep-ed in

Sod update

We are on truck four this week with another coming next week. Our progress slowed down a little because of the amount we are doing around the fourth green. This area should be done today and we are moving on to hole 5. There has been more seeding going on but mostly on the back. This will help our sod trucks go a lot further and to continue to convert the rough to a consistent stand. We also have a small crew that is traveling around the course adding sand to the bunkers and checking the depths. 

This past Monday and Tuesday we had a company come out to survey the greens using ground penetrating radar. So far we have found some interesting things that will have to be analyzed much better, but from a rough 3D image we are seeing some issues that have not helped our cause especially on the third green. Once the data is complied we will have a clearer picture of what is going on, but from the looks of it we have a blocked drainage pipe in the front of the green (hence the thin area) and another on the right side. They will be back out next Monday and Tuesday to try and finish the rest of the greens. I will post some images once we have those in our hands.

Radar on the 3rd green

Quadrants set up to ensure accuracy

Left side of 4 green, new sod

Right side of 4 green being prepared

Bunker Sand being added

Sod trucks, Bunker Repair and Radar!

With great pleasure we have begun the sodding process in the rough. Like I stated before we opted to start on #3 and continue to let holes #1 and #2 grow in. The first truck pretty much ended up on #3 while the second and third trucks will most likely go to #4. There will be very little sod work being performed on #5 as most of this hole has been seeded along with #6. Our goal is to maximize as much as possible the allotted sod trucks that we will have delivered. I only wish that we could do more but in time we will reach out to every part of the rough. And to top all of this off we received close to two inches of rain that washed out all of the bunkers this week. In an effort to maximize our time we split up the staff for sod prep and bunker repair. The only down side is we are just mowing greens this week. We will do a complete mow out of the course on Monday so we can get back on track. 

#3 left side

#4 at the front of the Fairway

On Monday we will have a company out to use a ground penetrating radar system that will gives us more insight on our greens. This company will map our drainage system, locate all of the buried clean outs and give us a 3D image of how the drainage system  and sand profile is operating. We have had numerous challenges on a couple of our greens such as #3. In the photo you can see where the water is not draining properly hence the thin area. This could lead to finding inadequate drainage lines and or compromised lines as well. At times as-builts (as construction was taking place) can some times change with recording what actually happened. This will give the club accurate records of what is actually in the ground. 

3 green holding water

This is what will take place next week.