Project Update

The pump house is now weather tight and we can begin the process of cleaning up inside and finish up a few trim pieces on the outside. The next step is to have our electrician wire up the pump station for power. While this is taking place the company is working on the outflow pipe section by installing the "Z" pipe and removing about 200 feet of 10 inch main line so we can enlarge this to 12 inch. Once this is complete the project will be finished and we can turn on the water.

The heart of the golf course

Outflow pipe reconnecting, yes its a mess down there with
old pipe and wires.

Starting to install the larger pipe, another 175 feet to go.

Bunkers made out okay this week with the sand removal from #7 green side bunkers almost complete. The status for #8 is 2 out the 3 green side bunkers are prepped for the polymer spray with minimal soil grading to finish. The third green side bunker was being used as our old bunker sand stock pile so they could still work. With the cold temperatures we have been experiencing the sand is frozen and virtually impossible to move at this time. The right side fairway bunkers are prepped for the Better Billy Bunker Spray and the left side fairway bunker is prepped for the drainage install. We are hopeful to have the spray team return soon but the weather has not been cooperating with us. We need at least a three day stretch of sunny dry conditions for it to be worth everyone's time for maximum efficiency.

#8 right side fairway bunker

#8 left side fairway bunker

#8 front green side bunker

#7 right green side bunker

Our tree project commenced again and what a slow process this has been to traverse the entire golf course one board at a time. But the effort and time will be worth the screening we will get from the homes. The staff has been busy mulching trees on the golf course and laying sod. It can be a big challenge to lay sod when the air temperatures are below freezing and when your sod is delivered it feels like one big ice cube. How we deal with this is by keeping them inside under heat to thaw them out, once they are ready they go out the door.

Last Zelkova for the parking lot.

#3 Tee Screening Project

Not easy to get back up there.

These were dug up and will be moved somewhere else
on the golf course.

Sodding behind #10 green

Keeping the sod warm under the heat

Course Update

Another bitter cold day here and work has restarted again on the bunkers for the time being, lets hope the forecast for snow isn't to bad. The pump house is starting to have a roof and we are getting closer to having this weather tight. The company is also working on hooking up the intake line and then they will move to the outlet which was the "Z" pipe in the previous photos. One thing that is also new to us is an in-line filter that will connect to the outflow pipe.  This will filter out anything large that would cause a head to not run properly or get stuck on. Another piece of insurance for our irrigation system.

Massaging the wall for the new intake.

The filter for the irrigation system.

We had a truck of sod delivered last week and that quickly went out to finish the approach on #11 and various rough areas on the golf course. I think you will find that in working with the designer a couple of changes were made to the approach on #11 to give it a much better look as well as improved play-ability.

#11 left side before the new approach was added.

#11 right side before photo

#11 left side with new approach extension

Same area above but from another view, you can see
we removed the rough grass. 

#11 right side extension towards the greens

Looking back at the fairway from the green, new approach
 extension on what would be the holes right side.

Prepping #18 for another great enhancement, more to follow.

Pump Station Update

The project has been moving right along and we now have walls surrounding the structure. At some point our roof trusses will arrive and those will be attached and the roof put on. When that is complete the next step is to align the station to mate up with our existing pipes. Because we asked for a larger gallons per minute pump station we need to increase our out going pipe size from 10 inch to 12 inch. This will accommodate any future irrigation additions in the future. 

The snow is melting but much slower than anticipated, this has a lot to do with the recent cold temperature well below 32 degrees causing the ice to become frozen solid with very little air mixed in. With the rain expected today the course is going to be a swamp fest and will need some time to dry out. We are hopeful that the bunker project will pick back up again next week. Thursday we had a sod truck delivered and the staff is busy clearing off the snow around some of the bunkers and placing either tall fescue or bent grass in the required areas. Another group is prepping the shop floor for a coat of paint today.

New Pump Station

Yesterday we took delivery of our new pump station and we could not be more thrilled to see that show up. Some might be aware that our old system was well over 20 years old and in bad shape. We were constantly having either pump failures, leaks and inefficient use of our electricity. We had a deadline to start this work and we were not going to let the snow slow us down, so far everything is going to plan, stay tuned on the progress. 

Started with clearing the snow across the 18th fairway
towards the pump house on #10, yes all by hand.

Off loading the station

New discharge "Z" pipe

Making the trek to the pump house

You gotta take it apart, out with old and in with the new.

Our old pump station we are replacing.

Roof removal.

Old station removed.

Walls are gone, new ones to be built later.

Moving in the new station.

Just about the final resting spot.
Stay tuned for more updates.

Course Update

It is no surprise that the recent snow storm that dumped over a foot in our area has slowed our bunker project down. I can say that they did a great job of working over this past weekend to Wednesday to almost having #8 complete with the gravel install and partial #7 fairway bunker. We also have started our annual painting of the shop floor again and we keep trying different coatings to see which one will hold up best for the traffic. Our second phase of tree plantings is under way and this will take us a little longer as compared to the first phase. They are being very careful using mats to get to the area with out disrupting the grass or creating ruts from the heavy weight.

#9 right fairway bunker

#9 back green side bunker

#9 right green side bunker

#8 shaping the front green side bunker

#7 fairway bunker

#8 right side fairway bunkers, small pot bunker has been
filled in.

Tree company slowly making there way to #3,
one mat at a time.

Approximately 15 Trees will go in on the left side to
screen the homes on #3 Tee box.

This is the mechanics office complete, next week we will
work the bathrooms and then the main bay.