Project Days

From our perspective, one of the many nice things about fall is that the change in weather allows us to complete a number of projects around the course.  Last fall, you may remember that we installed drainage in 3 approach, and even though it was a relatively dry year, it seemed to make a dramatic difference during the heavier rains that we did receive.  This year, the main project was the releveling of the north side of 16 back tee.

Over the past year-and-a-half, we noticed that this half of the tee was beginning to drop off towards the lake, and it was making for some occassionally uneven stances.  This week, the sod on that half of the tee and tee bank were removed.  The sod from the bank was discarded, and the tee sod was carefully rolled up and moved in an orderly fashion.  Next, thin plywood boards were anchored into the ground to show the contour of the teeing surface.  After that, a significant amount of soil was added and compacted to the tee bank to raise it to the height of the surrounding steel girders, and once that was mostly done, sand was added to the teeing surface to make it level.  Finally, the tee sod was carefully laid back into place, the plywood was removed, more soil was added to the bank, and new sod was laid on the bank.  Because the renovated half of the tee is very soft, the entire tee will be closed for the remainder of the year.

If you make it out to the course to enjoy the pleasant weather this weekend, you may also notice that several other projects have been completed, including:

• A drainage basin was added to the right side of 3 men's tee.  During wetter weather, a puddle would form in this area, and because it's a high-traffic area, it was an unsightly inconvenience.  With the new drain and sod, it should no longer be an issue.
• A drainage basin was also added to the back of 3 green.  Despite having part-circle irrigation heads that we turn off as much as possible on the back of this green, the small bank area between the green and the out-of-bounds line never seemed to dry out and was starting to really deteriorate.  Thus, the existing sod/mud was removed and replaced with shade-tolerant tall fescue sod, and a small catch basin was installed in the lowest point.
• New sod was added to a portion of the bank that's left of 9 green.  Due to mowing and being steep and dry, this area was also becoming more and more unsightly.  Although it didn't truly affect play because of it's steepness, it just wasn't very nice to look at.
• There must be some sort of seismic activity between the cart path and 10 tee because the soil in this area just doesn't want to stay smooth.  After repairing the area 3 years ago, small dips were once again forming.  So, sod was stripped off, the soil was once again leveled, and new sod was laid down.
• Sod was also added to the back right of 11 green, where sharply turning carts and mowers had created a small patch of soil.
• Some of the tall fescue sod was patched into a small barren area just off of the south side of 15 fairway.
• A drainage basin will be added by the flagstone that's along the cart path by 6 men's tee.  During the summer, irrigation water from 9 tee, the range tee, and 6 tee all run down the cart path and pool in this particular area.  Without fail, carts drive thru the puddle, and it gets a little messy.  Again, the drain should alleviate this problem.
• Lastly, if we have enough sod, we will renovate a small, shoddy-looking spot that's to the north of 14 bunker.

Between the aforementioned projects, leaf cleanup, and beginning some equipment maintenance, it's been a busy week at the shop.  Unfortunately, our digital camera decided to stop working, so I was unable to take any pictures of the projects.

Have a great weekend, and we hope that you're able to enjoy the next few nice, less windy days on the course.

Fall Work

Although the temperatures have been unseasonably warm recently, fall is in full effect on the course.  Maybe it's just me, but the leaves seem to be falling earlier and much more heavily than normal.  Much of our efforts over the past two weeks have been focused on leaf management.  We spend a significant amount of time blowing and chopping the leaves to keep the course as playable as it can possibly be.  Often times, despite our best efforts, the leaves still win on windy days.  Golf ball retailers are almost certainly big proponents of deciduous trees, but at least someone's happy about the situation.

The oak trees that line 14 and 15 are some of the messiest culprits on the course, but they do look pretty nice.

At this time of the year, the turf plants have already shifted their focus from producing above-ground growth to reforming their root systems that were lost in the summer heat.  Accordingly, the daily mowing requirements have decreased substantially, and when you consider all of the leaves that we have to deal with, that's certainly a good thing.

This is also the time of the year when we're able to have adequately fast greens without even trying.  Until top growth ceases later in fall, we'll alternate mowing and rolling on a daily basis.  We've also bumped up the height of the greens to allow them to get as healthy as possible before winter arrives.  Of course, this is a relative term as the greens are being mown at 0.156".

We certainly hope that you've enjoyed the recent stretch of warm weather by playing a few rounds.  If the long-term forecast holds up, it appears as if fall might be back.