Course Condition Update for Wednesday Morning April 27, 2016

The stack sod fairway bunker on #18 is complete. We have marked the new sod around this bunker as ground under repair but the bunker itself is fine to play out of should your ball land in the sand.

We have wrapped the sod over the top portion of the bunker to allow for rooting of the sod where the Durabunker material and surrounding grade meet. Am estimating after 2-4 weeks it will be rooted sufficiently for us to cut the sod back to a nice even edge along the top portion of the bunker.

Starting with the greenside bunkers we are doing the following to each bunker:

1. Edging
2. Removing grasses/weeds inside the bunkers
3. Noting where sand is needed and moving sand within the bunker (6 inches on the bottoms and 2 inches on the slopes)
4. Compacting the slopes

We compact the slopes to prevent plugged lies. As you can tell from the pictures it takes four staff members to handle the water filled drum used for this purpose.

Expect the bunker work to occur over the next several weeks for all to be completed.

Have been laying sod in approaches on holes #1, #2, #4, #8 and #17.

Overall am very pleased with the amount of work the staff has accomplished over just the past 3 days.

Weekly Schedule for April 25-May 1, 2016

Weather and unforeseen conditions can/will change the schedule.

-Completion of #18 fairway bunker

-Beginning with all greenside bunkers: they will be edged, weeds removed from inside the bunkers, slopes compacted and sand depth checked.

-Mowing of greens, tees, fairways, intermediates and roughs

Staff Arrival Update

After driving 43 hours straight our staff arrived late Saturday afternoon from Mexico. All 14 of them came in this morning (Sunday) at 6 am to work. Mowing and rolling greens. Mowing tees, front 9 fairways, approaches and intermediate cuts around fairways and greens. We are dedicated to getting the course in top condition as soon as possible.

New Cart Traffic Control, Greens Moisture and Staff Update

We received today a bungee type material for cart traffic control.

The difference with this material versus the green rope we have used in the past is twofold. The first is the yellow color which will hopefully allow people to see and avoid areas that are roped off. Secondly, they can be stepped on and will spring right back to where they were. Thus reducing the labor we spend to fix downed stakes and rope.

Heard several comments today about greens being too dry. We've certainly had dry weather with low humidity, few clouds and breeze. There are some localized dry spots which we are attending too and will come out of dormancy as the warmer Spring weather arrives.

Finally, our staff are on their way! Having left Monterrey, Mexico last night. As of 4:30 pm today (Friday) they are travelling through Alabama.

They will certainly be here Monday morning bright and early to work, if not sooner.

News and Notes April 21, 2016

-Our regular staff will be starting work Monday, April 25th. Expect to see a lot of the detail work be completed in the next 2 weeks and continue thereafter.
-Greens are being mowed Friday mowing. With the warmer temperatures the turf is starting to wake up which means more frequent mowing. Mowing when there is little growth leads to damaged plants.
-Expect most, if not all the sand to be gone from the greens in the next week.
-Sod is coming Tuesday morning which will be placed around the new fairway bunker on #18 along with sand in the bunker. The winter tee locations will also be sodded next week.

USGA Green Section Updates

Both of these updates are relevant to us in regards to recovery from aeration and staffing.

Green Section Update April 14, 2016

Green Section Update March 14, 2016

#18 Bunker Progress

Drainage, gravel and the Better Billy Bunker polymer was installed on #18 fairway bunker today.

The drainage ditches were already cut so gravel and pipe were easy to install.

Then a 2 inch layer of gravel was spread across the entire bunker floor.

While this work was occurring the polymer from Better Billy Bunker was being heated in a hot box in our mechanic's shop.

After 5 hours the material was hot enough to be applied. Gary from Certified Better Billy Bunker installer Total Turf was on hand to do the work.

Due to the 10 year warranty on this material Gary spends a lot of time making sure the moisture percent of the gravel is less than 15%. A bridging report must be submitted beforehand showing the bunker sand and gravel meet specifications. Then tomorrow Gary will be back for quality control to make sure everything came out fine.

As for today, it is very imperative to stay out of the bunker, even if the ball rolls in. This allows the polymer to set up.

With opening day this Saturday we may not get the sand in tomorrow but it will occur within the week. Then sodding around the bunker will be done once our regular staff is on-site.

Seasonal Staff and Upcoming Schedule

Our seasonal staff will be here Monday, April 25th. This is 25 days past their normal start date of April 1st. The temporary staff we have been using has done a solid job for us as we are just finishing raking and adding sand to the last two bunkers on the course. Once completed all bunkers will have been completely raked. Next month a nice edge on all the bunkers will be cut in as well.

Next week drainage, Better Billy Bunker, and sand will be installed on #18 fairway bunker. The finishing sod work will be completed upon the arrival of our experienced staff the week of April 25th.

Before opening day, April 16th, fairways, approaches, tees, collars and intermediates are to be cut for the first time this year. Finally, next week, branches and other debris will continue to be picked up and removed from the course.

Spring 2016 Greens Aerification Wrap-up

Due to freezing temperatures we got a late start to finishing up aerifying and topdressing greens yesterday (Tuesday). Everything was completed except for the topdressing of #8 green which is being done now. This morning we are blowing portions of the greens where sand has accumulated heavier then we would like during the brushing process. Then a soil amendment will be applied to finish the process. Expected rain on Thursday should wash the sand and soil amendments in leaving a relatively clean surface. Depending on the the amount of rain tomorrow we will mow/blow/roll Friday and or Saturday. Afterwards warm temps are needed to get the plants growing.

We will be finishing the mulching of walk paths and picking up debris on the golf course along with re-installing pavers in front of the outside fireplace next to the dining room. On Friday we are hoping to install new drainage on #18 fairway bunker.

Finally, in regards to our seasonal associates. We expect to either get final approval or a request for additional information by the end of this week. Once approved, staff will arrive within 1-2 weeks. Will certainly keep updates coming as more information is gained.

Spring 2016 Greens Aerification Update

We were able to complete aerification and topdressing of the following greens: Putting Green, Chipping Green, Restaurant Green, #1-4, #9, #10, #11 #14-16 and #18. There is a heavy frost forecasted for tonight so we expect a late start on Tuesday. As we put the cups back in we will go back to one hole location per green starting with location #1.

Spring 2016 Greens Aerification

On Monday, April 4th we will begin aerifying greens. We are using solid tines which means we will NOT be pulling cores. Sand topdressing will still be applied then brushed and dragged in. Soil amendments applied after the brushing of the sand and watered in. Depending on the weather this process may go into Tuesday, April 5th. Our goal is to have the course open first thing Tuesday morning but please check the website in case we have weather or other unforeseen delays occur.

Couple of questions that some may be asking:

Why are we aerifying when the holes from last Fall are not completely healed?

We are doing this to reduce organic matter in the greens. A detailed description from a previous blog post can be found here: Organic Matter Blog Post

Why not hollow tine the greens?

The physical removal of the organic matter via hollow tines will increase the rate of organic matter removal. However, we also want to make sure our members and guests have the best conditions possible for the Spring start to the golf season. The solid tines will allow the greens to heal faster while still helping with organic matter removal. Specifically, allowing sand into the thatch layer to disperse the organic matter in the thatch and allowing air for increased microbial degradation.

When is the Fall aerification of greens?

Schedule for Monday, August 29th, weather dependent. With ideal weather conditions greens should be healed in roughly 10 days.

Will there be a Spring aerification of tees and fairways?

Tee aerification will occur once our regular staff returns which we are estimating to be mid-April. Certain areas in fairways will be aerified as well at this time but a full fairway aerification will not occur.