Plan for Area Between #6 and #13 Greens

With the trees removed between #6 and #13 greens there is a large area void of vegetation. The goal is to grass with Fine Fescue. However, seeding this turf type in the Spring is very difficult. Here is a link to a research article on the subject: Spring Fescue Seeding. I have also reached out to local golf courses to determine if any have had success with spring seeding. Unfortunately, no one has.  

Therefore we will seed in late summer, most likely using a hydroseeder. In the meantime we have tilled all the wood chips into the soil.

We will establish groundcover in this location and keep it mowed to 6 inches for this year. Then we will remove the groundcover in late summer and seed the Fine Fescue.

Please note, it takes 2-3 years for the Fine Fescue to fully establish.

 

Course Update 2.20.17

-We have completed underbrush removal to the left of #5 and #7 greens. In the future undergrowth will be removed along the entire length of each of these holes. In the spring we will treat the remaining stumps with a systemic herbicide to ensure no regrowth occurs.

-The area to the right of #9 tees which was temporarily used as an area to place material has been leveled.

There is a pile of branches that need to be chipped then spread out over this area. Natural regrowth will begin this summer and after a few years this area will be as if it hadn't been touched.

-Clean-up of leaves and branches throughout the course has begun. Emphasis on cleaning leaves from the Secondary Roughs so as much pre-emergent herbicide that is applied this Spring will be able to reach the soil.

-This week I will have a blog post describing our plans for the area between #6 and #13 where tree removal occurred.

Storm Water Pipe Repair

Last December we had a camera inspect our storm water pipes for corrosion and any other defects. The pipe that is connected to the inlet structure on #5 pond had small holes in the bottom of the pipe allowing groundwater to enter. Delaying repair would allow these holes to become bigger and multiply in number. While the long term plans do call for making this pond into an area that is more playable, the pipe would still be used to discharge water and therefore needed to be repaired.

A fiberglass material was used to bond to the corrugated metal pipe and thus fill the holes.  In order to get the material into the pipe, a plug is inflated and the material plus the chemicals used to harden the fiberglass are wrapped around the plug and inserted into the pipe.

Once in place, the plug is inflated to its full capacity so the fiberglass can adhere to the walls of the pipe.

After two hours the plug is deflated and removed.

The pipe is now sealed and ready.

Tee Markers

Starting on Tuesday, February 7th we will not have tee markers on the golf course for the month of February. This will give everyone a chance to use different parts of the tees. We will compare this to having the tee markers in one location. The idea of putting the tee markers in one location is to only have to repair that area. However, without tee markers the turf wear may be spread out enough that repair will not be needed.

Work Between #6 and #13 Greens

Another project undertaken during the Winter shutdown involved the removal of trees between #6 and #13 greens.

There are quite a few trees in this area and being on a hillside made it too much for us to handle ourselves. Shreiner Tree Care came and did an excellent job getting this area cleared in a safe and efficient manner.

Before

Before

 

 

Day #2

Day #2

Day #3

Day #3

The stumps will be ground to just below surface level and this March/April seeded with Fine Fescue. While Spring is not the ideal time to be seeding, we will do our best to establish cover this Summer and re-seed any bare areas in the Fall. Please note, it takes 2-3 years for these Fine Fescues to mature and establish. However, when completed this area will look like the area between #10 and #15 which has come in and done well.

Seeded Fine Fescue area that has been established from seed and matured.

In order to make sure we are removing trees that block the most sunlight we use an app called Sun Seeker. We can tell from any day and time where the sun will be.

March 28, 2017

July 30, 2017

Another feature we use with this app is to tell the exact location of the sun from the turf's standpoint by laying the iPad on the green itself.

As can be seen from these photos the newly removed trees will allow lots of morning sunlight to reach the green.