#1 tee.

On Monday morning the course maintenance staff removed the black walnut tree from the tee complex on the first hole. The decision to remove this tree, and any other, is not something that is taken lightly. Before a decision to remove a tree is reached, it is discussed with the greens committee and a consultant, either the USGA or in this case the course architect.

There are several factors that go into the decision making process. While the tree was not a safety hazard and was in good health, it had a major impact on playability of the golf hole and on turfgrass quality. As evident from the picture above, players were forced to get the ball up in the air quickly in order to carry over the tree. Also, when it is fully leafed out, the landing area is blocked from players view. The turf quality was impacted both directly and indirectly. The grass beneath tree in the drip line was thin and it also caused shade issues on the two lower tees. The placement of the tree forced most players to use the left most portion of the teeing ground. This was in an effort to avoid the tree, thus reducing the usable area of the tee. With it being removed, it will allow players to use the right side of the tee without fear of hitting tree.

 For more information on tree work click ( here ) for an article from the USGA.

And that's a wrap....



I think we saved the best for last

On Monday afternoon, the final piece of sod hit the ground on the golf course renovation project. Over the past 14 months myself, my staff, and the crew from McDonald and Sons have put a lot of time, effort, blood, and sweat (although not as much when the temp is in the 30's) into seeing this project through.  I couldn't be more pleased with the over all outcome. I'd like to thank the membership for their support and patience as we trudged through this process. I know it was frustrating at times, I just hope it was worth the inconvenience to experience the finished product.




The new green on the short game practice area.

One of the fruits of our labor will come to fruition in a couple of weeks. We will be opening the short game practice area on April 5th in connection with the short game school. The area will remain open from that point forward. We are opening this area before the main tee because you should not be taking full divots with the short chips and pitches you will be hitting in this area.  We will open the tee when we start to see some growth, this is all temperature dependent, so stay tuned!

Even with all the excitement of construction over, I will continue to update this blog from time to time. Check back in periodically to keep up with what we are doing for your course.

"The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated"

IT'S ALIVE!!!

 

With all the cold weather this winter I was a bit concerned about the bermudagrass on the range tee and short game area. I decided to take a plug and put it in my office and see what happened. This is what it looks like after a week under a lamp for 24 hours a day. I still have some concern because of the void in the middle bottom of the picture. While some may not have survived, I think that we will be able to grow in any voids. While this is just one sample, I am pleased to see green up and hope that the rest will react the same.

#6 and #8 update

6 green

This is the look of 6 green from about 100 yards out. It is hard to see but the bunkers are taking shape. The left side bunker is in. The front bunker goes from the machine closest to the camera, across the front of the green leaving a narrow walk way onto the green. There is also a green side bunker just to the left of the machine in the back ground. That large mound of dirt next to the smaller machine will be moved. The hope is to have these bunkers built, sand installed, and maybe some grass around them by the end of the weekend.



8 green in the snow on Friday.

Here is the look from just in front of the red tee on 8. The camera cut off part of the hole, but captures the greenside. You can see the new fairway bunker on the lower left of the frame. Moving clockwise, there is the new greenside bunker taking shape. There is a lot happening on the right side of the frame. There are three bunkers going up to hill to the green where the tree use to stand. On the very bottom of the picture there is the top of a machine, this is where a another fairway bunker will be placed. The two old fairway bunkers on the left that are out of the frame will be removed and replaced with some mounding to deflect balls from going out of bounds.

Hey look, it's snowing again!?!?

Here we go again....

Just in case you have not had enough of winter, it's snowing again. Oh joy! (I hope you can feel the sarcasm) Now that we have finally return to getting work completed on course, Mother Nature shows up to wreck our plans. Although we had nearly a half of an inch of rain overnight, hopefully we stay on the lower end of the snow and ice accumulation range and get back to work sooner rather than later.

Last week we were able to get a full week of work and make great progress. I'm sorry I do not have any pictures, but check back later in the week. All the work on numbers 1 and 10 was completed. Some sod was laid on the right side of 1 and around the bunkers on 10. Once we get back and are able to get sod, the rest will be sodded. The work on 7 has been completed as well. The bunkers were built, drained, sanded and have some sod around them. All the bunkers that were completed had a ring of 3-4 pieces of sod to protect the sand from getting mud and other debris in them. It may look a bit odd but there is a rhyme and reason for doing it that way.

The bulk of the visual work was done on 6. The entire green surround was stripped, old bunkers removed, new bunkers and features added, and bunker drainage outfalls installed to get the rain and snow water out. Once we can get back to work Andrew will return and we will be able to move forward with the final tweaks. At that point we will move on to 8. They also started constructing the new forward red tee on number 6. One of the biggest complaints was the big slice needed off the red tee to reach the fairway. The new tee is more centrally located setting up the player much better.

The boys are back in town!!

In my best Thin Lizzy voice, the construction crew is back to complete the work on the remaining 5 holes. With any luck and cooperation from the weather, they will be out of here by the end of March. 

If there are any bird watchers out there, we've had some special visitors the past couple of days. These two juvenile Tundra Swans have taken up residence in the ponds on 15. They must have liked the "tundra" we've had here this winter. From the research I've done on the internet, they are just passing through to their summer grounds from coastal regions in the southeast. 

Turning it green!

If you have not been able to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather, the guys have turned the place green the last 4 days. They have put down approximately 2 acres of grass. Hopefully the rain will hold off and they can get a couple more holes finished.