Out with the Old in with the New

It's amazing what a week does, with warmer temperatures and longer days the course is really shaping up nicely heading into peak golf season.  The course has greened up substantially over the past couple weeks, and we are now starting to see more accelerated, sustained growth.  This bodes well for the natural recuperative capacity of grass, as well as aesthetics and overall playability.  As many of you have probably noticed the aerification holes on greens have all but disappeared, allowing for a more uniform and true putting surface.  So while the weather is a fickle beast, patience and implementing the right agronomic practices will transform a course in a matter of weeks.  We have also remained persistent with our crabgrass applications over the past week, timing our applications with rainfall events to assure better control.  Due to an older irrigation system, timing our sprays with rainfall events is paramount to the degree of suppression on crabgrass germination.

This week has also allowed us to delve into a few other projects, taking what was and transforming them into course improvements.  First, the pipe that crossed the brook behind the 16th green was rerouted to run along the base of the brook, rather than above the water itself.  This eliminates exposure to floating debris or other potential hazards that could break the pipe, leaving a number of areas without water until the break was repaired.  We also attempted to inject some life into the fairway bunker on the right of the 18th fairway, making it a relevant feature to the hole itself.  The bunker was shelled out, re-contoured, and the bunker edges were hand shaped to provide a rolled face. New sand was added and surface water was directed around the bunker.  The project is currently ongoing and should be completed by the middle of  next week.  However at this point we are very pleased with the outcome and believe that aesthetically it adds some character to the hole.

Rough grading the new contour perimeter on the 18th fairway bunker.

Establishing the new rolled edge of the bunker.  This higher face will create a flash of sand
making it more visible from the tee.

More progress on creating the rolled bunker edge.  At this stage the floor of the bunker was also shaped out and compacted.

The addition of sod really brings the bunker to life

Prepping the new pipe installation, thus eliminating the pipe crossing the brook above the
waters surface.

New pipe installed which sits in a trench in the brook to help preserve the pipe.  The elbows
were also stabilized with concrete to assure preservation.