Saturday, December 30, 2017

That's a Wrap on 2017

As we put the greens under the covers to protect them from the freezing weather coming into the Chattanooga area to finish off 2017 we take a look back at what was a fantastic year.  We would like to thank all our loyal customers who made the year so successful and all the new comers who gave the golf course a chance, we hope you will all return next year.  To the Bear Trace at Harrison Bay staff, THANKS could not begin to express the appreciation we have for all your dedication and hard work.

There were many renovations or improvements to the golf course this year with the renovation of the front entrance sign kicking the year off. Front Entrance Face Lift Part 1 and Part 2  Other improvements around the course were the new bag racks for the driving range built by Bill Greene, limbing up of trees and creating walkway paths through the native grass areas, to new fencing around the golf course to replace the old split rail fencing.

After all the issues we had with our greens coming out of dormancy in 2016 Greens issue in 2016 we were thrilled with the conditions of the greens, and the golf course as a whole, this year.  The hours of blood, sweat, and tears poured into the golf course by our fantastic agronomy staff lead by Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Willie Hamby really began to shine and the course was the best it has been in as many years as I can remember.  

Summer Aerification of 2017 went off without a hitch and was the most productive we have ever had at Harrison Bay.  Over the five days we were closed we were able to perform many much needed cultural practices to improve the course including creating over 18 million new breathing holes in the greens, scalped down over 10 acres of tees and green surrounds to provide for better playing surfaces, sliced over 32 acres of fairways with the Aerway shatter tine aerifier, and applied over 150 tons of sand to greens, tees and surrounds to provide smoother, better draining, and better playing surfaces.  

On the environmental front, the beauty and peacefulness of our course was clearly evident again this year.  From the new fawns that curiously watched us go about our day, to the fledging of HB 11 and HB 12 from the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project, to renewing our environmental certification with Golf Environment Organization the benefits of being stewards of the environment were numerous.  We were honored this year to have our Electric Equipment Initiative featured in GCSAA's Golf Course Management magazine Can You Hear Me Now?.  

The future is bright and we are very much looking forward to another prosperous year in 2018.  We will continue to work to improve the conditions and playability of the course.  We have several projects in mind for this upcoming year including new fencing around the parking lot and front entrance, sod work on areas near #2 green and along the cart path on #16, bunker renovations as funds present themselves, and continued work on our greens to make them the best they can possibly be.  

Thank you again to everyone who made 2017 successful and we hope you and yours had a great year and we wish you nothing but the best in 2018.

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