Winter Projects for 2015-2016

Well the rumor mill is pretty active right now about what all we have on tap for this winter when it comes to course improvements.  As you may have noticed the parking lot has some new features being stockpiled in it which will be disappearing over the next couple of months.

The most important project is the renovation of #3 green.  We will begin this project on Monday the 23rd and it should take us a couple of weeks to complete if the weather cooperates.  We will move the pin to the top of the ridge in the fairway near the fairway bunker and play this hole as a par 3 while the green is being worked on and healing in.  We will be overly protective of this green this winter so I will not set a timetable for when it will reopen.  It could possibly be covered when other greens are not if the temperatures dictate it.

So what are we doing and why.  We will be removing the top 4-5 inches of the greens mix and replacing it with the new greens mix located in the parking lot.  The green will then be sodded using Champion Ultradwarf bermudagrass.  We will be rolling, hydorjecting, and topdressing the green throughout the winter months to prepare it for the spring. The work is being done to remove the excessive organic layer and various sand layers in the top of the soil profile which continues to restrict water and oxygen movement and producing the unhealthy turfgrass which we now have.

We have tried to modify the soil profile with standard core aerification, DryJect sand injection aerification, and many other ways not to have to take on this disruptive process but each year the green continues to get worse and it is time to rip off the band-aid and fix the problem.  I apologize for this minor inconvenience but the green will be much better moving forward and worth all the temporary pain.

Our biggest project which will take a couple of months to complete will be the installation of close to 5,000 linear feet of drainage pipe in the landing area on #10 fairway.  This area has struggled for the past several years due to lack of sun and poor infiltration and surface drainage.  We began correcting the issue this summer with the removal of select shade producing trees along the right side of the area.  This is one step but since the area has little to any surface slope we will need to install subsurface drain lines to remove the water and create a suitable surface for play.  The drain lines will start near the 150 yard marker and will continue every 10 feet toward the green moving across the fairway to a large collection pipe which will move the water to the lake.  We know this landing area has been a point of contention for many golfers this year and like our other projects we are going to fix it instead of patching it.  While we are working on this hole all tees will be moved to a teeing area about 100 yards from the green making this another par 3 for the winter.

Our other project that we will hopefully get to this winter is the continued installation of used railroad cross ties along the cart paths to eliminate erosion, direct water flow to surface drains, and to encourage golfers not to drive their golf carts in areas where they are not supposed to.  This will be third on our list and will most likely be carried out more toward the spring than during the winter months.

We will do everything in our power to not interfere with your round while we are making these much needed improvements to the course.  We trust that you will see the benefit shortly as we continue to work to make the course the best it can be.

Light Up The Night

Each year I have the pleasure of volunteering at East Lake Golf Club for the TOUR Championship and each year I come away with new ideas and new techniques to make my course better.  This year was no exception and one of the new ideas that I came away with was the addition of LED light bars to some of our equipment.  When you have to begin preparing the golf course before the sun comes up then sometimes you have to find a way to...light up the night.

We begin our work day at 6:00, and sometimes earlier, so finding a way to add needed lighting to our equipment was a must.  After a quick search on the wonderful internet we found these LED light bars.  Mitch and Bill spent a couple of rainy days working to install them.  On our Toro top dresser we installed this 34" LED light bar facing forward.

This is a 24" LED light bar that was placed on the side of the roll cage of the topdresser to light up where the sand is being applied to the greens.  This will help so we don't wind up skipping or overlapping topdressing sand on the greens.

With the lights installed we can now light up the entire green and see exactly where we are going and where we have been.

Mitch and Bill also installed a 24" light bar on my cart to see how it was worked and I have to say it works great.  Time will tell if it drains the batteries any faster than the standard equipped lights of the Carry All but we are only using them for such a short period of time I doubt it will be an issue.

Here is a shot of the putting green being lit up with the LED bar from by cart and it will allow us to see everything on the green early in the morning.

Thanks to Jason at East Lake for showing me this great and very economical tip to make our course better.