Playing Catch Up at the Bay

With all the work being done on the golf course this summer, mostly on the greens, there have been some areas of the course which have unfortunately had to take a backseat on the priority list.  One of those has been the native grass areas around the course and with over 50 acres of native grass areas that has begun to become an eyesore and an added obstacle to many golfers' enjoyment of the game.

This past week Mitch used a Bobcat brushcat equipped with rubber tracks to go through and clean up all the native grass areas and lake banks around the course.  Many of these areas had become overgrown with weeds and tree saplings becoming unsightly and in some cases blocking golfers view or even ability to play properly off of certain tee boxes.  We do apologize for that and believe we have remedied that issue.

View from the tee box on #2 before maintenance.

View from #2 after maintenance.

#5 tee box before maintenance

#5 tee box after maintenance

Another area on the course that we have neglected has been the faces, or turf surrounding, the bunkers.  These have become overgrown and were extremely difficult to play out of but several members of the agronomy team led by Bill Greene have put forth tremendous effort mowing the grass back down, reestablishing a nice clean edge on the bunkers and getting them back in shape for play.

Our agronomy staff is working very hard to catch up on several of the important areas on our course and we ask that you do your part in improving the course by repairing your ball marks, filling divots, raking bunkers, and obeying golf cart directional signs.

Harrison Bay will have the honor of hosting the Tennessee Golf Association Match Play and Senior Match Play Championships July 28-31 and we are working to have the course in championship condition by then.  In preparation for that we will be adding sand to the bunkers, aerifying selected tees and other areas on the course, landscape work around the course, and a lot of prep on the greens to get them smoother and faster.

It has been an interesting summer so far and we are excited about where the course is headed.  I have to thank our agronomy staff, some of which have only been with the course for a month or two, for jumping in with both feet and putting in long, hard hours to rebuild the course to the level that you, and I, expect.  We are not done, not by a long shot, and will continue working hard.

Course Improvements--#15 Fairway Bunker

Sometimes designers place details on a golf course by what might look good on a piece of paper or maybe to add some character to the golf course but in reality these details are not necessary and more often than not are costly and time consuming to maintain.  This was the case for our fairway bunker on #15.  A very large, long bunker which even the modest golfer could easily carry.  Although pleasing to the eye from the tee it took a lot of manpower to maintain and took close to 4 loads of sand to keep in playing condition.

So last month we decided to reduce our expenses and time spent maintaining an area on the course which no one used and had become an eyesore by filling in the first 75% of the bunker and sodding this area.  Willie and Mitch spent a few days hauling soil generated from last years septic line expansion to the area.  The soil was then spread out and packed.

Once the soil was packed and ready we brought in a truckload of sod to cover the area.  The lip of the new bunker area was stacked with sod three layers high to create the edge of the bunker best. Willie did a very nice job of shaping the new bunker and floating all the dirt out to make sure water did not flow into the bunker but was diverted around it so we won't experience any bad washouts.

A steady drizzle of rain was no challenge for our staff as they just kept on one piece of sod after the other until the entire area was covered and cut in.  Nice to have such a dedicated crew that nothing gets in their way.

Once the sod was down it was rolled with a 1.25 ton roller several times in several directions to ensure good soil contact and to eliminate any ruts or creases.  New sand was added to the bunker and was then watered, packed, and raked.

This is the new view of the fairway bunker from the teeing area when we were finished.

I am confident by the end of the growing season next year you won't even be able to tell that the old bunker ever existed.

This is a shot of the area looking back toward the teeing area.

So we have taken an area on the course which was not in play for 99.9% of our golfers and was a tremendous drag on our manpower and budget to keep maintained and have, in my opinion, dramatically improved it for both the golfer and the agronomy staff.

Sometimes what looks good on paper or looks good to the eye just doesn't make sense and I think we have made a drastic improvement to the course with this simple change.

Time to put the mowers up

Friday marked what will most likely be the last mowing of the fairways and approaches for the 2013 growing season.  It has been a great year even with all the rainy, cloudy weather we experienced during the summer months. 

Improvements to the golf course this year have included projects such as the renovation of our short game practice area behind the cart storage building.  This area which is also used as a greens nursery was in dire need of repair and with the help of our friends from Champion Turf Farms is now another asset to our golf course and a great place for our golfers to practice.  Chipping Green Renovation

As we did on #5 green two years ago, this year we installed part circle irrigation heads on #16 green so we could better control the amount of water applied to the greens surface and to be able to apply it only to the green and not the surround.  As a result, these greens which used to be our worst are now among our best.  We are planning to continue this process on other holes this winter.
#16 Irrigation Renovation

Renovation of the bunkers continued earlier this year as we finished up the removal of old sand, installation of new Sand Mat bunker liner and installation of new bunker sand to finish up renovation of all the greenside bunkers.  Only a few fairway bunkers are left to be renovated and some maintenance of adding some new sand to the renovated bunkers and the nightmare of maintaining the old bunkers will be a distant memory.

One of our biggest improvements to the golf course this year has come in the form of the new electric golf course maintenance equipment we got through our "Electric Equipment Initiative."   The new electric equipment has made a tremendous improvement to the golf course not only in the conditioning of the course but in reducing point source CO2 emissions and undesirable noise.  We thank Ms. Lori Munkeboe of the Office of Sustainable Practices and our Director of Golf Mr. Mike Nixon for thinking of Harrison Bay as a great place to implement this project.  We are hoping to continue this project at another State Park golf course in the near future.
Electric Equipment Initiative Goes Public

Along with our Mallard Duck nesting tubes and our wild turkey feeders, my favorite environmental project that we do The Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project was a tremendous success this year.  With the hatching failure that Elliott and Eloise experienced last year to see the two little eaglets hatch, grow and fledge this year was doubly exciting.  The Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project has reached over 211,000 unique viewers in 69 different countries since it began.  We are grateful for all our sponsors and supporters we have had over the years and are especially grateful that the USGA Green Section has once again provided major funding for this years operation.  Hopefully within the next two weeks we will have a new pan/tilt/zoom camera installed beside the nest and a microphone installed so we can hopefully hear this years brood calling out for some fish or turtle.  Two Weeks Since Eaglet Hatching

Most of all I have to thank my fantastic staff.  Without their passion and dedication to the conditioning and playability of the golf course we would not be in the position we are today.  Although I tend to hear the great comments from the golfers and guests, the golf course maintenance staff are the ones that make the golf course what it is and they deserve all the credit.

 

Great Work Gentlemen!!!

Greens mowers and ice

We finally got out to use our new Jacobsen Eclipse 322 Electric greensmowers this morning and I have to say we are thoroughly impressed with their operation and the amazing quality of cut the 15 blade reels provide.  I am really excited about the quality of putting surface we will be able to provide our golfers thanks to these mowers.



Bill, Jonathan, and Eric have been working hard this winter to finish up the four year bunker renovation project of the greenside bunkers at Harrison Bay.  Our bunkers used to be our biggest complaint and one of our biggest budget expenses but that has all changed and we can provide now our golfers and guests with some very good bunkers to play out of.  The remaining three greenside bunkers will be completed in the next week or two. We are also going to work on improving the fairway bunkers which we have had some comments about by adding the sand we removed from the greenside bunkers to the fairway bunkers which will give them much needed sand and a firmer surface which is what you want in a fairway bunker sand.

We found an irrigation head stuck on on #4 green this morning and were surprised to see the layer of ice which had accumulated on the bunker face overnight.  Pretty funny to see the grass blades incased in an ice cocoon. 

A Little Help...Please

For many years the biggest complaint about our golf course was the condition of the bunkers.  Well, we took the concerns of our guests and members to heart and over the past two winters have renovated most all of them.  We have spent tens of thousands of dollars rebuilding the bunkers to make them playable and enjoyable and have spent hundreds of dollars on bunker rakes so they could be maintained throughout the day by golfers. 

We have been blessed with great weather this spring and with that has come an incresed number of rounds on the golf course.  The maintenance staff does a great job of maintaining the golf course but some of the upkeep falls on the shoulders of the golfers who enjoy it.  Raking the bunkers when you have finished playing out of them is just part of the game and we would greatly appreciate a little help in keeping the golf course in the top condition that we like to see it in.

In addition to the bunkers, please keep in mind to fix your ball marks and fill your divots.  Each golf car is outfitted with two sand bottles and we have refilling stations on #6, #10, and #14 if you run out of sand. Ball marks are becoming an issue on the greens as well, if you need a ball mark repair tool just let me know and I will get you one.  I encourage every golfer to view and follow the techniques demonstrated in the United States Golf Association video on Repairing Ball Marks.

For our many members and guests who do take pride in the golf course we say THANK YOU!!!

Remember The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay is your golf course, treat it with respect.

Eagle Cam and Mallard Duck Webcast

As many of our faithful followers know, our environmental programs at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay are extremely important to us and the success of our golf course.  Several months ago Bill and Mitch built seven new mallard duck nesting tubes and installed them in the irrigation lake on #11 green.  We were pleased that the fine folks at the United States Golf Association Green Section saw the blog post and requested we record a webcast about the project.  Another great way to promote the environment, so I jumped on board.  Below is a copy of the USGA webcast. 

And as if the great people at TurfNet have not done enough for me and The Bear Trace already they have put together a video about the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project and are continuing to add informative articles to keep the TurfNet readers up to date.

A Project for the Birds--TurfNet

Eagle Cam Video--TurfNet

I do want to let everyone know that one of the eagle eggs has been discarded from the nest. Eloise moved the egg out of the nest on Friday morning.  We were all very sad and disappointed but spirits were lifted on Friday evening when the remaining egg began to crack open and our newest eagle at Harrison Bay began the hatching process which can take up to a day to complete.  We are very much looking forward to seeing the little one grow up and take flight.  As I am typing this it is raining outside and like a good mother Eloise is sitting contently on the nest keeping her little one dry and warm. 

And contrary to popular belief we do more than just take care of the "zoo".  We were able to complete the bunker renovation on the large greenside bunker on #12.  We have plans to renovate the small greenside bunker on #12 and the two rear greenside bunkers on #15 before the heavy play season begins, if it hasn't already.

The greens have come out of winter dormancy in great shape this year.  We have begun the process of lowering the heights and will begin our light topdressing program in the next few weeks.  Fairways, tees, and approaches have all been cut down and we will continue to spray the Poa in the roughs throughout the rest of March.  Hope everyone had a great winter break and are ready for some warm weather and great golf.

Winter is Almost Gone

Wow time is flying by.  We have had some great weather in Chattanooga this winter.  We have been blessed with warmer than usual temperatures and moderate rainfall.  All that has lead to us having the best January in our existance and putting us on pace to have our best year of golf rounds yet.  The crew has been working hard to get the remaining bunkers on the back nine renovated and we are down to only 7 more that we are planning on fixing before spring hits.  With this weather trend though it might be here sooner than we want.

Our other big project for the winter, the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam, is off and running also.  We have had a great amount of publicity about it in local and state papers and in a recent article "Eagle Eye" in GCSAA's monthly publication Golf Course Management .  I am so thankful for all our sponsors on this project and all the assistance I have gotten from fellow State of Tennessee employees and vendors in Chattanooga.  This project is going to be another great way for us to show how golf courses can be beneficial to the environment and wildlife.

Eloise has laid two eggs to date, one on Feb. 11 and one on Feb. 14.  Normal schedule will have the eggs hatching around the middle of March so stay tuned.

Bunker renovation continues

Two down and 15 to go.  That is the status of our 2011 sand bunker renovation project of the back nine bunkers.  We started with the fairway and greenside bunker on #10 and also the two leftside greenside bunkers on #11. 

Watering of the sand once it is installed in the bunker is the key to getting it initially packed.  The better it is packed the first time the better and longer it will perform properly. Bill has already wet and packed this bunker twice with the sand pro.

Bill is using a roller squeege to help pack the sand on the steep face of this bunker behind #11 green. 

Sometimes you just have to do things the hard way.  Unfortunately, in order not to damage the floor of the bunkers or the existing drain tiles the crew is having to remove the sand from the bunkers by hand.  Slow process but they are doing a great job at it. 

Bunker Renovation has begun

Bunker renovation on the back nine bunkers began this morning.  We are scheduled to renovate all the greenside bunkers along with several fairway bunkers this year using the same Sand Mat bunker liner product we used last year on the front.  Hopefully all will go as planned and we will complete this project by early February.  Please play any bunker that does not have new PACKED sand in it as Ground Under Repair.

Dakota Turf Tender Demo Day

Nate Brewinsky of Dakota Equipment brought by thier Dakota Turf Tender 440 material handler this morning for a demonstration. Amazing piece of equipment that I am very interested in. I have used the Dakota Turf Tender 410 to topdress my greens for years and love it so I wanted to see the 440 in action. We will be able to use the 440 to effeciently and productively topdress tees and fairways, haul sand out to the 410 when topdressing greens to speed up the process, and, what I am most interested in the machine for, will be able to haul sand to our rebuilt bunkers. Having the 440 will save us a ton of time and manpower, not to mention our backs when we need to add sand to the bunkers. I was most surprised by the amount of sand that the 440 held and how quickly it dispensed the sand into the bunker using the 13 foot long conveyer. I loved the sheild at the end of the conveyer which made it very easy to disperse the sand over the floor of the bunker without piling it up and having to shovel all the sand out. Great piece of equipment that will do wonders to continue to improve the golf course.

Nate also demonstrated the fairway topdressing feature of the 440 Turf Tender on our 18th fairway.  The hopper on the 440 holds approxiamately 5 times the volume of our 410 so he was able to topdress the entire fairway, about 2.5 acres, with one hopper full of sand.  Very smooth spread and absolutely not tracking or wheel ruts due to the floatation tires and the flexible axle.

Wood Duck box on #14 is supposed to be near
the water, not in it

We went from one record setting month to a record setting day.  As I mentioned in my last post we set a record in the month of August for being the driest month on record in Chattanooga.  Well, as fate would have it, we set a record on Monday for the most rainfall in Chattanooga in a 24 hour period.  Thanks to our good friend Tropical Storm Lee we received a total of 11.29 inches of rain over a 48 hour period with 8.92" of that coming on Monday alone.  I guess the next time I pray for rain I should be a little more specific about the amount.

The golf course really needed the rainfall but I don't think we needed it all at one time.  We lost a few trees which Mitch and Kevin took care of this morning.  It still amazes me that a 100+ foot tall tree can have a root ball this small, but I guess that is why it is on the ground and not still standing tall.  We have a lot of debris down around the course and will take the next few days cleaning this up once we can get our carts and blowers out onto the turfgrass without doing any damage to it.

#4 Greenside Bunker with Sand Mat Liner installed

Rains like this really go to prove that using the proper material in our bunkers can save us a ton of time and money in the long run.  The bunkers on the front nine that have were repaired last year and have the Sand Mat product in them held up great.  All we had to do was blow them out, rake them, and they are back ready for play.  I can't say the same for the ones one the back that we have yet to conquer but hopefully we will be able to get to them this winter.  One improvement at a time and we will continue to build a championship quality golf course.



#6 Greenside Bunker with Sand Mat Liner installed



#10 Greenside Bunker without Sand Mat Liner

I did realize something yesterday as I was cleaning up my office and clearing off my desk that I wondered if any other superintendents have realized.  I wound up with a very large stack of turfgrass industry magazines in a pile which I have accumulated over the summer.  Although each of the publications are very well written and have a ton of useful information in them as I found several of them still in their plastic mailing envelopes I realized that I read these magazines online before the printed copy even gets to my desk.  What a waste of paper and resources.  I feel kind of ashamed and am planning on calling all of the companies and telling them to eliminate my printed copy, but still send the electronic one. 

Bunker Renovation Made Easy

We are finishing up the final sand bunker for this year and I am very pleased with the results that we have acheived.  Our golfers have been nothing but complimentary on the progress that we have made and all they ask is "When are you going to get the rest of them done?"

The process of renovating the bunkers can be a time consuming task and we are always looking for ways to save time while still doing the job properly.  Ted Fist, whos company manufactures Sand Mat, gave me a great tip on trimming the bunker liner that has saved us a lot of time and has made the job so easy to complete.

We have used razor blades, hawk bill knifes, large tin sheering scissors, and even a propane torch to try to cut the liner but Ted's suggestion of using a 4.5" right angle grinder has made all the difference in the world.  We purchased a Makita cordless right angle grinder from Grainger Tools.  We tried to use the disc that came on the grinder at first but soon found that if we took the guard off of the grinder and installed a 7" metal cutoff blade that the grinder was far enough away from the liner as not to allow any strands of liner to wind around the shaft.  (My disclaimer:  Be careful if you use the grinder without the guard in place.)



Makita 4.5" Right Angle Grinder



Bunker Renovation at Harrison Bay

If you have been on the golf course this winter you have surely noticed the golf course maintenance crew hard at work repairing what could be our biggest problem...poor performing sand bunkers.  Even with all the compliments we hear about the golf course throughout the year, the one overwhelming complaint we hear is how we need to repair the sand bunkers on the golf course. We hear you and we are working on repairing the problem. 

Our bunker renovation process begins by removing the existing sand from the bunkers.  The process is no more than getting some crew members in the bunker and shoveling the sand out.  The sand that is removed is being stockpiled to be used as topdressing sand in some of our fairways during the summer months.  Once the sand is removed we remove the existing felt liner which was installed in 2003 when we a quick renovation of the bunkers.  We are using better products and a better process this time so that the bunkers will not need to be renovated again for a long time. 



 Bill Greene is installing the new liner into the bunker.  We are using Sand Mat 350 in this bunker because of its moderate slope on the face of the bunker.  Sand Mat is a highly porous geo textile fabric which provides a barrier between the gravel layer and the bunker sand.  The sand is embedded into the Sand Mat fibers to hold the sand in place on steep slopes.  The liner, being more porous than the sand, will increase the infiltration rate of the water as it passes through the bunker profile.  You can find more information about SandMat at http://www.sandmat.com/.  Our old geotextile felt restricted the movement of the water resulting in the sand being moved off of the slopes and the liner becoming exposed, increasing the possibility of contamination.

All the liner installed in the bunker.  Ready for sand.

The sand is hauled in and spread by hand over the new liner.  A bunker of this size will take between 22-25 tons of sand.  Once the sand is roughly spread out it is packed using a mechanical bunker rake to pack and firm the new sand in the bunker.

After the sand has been packed in two directions it is raked by hand in two directions and is ready to be opened for play.  We will pack the bunkers several more times before the beginning of the golfing season to help ensure proper playing conditions.

Our bunker renovation project will take three years to complete and in the end we believe we will have sand bunkers that perform properly and are uniform and consistent from hole to hole.