Now you see it...now you don't!

Our golf course operation accumulates a fair bit of soil.  This is primarily comprised of drainage spoils, aerification plugs, and during the past few years, material generated from the Master Plan work.  

If we were in need of constructing some mounding, a tee, or other architectural feature on the course, this pile might be considered an asset.  However, when we are close to running out of room, it can become a problem.  Below you can see that the soil is spilling over onto our driveway and even starting to limit access to the fuel tanks.

So we have been fortunate to find folks close by who can put this material to good use.  Thanks to five dump trucks running, just 48 hours from the time the first picture was taken,  we regained some breathing room.

As the saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." 

Off to a good start...

 Just a few weeks ago, we discussed the installation of Traqmatz in some high traffic areas of the golf course.  Included in this was the walk-up to #12 tee.  As you can see below, at the time of installation, the aesthetics weren't ideal.

However, despite the wacky March weather we've experienced since then, the turf is doing its thing, growing through the mats.  Traditionally we would try to avoid any traffic on newly installed sod, but this area has already handled several hundred pairs of feet walking on it.

Obviously we're not dealing with hot weather yet, but the initial results are definitely promising!

More "winter" projects

We appreciate everyone's patience this past week, as we tried to balance some course improvements with play.  The calendar may still says it's winter, but temperatures were running 20 degrees above average, and the golf course saw 100 rounds per day.

Cart path renovation work has certainly been a challenge with the unanticipated level of activity we've been experiencing.  And while new cart paths may not be a glamorous game-changer, undoubtedly, everybody will prefer a smooth ride.

Some Tee Work

 Over the winter, the team has been making improvements to various tees throughout the golf course.   This includes reclaiming some lost ground on #8 Champion tee:

We also added additional drainage on the back of #1 Medal and Palmer tees:

Lastly, over the years, the mowing lines have migrated on several tees, giving the illusion of the teeing ground being on a slope.  For these areas, we stripped away the Bentgrass, and replaced it with primary rough sod: 

These changes were all accomplished pretty easily.  However, we're planning bigger tee projects for this coming fall...

The end is in sight?

Over the past few years, we have installed Trex decking and PEM matting on five of the bridges on the golf course.  However, as far as size and quantity of material used, none of these compare to the current project we are undertaking on the bridge connecting the Clubhouse to the golf course.  

For starters, at 370', this bridge is much longer than the others.  Additionally, on the wetlands crossing bridges, we went just six pieces wide of Trex.  For the Clubhouse bridge, we are going 16 pieces wide.  The total amount of Trex required is 6000' (well over one mile) of 1" X 6".

It will take 9,000 screws to secure the decking, so suffice it to say that knee pads are highly recommended for this task.  If there is a silver lining to this big bridge (unlike some of the others on the course), it's a straight run, with no curves to negotiate.  As we've done on the other bridges, we'll wait until the weather warms up a bit to install the PEM matting down the center.