Drum roll, please...

We finally had a chance to tally the precipitation for 2018, and the total was 70.55".  Yes, that's a whole lot of water, but how does it compare to an average year?  The chart below shows what we typically receive per month, which adds up to 48.3" for the year.  So we were a whopping 46% over the long-term average for an entire year!

If you are still unimpressed by a number like 70.55", let's take a quick look at how many gallons of water came through the golf course last year.  While the course property itself is 237 acres, most of the surrounding development drains onto the course, for a total of around 490 acres.

So here's the math:
70.55" (precipitation) x 27,154 (gallons of water per acre inch) x 490 (acres) = 938,700,203 gallons

Sorry if you're disappointed that we didn't quite hit one billion gallons of water flowing through the property, but we sure came close.

 To look at this amount of water in a final way, consider that on average, for each and every one of the 365 days in 2018, over 2.5 million gallons of water came onto and through the golf course.  Well, at least that explains why the range picker got stuck so often...

Why it's always "We..."

If you are dealing with insomnia, and decided to read all of the 350+ blog posts here, there is likely only one of them where you will find the word "I" being used.  Instead, you will see that the pronoun "we" is almost always the preferred choice.  Why is that?

The goal of this blog has always been to communicate what is happening on the golf course to the Club's membership.  While some of this activity may be seen by members, often times, a good bit takes place behind the scenes.  It is rarely a single person that is responsible for either the short-term or long-term condition of the course.  It takes a team of dedicated employees to make things come together, and when we have success, it is as a group.

For golfers, 2018 may go down in their memories as one of the worst weather years.  For those that work to provide great playing conditions for our members and their guests, 2018 will certainly be remembered as one of the most challenging ever.  The staff's drive and determination were pushed to their limits as Mother Nature kept trying to knock us down time and time again throughout the year. 

So as we turn the page on 2018 (with its 70" of precipitation), and hopefully welcome in a "normal" 2019, it seems an appropriate time to recognize the team that makes it all come together.  We should all be thankful for what they do each and every day.

Indoor fun!

By now, most Laurel Creek members are aware of the new golf simulator in the Clubhouse.  As we pass the 68"+ mark of precipitation this year, it's easy to see that this piece of equipment will be getting a whole lot of use when the course is unplayable.

However, you might not know that the new Men's Lounge includes a feature which is also destined to provide hours of entertainment:  Three putting green cups are installed in the floor around the room.

A quick look at this carpet might bring back memories of Johnny Miller's endless obsession over grain, so we decided to check and see how the ball actually rolled in this room.  We broke out the stimpmeter and found that this surface has very little friction. 

The good news is that we were consistently getting measurements of over 20'!  The bad news is that after spending the winter practicing on this slick surface, it seems likely that we will be hearing comments about how slow the greens are on the course...

Wrapping up some Master Plan work

We had a small area of sod to finish on #12 from this year's Master Plan work; and if you have to sod an area, now is the time to do it.  Thanks to some great camera work, we were able to capture the guys' "good side" as they rolled up some old sod and were prepping for the new.

In contrast to the summer months (when sod can die in the blink of an eye), with little turf stress at this time of year, we can roll it out, and let the transplanted turf start to enjoy its new home.  As you can see in the picture below, with no foliar growth now, the sod may appear to be completely dormant.  However, we do still continue to get rooting even with low temperatures.

There aren't many times you can just "set it and forget it" when working on the golf course--we are grateful when we can!

Fun in the Fescue

As we did on # 7 and #13 last year, we are renovating an area of Fescue this fall.  We had re-sodded a small area on #16 two years ago, with good results.  This year we have continued up the right side of the hole.

The first step in the process was to eliminate any existing undesirable plants.  The area was mowed down low, then three  separate applications of a non-selective herbicide were applied over the course of two months.  In the picture below, the only green you can see is from the spray tracker dye.

Next we mowed the area again, raked it, and removed the excess organic matter.  After this we were close to bare dirt, so the next step was to till the area and give it a final raking in preparation for sodding.

Having a sandier soil is helpful for maintaining playability in the Fine Fescue.  However, in the cut throughs where cart traffic will be permitted, we added an amendment to the soil to improve moisture and nutrient holding capacity, and installed wear-tolerant Tall Fescue.

While this sod is typically pretty dense the first year, we have a couple of tricks in mind to promote a thin and clumpy stand of grass next spring.  Stay tuned...

Doing what we can do...

We received a near record 9.40" of precipitation (as both rain and snow) in November--just a tad over the average of 3.50".  Additionally, the daily temperatures for the month averaged 3.8 degrees below normal.  To summarize:  It was cold and wet!

This wonderful weather combination certainly limited rounds, as well as what we could do on the golf course.  Fortunately, one of the few large pieces of equipment we can safely use under almost any conditions is our largest tractor, with a deep tine aerifier connected to it.  The flotation type tires on this tractor are the key to its having a very light footprint, even when the course is soaked.

The aerifier itself uses solid tines, which cause minimal disruption to the surface.  This solid tining can improve the soupy conditions in a couple of ways.  Below the ground, it loosens the soil by fracturing it, allowing for better infiltration of water.  Additionally, the holes can help to increase water loss through evaporation.

To look at the positive side of this weather,  with high temperatures in the 40's, and winds of 50 mph, Scott didn't have to worry about interfering with play while solid-tining #1 fairway.

Something's missing

With several blind tee shots on the front nine of Laurel Creek, insider knowledge can be helpful in club selection and knowing where to aim.  Since the course was first built, one reference point that some players have used when standing on #4 tee is a test tower for the AEGIS facility, located beyond #5 green.  From the Champion tee on #4, the distance to the tower was 3,850', but given its height could easily be seen.

The tower's height was also the primary reason we never attempted to block it with landscaping.  Even if we had done a planting that screened the tower from the fourth hole, an 80+' tree would have been the only way to block it from view on #5.

Now you see it...

Well, if you didn't notice, that landmark was recently removed.  Not surprisingly, a Google search provided little explanation as to why these towers are no longer needed by the Navy or Lockheed Martin...

Now you don't...

With the "Cornfield Cruiser" in the background, only a utility pole now marks where the formidable tower stood for years along Hartford Road.

The good news is that what some folks considered an eyesore, is now gone.  The bad news is that you may need to find a new reference point the next time you tee one up.