The Sounds of Silence

It feels as if we've spent the last month in a hole.  Actually, since we've been jumping from one irrigation leak to another, that would be several holes.  As we talked about two weeks ago, some of these holes were pretty massive.

We've also had several smaller leaks which were tough to track down.  That is, we could see that the pumps were running, but finding where the water was going was more challenging.

Then there have been the leaks which are easy to find--especially when they can be seen from almost any point on the golf course.

Yes, we've grown accustomed to tentatively approaching the pump station this spring, and hearing the pressure maintenance pump running more often than not.  Finally, after all of this, it's amazing to now walk in and hear...nothing.  At the moment, the system is as tight as it has been in years.

The screen below is a 12 hour graph of the pump station.  Having the pump only cycle every seven hours is awesome!

Project Progress

As we ramp up our mowing frequency on the golf course, we are trying to complete some projects around the Club.  If you aren't a tennis player, you might not see the work we did off the course this week.

Irrigation was added outside the new pickleball court, and the surrounds were sodded. This gives the area a much cleaner appearance.

Strong enough?

You may be looking at the picture above, wondering why there is a bulldozer suspended from a pipe, and what this could possibly have to do with the golf course.  These are great questions, and the answer to all of this began over two weeks ago.  You see, it was at that time that we found the ground was slightly wet near the main pump station at #9 tee.  Of course, after last year's incessant precipitation, we're still seeing ground water pop up in unusual places, so we didn't panic.

However, as this wet spot persisted, we decided to put a bit of green dye into the pump station discharge line.  Lo and behold, the wet area soon had green water rising to the surface--and St. Patty's Day has long passed.

Now that an irrigation problem was confirmed, some exploratory surgery commenced.  Soon, a relatively small hole, grew into something quite large and deep.  What we found ourselves dealing with was the 12" main outside of the pump station.  The pipe comes to a tee fitting about 60' from the station, and this tee needed to be replaced.  With the station pumping 1,200 gallons per minute at 115 psi towards this tee, it was designed to never move, and this is where the "fun" really started...

When the irrigation system was originally installed 30 years ago, a large concrete thrust block was poured behind the tee for support.  Additionally, a previous repair on this pipe from the pump station had been encased in concrete to prevent any possible pipe movement.  Seeing that the concrete had to be removed, we were forced to switch from using a shovel and backhoe, to a jackhammer and demolition hammer.

As soon as we realized the full scope of the problem, it became clear that this was not something which could be handled completely in-house.  So we reached out to the team at Killiam Irrigation Contractors to get us back up and running.  Over the years, when dealing with any unusual and challenging irrigation repair, these guys have always come through for us.

Scott Killiam assessed the situation, and determined the best course of action for the repair.  One thing was certain--our small backhoe wasn't going to get the job done.  An excavator was brought in to remove the old concrete, and set the new pipes and fittings in place.

Scott chose to use Megalug mechanical joint restraints to hold the replacement pipes, tee and couplers in place.  How strong are these?  Well, this is where the bulldozer picture comes into play.  The 50,000 pound dozer is being held up by a Megalug joint restraint attached to a length of PVC pipe.

If you've ever used SharkBite plumbing fittings, then you have an idea how they grip the pipe, and just won't let go.  Similarly, the Megalug joint restraints wedge onto the pipe and won't let loose.  So yes...they are strong enough!

Had this leak shown itself in late fall, we would have had the luxury to make the repair at any point over the winter.  Unfortunately, that was not the case, and we had to deal with it now.  The timing of this was less than ideal, as it took us away from other important work on the golf course for several days.

However, while an April repair was certainly not great, if there was any silver lining, it's that this problem didn't happen during a mid-July heat wave.  Thanks to the hard work of all involved, we're confident that this will be the last time we ever have to look at this part of the irrigation system.

New Roof

It is difficult to believe, but the Club's turf care facility behind #17 green, was constructed in 1996.  This past week, it received a much needed new roof.

While this might not be something that will excite the Club's members, for those of us that work in this building daily, having a solid roof overhead is reason to celebrate!

Rings and Dots

The picture below shows two things on #11 green.  The first is some patch disease, which really isn't all that unusual this time of year.  However, what may be more noticeable, are the bright green dots on the edge of the green.  Unintentionally, we caused this by allowing some fertilizer to hit the putting surface.

For the past several years, we rarely use any granular fertilizer on the golf course, but last year's weather took its toll on the rough, and a bit of fertilizer was applied to encourage growth and recovery.  The green dots are where prills of fertilizer landed on the green.

What this picture may illustrate more than anything else, is how lean and hungry the greens are.  Why don't we feed the greens more?  Well, as we must balance plant health with playability, limiting leaf growth is one of the best ways we can maintain green speed.  In-season, we often provide nourishment to the plant through a liquid fertilization program, while also applying a plant growth regulator at the same time.

This all may make more sense if you think of the putting greens like a lean, mean elite athlete.  In order to perform at their peak, their workout routine--mowing, rolling, verticutting, topdressing, aerifying--and everything that goes into them is carefully monitored throughout the year.

Irrigation System Start-Up

Laurel Creek's irrigation system was installed in 1989, a full 30 years ago.  During the nine months of each year that the system is in service, we have 20 miles of piping that is constantly at 115 PSI.  The vast majority of this is gasketed bell-end pipe, which is held together by nothing more than the weight of the soil around it.

Given all of this, it's probably not surprising that when we do a system start-up each spring, we have our fingers crossed. Unfortunately, this year's start-up included a main leak on #9--that's the bad news.  However, the good news is that our winter purchase of main line repair fittings had us prepared for this, and as main line repairs go, this one wasn't bad at all.

In the photo below, it's not an employee napping on the job.  No, Selvin is cleaning out muck from around a main line gate valve, so the valve key will easily fit on the valve when needed.  When we have issues with any part of the irrigation system in-season, it's a real bummer when you can't isolate a section, and have to shut down one of the pump stations.

If the current weather pattern continues, we might not have much need for the irrigation system again this year.  Of course, we'd rather have it operating well, and not need it, than to find ourselves scrambling to make repairs when some hot, dry weather does shows up.

Spring Has Sprung

While the calendar may say that there are still a few days of winter remaining, it feels like the switch has been flipped on the golf course, and spring has arrived.  With some warm weather this past week, it was great to see members swinging away in short-sleeved shirts.

For the Grounds team, this change in seasons also meant that we had to kick things back into gear.  The week's activities included:

• Returning to one cup in the greens.
• Mowing and rolling greens.
• Placing ballwashers back on the course.
• Placing divot mix boxes and bottles out on the course.
• Raking bunkers and checking bunker rakes.

The return of ballwashers to the course, means golfing season has arrived.

So while the trees have yet to leaf out, and the Bent is still beige, we will unofficially welcome in the 2019 season.  Our fingers are crossed that we will have better weather this year than last!