The cost of trees

Trees are what makes Findlay Country Club a great course, but they don't come free.  About 40% of our labor between now and the end of March will go towards trees: leaf clean-up, picking up sticks, trimming trees over the winter, tree removal, tree planting and splitting firewood.  We can also look at what trees cost us over the summer: string trimming around every tree at least once a month, stick clean-up every time there is a storm, blowing off tree debris daily on the playing surfaces, the inefficiency of rough mowers having to dodge trees and the damage that roots cause to mowers over time.  The amount of our resources spent on trees is staggering.  I am not advocating for a tree free FCC, just passing on information worth noting. 

Today we spent 16 man hours on stick clean-up alone due to the high winds last night.  This had to be done to allow us to clean-up more tree debris - leaves.  We hope to get through the property one more time with a thorough leaf clean-up, but that job can't get done with thousands of damaging sticks in the way. 

On to leaves tomorrow, course should be looking really clean by the end of the week.  The great thing about turf that keeps growing and a course full of trees - job security! 

 

Christmas lights

Despite the unfriendly weather today we were able to get all the Christmas lights hung.

It takes 6 guys - one full day to put up all the lights.

 

 

Think of Findlay Country Club for your holiday parties this year, we would love to have you!

 

Grounds update

Last week Friday we completed the finishing touches on the new fairway bunker on 11.  To cap off the project, we took sod from the beginning of the 11th fairway and relocated it to the expanded fairway around the new bunker.  Next spring we will seed the beginning of the fairway into rough, shortening the fairway to coincide with the Master Plan.

With that large project behind us we are now focusing on other projects and tasks to close out the season, we have a heavy work load to complete before the snow flies.  This week is a shortened week and rain today that won't allow us on the course, but we are continuing to knock items off our to-do list. 

Monday was irrigation blow-out.  We also cut down the natural area behind the clubhouse. 

Yesterday we planted 6 trees on the course, picked up sticks from the recent high winds, blew out fresh water lines and mulched leaves. 

 

Our to-do list still contains - mulching leaves, repairing the bridge on 8/9, fertilizing fairways, spraying fungicides before the snow hits, trim the hedges on the range and 9 tee, winterize the water feature by the locker rooms, deep clean all the equipment and get Christmas lights up next week.

Progress made

The bunker on 11 is almost complete, just a few more finishing touches.

Monday we started moving soil.

Tuesday was edging, drain lines and the start of sod.

Wednesday was drain tile, sod and sand installation. 

 

We need to repair one corner of the bunker that we used for an access point, sod also needs be installed in the enlarged fairway in front of the bunker.  Per the Master Plan, 11 fairway can be shortened on the tee side.  We will take sod from the start of the fairway and transfer it over to the new fairway by the bunker. 

Bunker project

The fairway bunker renovation on 11 is progressing well, the weather we are having has been excellent. 

Monday, we started at the old forward tee on 10 - shaping the landform to better fit the surrounding area, softening the valley beside 12 tee.

Work then began on filling in the old fairway bunker on 11.

Next came the addition of the new bunker.

Once the bunker was built, we put a hard edge on the inside.

Drainage lines were then dug and sod has begun to be installed. 

 

Today we will be installing drain tile and laying down more sod.  I anticipate tomorrow we will be able to put sand in the bunker. 

Removing the old bunker

The first step on the bunker project was to remove the usable sand within the bunker and remove the sod surrounding the work site.

First thing this morning we removed the sand, keeping the good sand for the new bunker.

We then removed all the sod surrounding the worksite.  By the end of the day tomorrow we will have the area ready for the shaping of the new bunker. 

Bunker project started

The new fairway bunker on 11 has started.  After some delay waiting for an available date by the contractor, we are now ready to roll.  The contractor (shaper) will be here Monday to implode the existing bunker and shape the new bunker.  If you get the chance to walk out there soon, you will see red flags marking the perimeter of the new bunker. 

 

 

All the sod around the existing bunker and around the new bunker was cut today.  We will begin to remove the sand and all the necessary sod on Thursday and Friday.  Monday, the Shaper and Architect will do their thing and we will be right behind them laying new sod, installing drainage and adding sand.  If the weather is cooperative, we should have everything relatively wrapped up by the end of next week. 

 

 We will also be re-grading the old forward tee on 10, removing the 'tee' landform and shaping it to fit the surrounding area. 

 



Irrigation line repair

A 3" valve on our irrigation system had to be replaced, today was a good day to shut down the system and get this completed. 

The valve was on the south side of the driving range, the old valve would not close properly - not allowing us to shut off the range to make repairs. 

At about 3' down, a fair amount of digging had to be done to give us room for the repair.

A large pipe calls for a large pipe wrench. 

Greens aerification completed

Yesterday we aerified all the greens, the unofficial end to another great season.  When we aerify we use ample sand to fill in all the holes, this sand will be present for quite some time - until the grass grows through the sand.  Some years this may be 10 days, other years the sand is there until next spring.

Monday, we started the day off early be applying a heavy coat of sand to the greens while it was still dark.  At first light, we double aerified the greens - once with a 'deep tine' machine making holes 3/4" round by 10" deep, and once with our machine, going 4" deep.

After the sand is dry, we drag the greens, apply more sand and continued to drag the sand around, filling in the holes.

We are now starting to smooth the greens by rolling. 

 

Overall, this aerification went great, the greens will be in good shape heading into winter and we are looking forward to another great season in 2017. 

As we inch closer to winter we are starting to make preparations for the end of the season.  All the annual flowers have been pulled, next on our list is chopping down all the perennials.  Today we removed all the tee markers from the course allowing us to be more efficient with our limited labor this time of year.  Feel free to use any part of the tee as you play for the remainder of the year.