Back in shape

Members that played today probably didn't realize the shape the course was in last night unless they were playing late yesterday evening.  Around 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday, a storm blew through dumping a quick .7" of rain, washing out the bunkers.  More noticeable was the high winds that brought down limbs and thousands of sticks, littering the fairways, greens and tees.  By 5:00, the storm was over and the course looked trashed.  With some late hours last night and a large crew today, we put the course back into shape before many new what had happened.  Thanks to the staff members that came in early this morning on their weekend off to fix all the bunkers and pick up sticks.

Cart path installation

The new cart path to the 10th tee has been installed, stone was laid yesterday and pavement today. 

Yesterday, the area was excavated and stone was put down.

Paving started this morning.

 

Getting this out of the way will allow us to finish up the rough areas around the new tees.  In the near future we will round-up the old 10th fairway and reseed that area. 

To-do list

While I haven't been asked the question yet, I am anticipating it soon and therefore I would like to give everyone a quick update.  The question that might be asked is 'What is the status of the 10th hole and when can we expect the rough/fairway transition to be finished?'

Believe me, I want to get that project buttoned up as soon as we can, but there are only so many hours in the day and so many bodies in the ranks to get things done.  With an effort to keep payroll down, we are a little behind on our typical project schedule.  Normally we would be finishing up mulch by now, this year we are just getting started.  Add in the work load of the new pool area landscaping and lawn and things fall behind even more.

To give you an idea of what we tackle this time of year, here is a list of items we need to get done on a daily/weekly basis:  Mow greens, approaches, tees, fairways, intermediate, banks, rough (can't keep up) club lawn and range facilities, rake bunkers, move tee markers, empty trash, change cups, clean bathrooms, fill range divots, blow off range, clean off debris from playing surfaces, blow off clippings, vacuum up clippings, apply fertilizers and fungicides to playing surfaces, roll greens, etc. 

Next is our project list of tasks that need to get done soon.  These are the tasks we get done in our 'free' time:  Mulch all the beds, organize annual planting, fix broken irrigation heads, sod pool lawn, seed new lawns around pool and tennis, landscape pool house/tennis area, install cart path on 10, round-up old fairway on 10, seed new rough on 10, repair thin areas around 10 tee, add sand to thin bunkers, trim down trees on the river bank by the patio

Further, is our project list for when those get done: Fix water valve at the shop, repair retaining wall by pumps, fix weir on the creek on 7, repair drains on 12, level sod on 9 green, edge cart paths, sod thin areas on 8 fairway, verticut fairways, add drainage to 18, 14 and 15, repair wooden steps on 1 and 8.

Also, if we have time, we need to string trim the trees on the course, edge tee plates, paint fairway yardage plates, edge bunkers, edge sprinkler heads and spray weeds.

You can see we juggle a lot of tasks and are constantly prioritizing items.  Here is what I can tell you though to answer the question:  1. The golf course maintenance comes first  2. Mulch has to get laid so we can plant annuals  3. Pool sod is coming tomorrow to be laid  4. The new cart path is being installed next Tuesday.  5.  If we can get a big push on mulch this week, I hope to tackle 10 (rough) next week.  6.  If all goes to plan (weather included), we hope to tackle the new landscaping around the pool the 1st week of June.

Thank you for your patience.

Divots

I know those of you who follow my blog regularly don't need to hear this, but I need to post it anyway.  During my morning rounds I came across a spot on 5 fairway that looked like it was used for a driving range.

My first clue was the excessive amount of divots in one area.

On a positive note - they did fill all their divots! 

 

I ask out of respect for the members that play behind you, please don't use the course as a driving range.

Saturated conditions

With more rain falling this morning, we are now at 3.65" within the last 13 days

We've elected to keep the range closed for a few days due to the soft conditions.  If opened, we would lose a significant number of range balls due to them plugging in the mud.  Thank you for your patience. 

Rainy day - bunker work

For most of the morning the 'feels like' temperature was 37 degrees with a light breeze and rain.  With weather like that there wasn't a ton of productive options, so we spent all day working on our bunkers, the only place that was somewhat dry and not muddy. 

Austin is raking out the edge of this bunker. 

We pulled out all the weeds, pushed up sand into all the washouts from this winter and raked in a 2" lip around the edge of each bunker.  Tomorrow we will spin the bottoms of the bunkers in preparation for Opening Day.  Thanks to the crew for their hard work today in the not so pleasant weather. 

10 approach

We continued the renovation of the tenth hole yesterday with the widening of the approach.  We grabbed sod from the beginning of the fairway and laid it on the right side of the approach coming into the green.  The strategic entry to the green is from the right side.  If you can carry the moguls and onto the approach, you set yourself up for a birdie opportunity.  If you miss, you may find yourself with a tough bunker shot or an awkward lie in the rough.  There is also the option to lay up short of the approach and have a 50 yard pitch over the bunker and onto the green. 

Removing sod from the front of the fairway.

Widening the approach to the north.

Clippings and weeds

One of the details we focus on this time of year is the removal of clippings.  We always see a big mess when we mow this time of year due to the fast growth rate of the turf and the wet conditions (rain and dew).  Also this time of year, we get wet weather that slows our mowing down and when we do get a chance to knock the grass down it is much longer than usual.  To remove the clippings, we go out with blowers and disperse the clippings or vacuum them up when needed.  This time of year it is almost a 40 hour/week job to clean up behind mowers.

You will see us out there with blowers and vacuums more frequently than normal due to the large mess the mowers are making.

Another detail we have been focusing on is the weeds.  We saw a good die off last fall due to our spray, but weeds continue to germinate and show themselves.  We have been out a few times hitting our high traffic areas to knock down the weeds.

Spring update

The tulips were in full bloom this week, we hope everyone enjoyed the burst of spring color.

Every fall, we plant over a thousand tulip bulbs.

With the onset of spring temperatures, we are starting our typical maintenance routines of mowing and daily course preparation.  Beyond that, we have been busy with the many projects that have to get done - edging and weeding bunkers, filling in holes from the tree removals, starting up the irrigation system, spraying weeds, fertilizer applications and aiding in the pool project.

This week, we fired up our irrigation system only find a leak in our metal 8" main line coming from the pumps.  Luckily we were able to get at it relatively easy and weld the pipe.  A big thanks to Evan and Jim for saving the club a major repair bill and getting this fixed in-house, it's not easy to weld upside down in a small hole!

Open to carts

Today is the first day in a while that we are open to carts, the range is also open.  We ask that drivers stay near or on the fairways as the rough is very wet in certain areas.

 

One benefit of this weather is our increase in donut consumption - one of our rules is that if you get stuck with your machine, you have to buy donuts for the crew.

Needless to say - a few guys have gotten stuck!

Wet conditions

Due to the wet conditions now and over the next few days, the course will be open to walkers only.  Also, the range will not open until we dry out.  Unfortunately, any balls that would be hit on the range would plug and above that, we are not able to get the range picker out there to pick them up without getting stuck.  Thanks for your patience as we get through the weather pattern.

Aerification update

The fairways were aerified today, but due to the wet conditions, we could not clean up all the cores.  As we dry out tomorrow, we will be able to clean off the fairways.  The course will be open tomorrow for walkers only.  If you decide to come out please be prepared for muddy conditions. 

Fairway aerification

Due to the cold temps forecasted for next Monday, we will be aerifying fairways tomorrow and into Tuesday.  Rain is forecasted for tonight, therefore it may be too wet to pulverize all the plugs tomorrow and will have to wait until Tuesday.  I will try to keep you updated on our progress and thank you for your patience. 

Busy Wednesday

We had an extremely productive day on Wednesday, getting a few projects scratched off our list before the rain for Thursday.  The first project of the day was planting trees.

We planted a 'Japanese Maple' near the River Rooms entrance.  This tree will replace the fountain that was there. 

 

We then planted 3 trees along the left side of #10, creating a natural outline to the new hole, just beyond and to the left of the new tees.

The new trees span the gap from the new tees to the fence line.

Because of the trees in the middle of the old fairway, the 10th hole will now be played from the new tees.  All of the markers have been placed on the forward tee for the time being, giving the back tee a little longer to firm up. 

Next on the list was grinding the stumps of the trees that were removed over the winter.  With the wind and sun we had over the last week, the ground firmed up enough for us to get the equipment on the course.

To end the day, we topdressed the new tees on 10.  This will help smooth out any of the imperfections and aid in firming the tee up.

 

Other tasks completed on Wednesday included: stick clean-up, landscaped bed clean-up, fairway mowing and preparations/cleaning of the 15th hole bathrooms. 

Fertilizer pick-up

If you are participating in our Home Lawn Fertilizer Program, we are scheduling a pick-up date on Saturday, April 2nd from 8am - 2pm.  You may stop in at the Maintenance facility between those hours and we will have someone available to load your fertilizer.  If you cannot make that date or time, please contact me to schedule your pick-up at dkoops@findlaycc.com or 616-405-5016

At the time of pick-up, you will receive all the bags of fertilizer that you have ordered along with an informational sheet on how and when to apply the products.  Feel free to call with any questions.  See you on April 2nd.