Cart Path Repairs

During our closed down period in December, we replaced just under 1400 square feet of severely cracked sections of cart path on holes 1, 9, 12, 15, 16, and a small area between the clubhouse and number 10 tees.  Heer's Stump Service removed the old sections of cart path and Mularski Concrete, Inc. layed the new paths. 

#9 before

#15 before

#15 before

between the clubhouse and #10 tees

#15



and some afters...

#15

#15

#9

#1

#12

Subsurface Drainage Installation

We installed additional subsurface drainage in #6 approach and fairway last week.  The green on #6 funnels water directly onto the approach resulting in wet and soggy conditions at the end of the growing season and throughout the winter dormancy period.  Drainage installation is a very involved process which starts by locating existing subsurface drain lines.  New lines are painted out where needed and the the area is covered in plywood to minimize damage.  A trenching machine is then used to excavate the new lines and the soil is hauled away.

The new trench is then cleaned out by hand using a small narrow shovel.  Pea gravel is then used to cover the bottom of the trench and helps to grade the trench so the water will drain. 

New perforated pipe is laid in the trench and connected to the existing drain lines using couplers.  More pea gravel is placed on top of the pipe to help control contamination of the perforations in the pipe by soil and other material which would limit the water from entering the pipe and draining the area.




Sand is now placed in the trench so that water can easily be drawn from the surface and subsurface into the trench to be carried away by the drain pipe.  Below is a picture of the finished installation.  We will allow time for the new lines and sand to settle before we cover them with new sod.

Fall Greens Aerification

"...more like a work of art than just another sport"

         These words come from crew member Cody Hanna.  Cody is a native of Weogufka, AL in Coosa County, and a recent graduate of The University of Montevallo in Mass Communications with a concentration in journalism.  Cody is helping us out this summer and has a writtin a synopsis, posted below, of his perspective of golf course operations thus far.

"Long rolling fairways, well watered greens and sunset backdrops are just a few elements that make up ones favorite golf course.  For most, a golf course is a place to get away from the everyday rigors of life and enjoy time spent with friends and being outdoors.  Others may spend a lot of their time in frustration over trying to better their handicap, but both parties at some point while they are on the greens take time out of their game to admire what makes up the course.  You notice the pristine greens; well cut fairways and smooth bunkers on television when watching a major tournament, but exactly what all does it take to keep a course looking so good? 

Behind every breathtaking golf course is a well dedicated crew that works throughout the day and sometimes into the night battling the elements to better the appearance of the course.  When someone talks about mail carriers working through rain, sleet or snow; they should really be referencing golf course crew members.  The crew works through hard rains, heavy winds and sometimes scorching heat.  A survival kit for a grounds crew member would include: rain suit, protective glasses, change of clothes, gloves, 3 to 4 bottles of water and close to a pint of sunscreen.  A normal day involves coming to work early in the morning to get the course set before the first tee times.  Jobs vary in difficulty and most are tasks that not even a day to day golfer would recognize.  Removing silt, fly mowing, aerifying greens and fairways and operating a turbine are just to name a few.  Greens, fairways and tee boxes are usually mowed in the mornings along with raking bunkers.  Though keeping greens smooth and well-kept in appearance is usually the main priority, a lot of attention has to be made towards keeping bunkers in good condition.  Bunkers are to be raked on a daily basis and must be protected from weeds and overgrown grass.  Speaking of grass, the worst enemy for a crew member is just that, grass.  Grass grows constantly and always comes back after being trimmed down.  Grass is everywhere and has to be mowed, blown and sometimes raked.

After a brief break for lunch, the second half of the work day begins.  Tasks may include something as simple as fixing divots and spot weed eating around fans and trees or can be more backbreaking such as digging a hole to fix irrigation.  Tasks such as fixing a couple of divots on each hole may not sound too daunting, but one must always factor in weather conditions.  Pouring rain and beaming down heat can make as simple of a task as refilling water coolers an uncomfortable experience.  Golfers may arrive for their tee times to find greens and fairways as green and well-kept as you could imagine, but only hours before a small wind could have blown leaves and debris all over the course.  Small rain showers accompanied by variable winds can add more hours and labor to the work day for the crew.  Heavy rains cause debris to run over onto roughs and fairways and can wash out the edges of bunkers.

Keeping up the grounds on a golf course may not seem like the most exciting job one can have, but the crew takes pride in making the course they work on look as good as possible.  Very few have what all it takes to deal with the sporadic weather and hard work, but when you can put together a group of determined individuals then golf becomes more like a work of art than just another sport."





Cody pictured above on #5.



Fairway patches

I am sure that you have noticed the patches of brown grass in the fairways over the past month or so.  These are patches of bermudagrass that have encroached into the zoysiagrass fairways over the years.  The brown color is the result of herbicide applications that we have been making targeting the bermudagrass encroachment.  The herbicides will not kill the bermudagrass, but merely suppress it and put it in a state of dormancy for about 3-4 weeks, which means that those patches should play similar to bermuda fairways in the winter as opposed to bare ground.  By making the herbicide application every 4 weeks during the growing season and keeping the bermudagrass suppressed, we will provide the zoysiagrass the opportunity to retake those areas.  Zoysiagrass has a slow growth rate so it will take some time, several years likely, for the zoysia to completely retake those areas. 

The herbicide application dings the zoysiagrass a little and consequentially slows the growth of the zoysiagrass for a couple of weeks following the application.  We normally apply growth regulators on the fairways during the growing season to help make the grass more manageable and to also help maintain the consistency in playing conditions.  Due to the growth regulating effects of the herbicide application coupled with allowing the zoysiagrass a better opportunity to fill into these patches, we will not be applying the plant growth regulators this year.  Subsequentially, we will be mowing the fairways more frequently to help keep playing conditions consistent.

So why are we just starting to treat these areas?  Well, actually we have been making these applications for over 10 years.  However, in the past, we only spot-treated the fairways.  The problem with that is the bermudagrass can be very hard to distinguish, without the aide of morning dew, while driving through a fairway on a spray rig.  Our consistency with applications has not been where it needed to be in the past either.  We made a commitment this year to make it a priority to treat the entire fairways every month during the growing season.  By spraying the entire fairways, we eliminate the possibility of missing any bermuda with our application.  We also increase the consistency of the fairways as well, due to the aforementioned  growth regulating effects immediately after the application.

a view of the patches in #4 fairway

looking toward #4 green

a closer view of some patches

an up close view of a patch