Greetings MCC Members,
It is
with great joy I can announce the final week of the Driving Range project is
upon us. Everything has finally worked
out in our favor, and the push is on to sod the remaining 6 acres of the
Driving Range. The last month of the
project has been a challenging one and I would like to share with you a few of
the things which have factored in to prolonging the Driving Range opening.
When
planning the Dredging and Driving Range project last summer, it was an optimistic
goal that all the work would be completed by May 1st. This date was chosen as a best case scenario,
but also to give us a goal in which to strive to achieve. Like most construction projects, we have
endured many challenges over the last 6 months.
Weather events, slow drying silt from the bottom of the pond, a shortage
of sod trucks, equipment failures and permitting have all played roles in
delaying the project. There is still a
half an acre area in the back corner of the range that has yet to dry out and solidify
completely. Two weeks ago a bulldozer
could not even navigate through this soft area without getting stuck. Weekly rains are also no help to this drying
process. It seems like every time we
have been blessed with a week of good weather to work the dirt, it rains just
in time to wet the soil and set us back a few days. At times the rains have even negated all the
progress made and forced us to spend valuable time re-doing things which were
already completed.
While
the silt removed from the lake took longer than expected to dry, it also
delayed the process of installing the irrigation and drainage in the
range. Once the drainage was finally
installed a few weeks ago we were able to withstand the rains much better and
not lose all the progress we made during dry days. Last Friday we finally completed the
irrigation system for the Driving Range and connected to the main line water
supply. A total of 85 irrigation heads were
installed and have the ability to water all the new sod that is being layed
this week. An industry wide shortage of
tractor trailer trucks used to haul sod has made it difficult for the sod farm
to deliver our grass in a timely manner, and also forced our project to come to
a standstill. One or two sod trucks do
not pose a problem in most cases, but when you need 30-35 trucks to deliver 6+
acres of grass in a week’s time, scheduling becomes an issue. Combine this large order of sod with a
shortage of available trucks, and it creates a very challenging, and no doubt
frustrating situation. When I was
informed a week ago that the sod farm had 35 trucks lined up for delivery over
the next 5 days I emphatically said “Bring it on”! The sod installation crews have been doing a
great job of laying 6 to 7 sod trucks a day, or the equivalent of an acre and a
half of surface area. After a week of sodding we are now about 90%
finished and await 3 more trucks Monday morning that will finish the job.
Once the
Driving Range is completely sodded, all the grass will need rolled, fertilized,
and some minor patch work in places that did not survive. This work will be done by our staff over the
next month to finish up the project, but will in no way prolong the opening of
the driving range. We will now focus all
of our efforts on hole 14 and restoring it back better than before. Sod has been ordered for the end of next week
and I feel that you will start to see progress every day. I apologize that restoring this hole has been
moved down the priority list as other problems and projects have arose.
All in
all I feel this was a very successful project, and that the club has improved
in many different areas because of it. Our
Driving Range is now one of the biggest and best in Georgia, the new wall on #3
adds beauty to the golf course, the fore bays on both ends of the lake #3/#13
are already doing a great job of retaining silt, and the lake itself looks as
good as ever now that it has been completely dredged. In
closing I would like to thank the membership of Marietta Country Club for your
patience, understanding and support through this long and tedious project. It has no doubt been an inconvenience at
times over the last 6 months, but the light is getting very bright at the end
of the tunnel. With just a few more days
of hard work ahead, everything will be back to normal and the new club
amenities can be enjoyed by all.
Thank you,
Mark Hayes
Grounds Superintendent
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