Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Grounds Staff and Thank You for all that you do for us!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

What abnormal weather we have had the past week.  Rainy day after rainy day, and Christmas is going to be an all time record high temperature!  We have received a little more than 2.5 inches so far and there is still more forecast for this evening.  It will unfortunately be Cart Path Only for many days to come!

New Pin Sheet

We have designed a new pin sheet for daily use and put it into play this weekend on the golf course.  The new sheet is in color, has 5 different hole locations, and is much more detailed than the previous pin sheet.  Take a look at the difference between the new and old:

We hope you enjoy the new, updated pin sheet next time you are enjoying a round of golf!

The Beaver has been Captured!

It only took 3 days, and we were able to trap and relocate the Beaver to a different location, far far away from Marietta Country Club.  Thank goodness for one of our very talented employees who knows just how to catch a pesky Beaver!

Meet Buddy!

The new Marietta Country Club golf course dog has finally arrived!  Buddy, who is currently 8 weeks old, started work on Monday.  Being the puppy that he is it's either 100% running wide open, or sound asleep.  He already likes to ride in the cart and can not wait to meet everyone over the next few weeks!  

Heavy Fog!

We had an extremely heavy fog set in this morning, causing for a very unusual scene as the sun came up.  This is a picture standing near the golf shop, and it is hard to see very far past the front of the green!

The Beaver Returns!

Over the last few days we have noticed some suspicious activity around the lake on #3.  The damage appears to be from a beaver that is coming up stream from across New Salem road.  We have seen similar damage before, so we have a good idea how to trap the pest and prevent any further damage.  I will keep you posted on what we find and if we get lucky and catch the perpetrator!

If you look closely at the edge of the pond something has eaten the edge clean for about 1 foot wide.  Notice in the bottom of the picture the grass goes all the way to the water, but as you move up it is bare dirt. This is not very timely since the grass is dormant and will not grow back until next summer!

In the middle of the picture you can see a dirt trail.  This is the "slide" the beaver is using to get from the stream behind #12 green, up over the dam and into the pond.  We will set our traps near this slide

 

Fixing a Clogged Drain on @ #2 Tee

This Monday our crew took the afternoon to look into a problem that has been giving us fits for a while now.  Every time it rains the drainage basin in the cart path located right beside #2 tee box turns into a big puddle.  This is because the water was not going down the pipe, and would take days to slowly evaporate and drain.  To fix this problem, we used a hose to determine where the clog in the pipe was, and then used our excavator to dig up the pipe and try and solve the problem.  Once we started digging through the clogged area, we noticed the culprit.....Tree Roots!  Take a look a the pictures and you will see where the pipe was going and why there was such an obstruction!

As you can see all of these roots were growing into the pipe because of the constant flow of water inside the pipe.  Over time these roots find small holes and work their way through to get to the water source.  Luckily this area was in a pine bed, and all we had to do was remove the old pipe and replace with new solid pipe.  It works now!

New Job Board

Recently we purchased a TV and some computer software to use for setting up the jobs our staff is required to carry out each day.  The computer software helps to neatly organize and display the daily tasks so that the crew can easily identify what they are required to do.  Here is a look at the screen the on a daily morning of work.

With this program we can also track hours for each specific job, as well as document different items on a daily, monthly or annual basis.  Our staff is excited about the change and update of technology, as they can also use this smart TV capabilities to watch shows before work in the morning and during their lunch hour!

Dredging the Creek Again!

During leaf season this fall we have had a lot of debris accumulating upstream of the forebay on hole #13.   Earlier this week we took advantage of the dry conditions and started to dredge out material deposited from the rains the past few weeks.  We have seen a much larger rainfall than normal this fall, and this has contributed to the increased silt and debris being washed down stream.  It appears that the forebay is doing its job of preventing silt to reach the lake.  No doubt there is a little silt that still passes over the dam on heavy downpours, but if we keep the creek channel cleaned out we see great results in trapping the unwanted debris!

This is what the Forebay looks like after a heavy rain!

You can see how mulch silt and debris settles out upstream!  

Look closely and you can see how shallow the water is because of all the leaves and debris!

22 trailer loads later one side was complete!  We will finish the other side once it dries up again from Wednesdays 2 inch downpour!

Planting Holly Trees on Overlook Holes #3 and #4

Over the last week, our crew has been working hard to install 50 new holly trees behind #3 Overlook green, and also to the left of #4 Overlook green.  These holly trees were planted to provide a barrier between the cul-de-sac and the golf hole, as well as develop a natural fence to secure the Club property line and to prevent people from trespassing.  Another feature that the hollies provide is added "depth" to the 3rd green when a golfer is hitting their second shot.  There are currently some space in between the hollies, but the plants will grow together over the next few seasons.  When the plants are mature, we will keep them pruned neatly to form a long running hedge which blocks the golf course from the street and neighborhood.  Please take a look at the pictures below to see the process:

Azaleas in front of #17 Tee

If you will remember last year we did a project with the help of a donation from the LGA and planted azaleas in front of the large retaining walls on in front of #17 tee box.  After a very cold winter, almost all the azaleas died and did not leaf out this spring.  So after cleaning out the dead plants and reassessing what plants would live in this environment, we decided to re-plant a different variety of azaleas this fall.  The cultivar selected this year are George Tabor azaleas, along with some Formosa azaleas.  This azaleas are the most common and are most notably found around Augusta National each spring during the Masters.  Last year we planted mostly Encore azaleas which bloom all year long.  Unfortunately the Encores did not handle the early freeze and died.  Let's hope this time we get the plants through the winter and have a lot of beautiful colors next spring!

New Trees #6

Last week our staff was busy planting many things around the Club property, and one of those plantings happened to be some Maple trees on hole #6.  This has been an idea the Grounds committee has kicked around for the last year or so, and also falls in line with the Master Plan that was developed years ago for future improvements around the golf course.  These trees were strategically placed to add difficulty when a tee shot misses the fairway to the right.  Because the trees are different varieties of Maples, they will help to add some beautiful red and yellow color to the fall landscape.  Next year we will plan to mow the rough on the right side of the fairway much shorter, which will hopefully make it easier to find your ball and advance it.  The trees will play more and more of a problem as the years go by and they grow bigger and bigger!

New Overlook Pump Motor

Over the last few weeks, we have experienced a lot of problems with our irrigation pump station on Overlook.  After troubleshooting the entire system, it was determined that one of the two motors which run the pump was not functioning properly.

This is a picture of both pump motors.  The motor on the right is the bad motor, left is the good motor.  Take note the piece of metal coming out from the top of the bad motor.

That piece of metal was the top of the drive shaft for the pump.  The pump motor slides over the shaft and attaches at the top.  The pump is located down deep in the wet well, which is fed from the lake.  This drive shaft is 25 feet long, and is used to spin the pump head in the well which pulls water from the lake to water the golf course.

A crane is necessary to lift the 400 pound motor off the drive shaft carefully.  In this picture the new motor is being dropped into the pump station through the hatch in the roof.  

This hatch was installed when the pump station was built for times exactly like this!

 Waiting on the motor to be lowered down onto the drive shaft.

Lining it up perfectly.

Now the new motor is running great and the pump station is back to 100%.  Luckily this motor did not fail until the end of the summer when the weather is cooler and rain more common.  Hopefully we will not have to do this process again any time soon!

First Frost this Morning!

We had our first recorded frost this morning!  While it was not a very heavy frost, we definitely had some frost develop on the rough in some low lying areas as the sun came up early this morning.  Let's hope this does not knock off any of our lush green color for The Mountain Classic next Friday!

Step-by-Step

After what seems like a never ending project, the Tennis Pavilion is about 90% complete.  It was quite the addition to our facility, and a very access way from the tennis courts to the Clubhouse.  Take a look a the the step by step changes from start to finish!

Tennis Pavilion Nearing Completion!

The Tennis Pavilion Roof is completed and now we can add the finishing touches to the project!  With a beautiful weather forecast predicted over the  next few days we will be done by the end of the week!

Time for Fall Pre-Emergent Application

If you have played golf the last few weeks, you have more than likely seen our spray technician Brad spraying our Fall Weed Pre-Emergent.  This application will help to keep all sorts or winter weeds, especially Poa Annua, from growing in any of our turfgrass while it is brown and dormant this winter.  To cover all 27 holes and around the Clubhouse grounds will take us 3 to 4 weeks to complete.  In total we treat almost 150 acres!  Please note that this product is not at all toxic or harmful to the environment, and is a very safe to use.

Rainy Days

With all the rain we have received over the last 2 weeks, it has really been evident how much the Forebays we constructed on both sides of the pond have worked to reduce silt accumulation.  The walls help to slow the water down, which causes a lot of the larger silt particles to fall to the bottom upstream.  By trapping these dirt particles upstream, we can use our excavator to remove the silt and maintain a large area for the water to back up and drop silt.  Take a look at the picture of the Forebay after a heavy rain:

This picture clearly shows the different colors of water upstream, and then downstream of the forebay.  Upstream is much more "chocolate milk" looking, and down stream much clearer and a lighter shade of brown.  This difference in color is because the upstream flow has much more silt, and while the water is forced through the small opening, it effectively helps to settle the silt particles to the bottom before moving through.

Look closely and you will see the Upstream rocks on the right side have a film of silt deposited on them after the water recedes.  The Downstream rocks have not silt deposited on them because of the quicker moving, cleaner water.  This is encouraging evidence that the Forebay is working just as it was designed to work.

Tennis project getting closer to completion!

This week was a very productive one for our tennis project, as almost all the concrete has been poured.  All that is left is installing the roof structure and finishing up the detail work around all the new concrete.  Landscaping will come last, and we are working full steam ahead to have the structure ready for the cookout reveal on October 2nd!

A Concrete Truck and a Concrete line pump is not what you normally see at the Club on a Friday evening!

Coyote Problems

Over the last week we have seen a large increase in coyote sightings, and more importantly have sustained some damage to the golf course.  On Friday we found a dead beaver on hole #13 fairway, and then Sunday morning we discovered a deer had been killed on hole #6 Overlook.  Two days later, we discovered a hole which had been dug into the green on #4 mountain view.  The first morning we discovered this damage was bad enough, and then the coyotes proceeded to dig the same hole up the next night after we repaired the turf!!!!  3 nights in a row they dug up the exact same hole, all the while increasing the size of the damaged area!!!!  Please see the pictures below to understand the damage:

While coyotes have lived around the course for a long time, it was not until recently that we have had problems with damage to the golf course.  We will try to find a safe and humane way to remove these pests so we do not incur any more damage to the golf course, and also prevent any harm to people or pets nearby.  Please let us know if you have any suggestions on how to scare off the coyotes!

Tennis Project Update

The Tennis project is still progressing nicely.  The drains have been installed between the courts, and we have poured a little less than half of the sidewalk which will run between the Clubhouse and the Tennis courts.  This weekend the crews are not taking off for Labor Day, instead they are laying the block walls for the raised seating area.  Once the walls are installed, we will have the roof company come in and set the posts for the roof structure.  Please take a look at the pictures to see the progress!

Tennis Pavilion Project

We have recently begun work on the new tennis pavilion and seating area between clay courts #7 and #8, and the hard courts #9 and #10.  This new seating area will offer a much better view of the tennis players on the courts, as well as contain a large roof structure overhead to block out the hot sun for the spectators.  Another feature of this new project will be the lighted walk path which will help to connect the clubhouse with the tennis facility.  Please excuse our mess over the next few weeks as we work to complete this project.  Your patience is very much appreciated.