Capillary Concrete!

Today we did our first pour of Capillary Concrete Bunker liner.  This product is basically a small "pea gravel" type stone, covered in a concrete mixture that allows it to dry hard like concrete.  Once dry, the material has porous holes for the water to flow through and drain quickly.  Take a look at the pictures to see the steps as to how it is installed.

The Capillary Concrete comes mixed in a concrete truck.  The crew will load the mixture into a trailer and haul to the edge of the bunkers.

In the middle of the photo is a large pile of Capillary Concrete.  These guys are working to spread it evenly across the bottom of the bunker at a depth of 3 inches thick.  They use a gauge to tell them where to add or remove to ensure an even distribution.  The darker color gravel in the picture is the drain line for the bunker.

Here you can see the trailer dumping another load of Capillary Concrete.  

A standard concrete trowel is used to smooth out the surface to make a nice bottom for the bunkers

Last but not least, a wet paint roller is used to seal the gravel together and to compact the Capillary Concrete.  This helps all the gravel particles stay together and helps it become homogeneous and consistent once dry.

Bunker Project Moving Fast!

After a successful day of removing all the sand and bunker liner from hole #9 Overlook on Monday, the crew moved on to hole #8 on Tuesday morning to continue removing all the old sand and cloth bunker liner.  Now the Lead Shaper, which is the guy who runs to the equipment to re-shape the surrounds of the bunkers, will start to move dirt and give the bunkers a new look.  He will finish the bunkers behind the demolition guys and get them all ready for sod.  The crew has made quite a lot of progress in two days, as now we have 4 bunkers completely bare of sand and liner, ready to be shaped.  They also have the fairway bunker on #9 shaped and close to being ready for sod, and it is already starting to take on a new look!

You can see the rolled edges on the front side, but it is hard to tell the "entry" into the bunkers from the tee side if you are playing the hole.  Currently a golfer almost has to step down into most of our bunkers, but in the new bunkers the sand will meet the grass almost level from the tee side.  The green side of the bunkers will have a steeper more aggressive grass face which should help the balls find the bottom of the bunker more often.  So not only are we improving the look, we are trying to improve the play-ability as well!

Bunker Project Starts Monday!!!!

Marietta Country Club Bunker Renovation 2017-2018

Body of Work – Renovation of all 65 bunkers across all 27 golf holes.  .  This renovation will consist of removing the current sand and cloth bunker liner, and re-shaping the bunkers to have a “grass face” appearance.  The “grass face” and flat sand bottom bunker design will be similar to the original design Bob Cupp made for the course in 1989.  Once the bunkers are properly shaped and new sod is installed, we will install a new Capillary Concrete bunker liner.  This revolutionary new liner is a porous type of concrete that drains remarkably well, reducing washouts and sand displacement during heavy rain events.  To complete the process we will fill the bunkers with 4 inches of new sand and tamp it firm.  The sand chosen for the project is G Angle bunker sand, which is the sand currently in our “Test Bunker” on #4 Mountain View. Bob Cupp Jr., the son of the late Bob Cupp, will be the golf course architect who oversees the renovation and restoration of the bunkers.

Time Frame – The bunker renovation project is scheduled to start on Monday, November 20^th.  No work will be done on Thanksgiving, or on Friday, November 24^th.  Work will be done primarily Monday through Friday, weather permitting.  Currently the projected completion date is February 9^th, but this will be very dependent on weather conditions during the project.

How will Golf be affected? – We will start the project on Overlook #9, and work backwards towards Overlook #1.  During working hours, the golf hole the construction crew is working on each day will be CLOSED.  Our staff will place signs on each tee box notifying the golfers of the holes that are closed each day.  We will also post signs in the Golf Shop reminding everyone of the closed holes.  We should not have more than 2 to 3 holes closed per day at any time.  Once we are finished with Overlook, we will start on the Mountain View 9 holes.  We will work to complete all 9 holes on Mountain View before starting on Lake View.  This will allow us to always have 18 contiguous holes for golf, while the other 9 holes which are under construction at the time can be used for practice.

What to expect during the project -    During the construction there will be a few things to take note of which will be different than our everyday playing conditions.  We will be using a lot of Ground Under Repair signs and white painted areas determining the Ground Under Repair.  It will not be uncommon to see some bunkers without any sand, some bunkers may have the sod removed and be surrounded by dirt, machinery in the way, etc.  Also, we will have some “stock piles” of old sand distributed across the property during the construction.  The stock piles will be out of play for golfers and primarily out of site.  Please expect to see disturbed areas, but know that they will be repaired as soon as possible.   Please do you best to play around these areas and take your free drop when needed! 

Communication of Progress – Each week during the Project we will be giving updates highlighting the work that has been completed, as well as inform the membership what to expect the week ahead.  We will try to give as much notice as possible of any condition that would cause us to have more holes out of play than previously noted.  Weather will play a large role in the weekly progress of this project, so it may manipulate our plans occasionally.  Every part of the renovation will be discussed more in depth as the project evolves to help explain what we are doing and why.

                                          Our Finished Bunkers will look similar to this!!!

Going Dormant

Now that we have seen our first good frost, the Bermuda grass is starting to go brown and turn off color for the winter.  One interesting thing that happens during this time is the grass gets a "Tiger Stripe" effect, which is where some parts turn brown, while other parts remain green.  This is common, and happens because the soil temperature is still relatively warm compared to the air temperature of 32 degrees we received last Monday morning.  The first frost effects the higher cut grass, in our case the Rough, first.  If you look closely you can see the walk path is still fully green.  This is because it is typically mowed at 1/2 an inch, and the rough is mowed close to 2 inches.  The air can get into the canopy of the taller grass much easier than the shorter, tighter grass.  This helps give us a neat look this time of year, with the fairways staying greener and having more definition.  Unfortunately this green will not last long as we get cooler temperatures, so get out and enjoy a round of golf if you can!