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.

Sodding some bad areas

This week our crew installed a truck of sod in a few thin areas around the golf course.  The main reason to get the truck of sod was to finish the lake bank behind #2 green.  We had removed some large pine trees earlier this year, but had not found time to finish this area until now.  The rain worked in our favor and held off until we had all the sod installed and then watered it naturally.  The haul road used during the Dredging Project on the left side of #8 fairway was also sodded to fix some very bare spots throughout.  Additional sod was also installed in the rough around the fairway bunker on #1, both sides of the green on #6, behind #9 Overlook green, around #16 green, and in the fairway on #18.  All of these respective spots have looked bad this summer so we hope this will help us have a great fall golfing season once the areas grow in.  Please be careful when driving a cart around the new sod, as we will be watering it daily so the areas will be very wet and soft!  Thank You!