Winter is in full effect! Overall, a dryer than normal period has persisted since late summer. A brief reprieve gave us a close to a foot of snow over Christmas. This was followed soon after by rain and unseasonably warm weather. Since then, it has been nothing but dry and quite cold. The was brief concern about potential for ice buildup when we had close to a foot of snow on the ground and rain in the forecast. Thankfully, there was enough warm precipitation that we were able to bare off the greens. Cold temperature injury is always the worry when exposed for extended periods, but I believe this to be a better path than the risk of freeze/thaw events, or an extended period of time under ice, inhibiting vital gas exchange necessary for survival.
As has always been the case, if and when we get any ice buildup on the greens I will start taking samples and growing them out in the maintenance shop to look for any signs of damage. This season has been much better when it comes to the tarps staying down. The high winds of the previous year caused several tarps to come up, having to be placed back on the greens. Extra measures were taken with spiking down strapping in strategic areas. So far so good!
We last left off Phase 2 of the renovation shaping out and started to sod the new greenside bunker on 17. The crew did a great job getting the bunker sodded in less than ideal weather conditions. The last bunker we tackled before the staff was laid off was the right side of 6 fairway. The two bunkers have been scrubbed and a single bunker will take its place. As is the case with most of the fairway bunkers on property, the sand is highly contaminated and what drainage is in place has long been compromised. Specific to 6, the positioning and contours of the bunker made mowing the turf around them difficult. The new bunker has been constructed and has been sodded. We get a little tighter to the fairway and once again bring the bunker edge down to help keep sand washouts and bunker contamination minimal. We are very happy with the results and look forward to presenting the work to the members in the spring.
We are set to welcome back Turf Masters to begin their side of Phase 2. We are hoping they will break ground in the next week or two, while conditions allow. They will first be working on the fairway bunkers on 1 and 9. You can refer to the link to the Master plan to get an idea of the changes. The number of bunkers will stay the same…With the ground bared off for the time being there is an opportunity to make progress.
Check back soon as more posts will be made as progress is made here.
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