December 4 Update

I'm sorry that it has been a few weeks since my last update. Since my last update, here is what has been finished.
1. #12 green and irrigation have been completed. Below is a picture of #12 green.

2. #10 green has also been completed. Kris' crew worked on Thanksgiving to get the green sodded due to the fact that we had rain earlier in the week. Below are some of the process pictures and the finished product.

Despite the fact that we have had a great, warm fall to work on our project, we all know that cold weather is just around the corner. We have decided to stop working on greens at this point to limit our risk with the sod going into winter. We will complete our final 2 greens (#11 and #13) in the spring when weather permits. This decision was made the week before Thanksgiving. I'm glad that we made that choice because we had our first snowfall of the year earlier this week! If there is one thing I have learned in my 4 years here at Roaring Gap, it is that we always seem to get snowfall before December 15.

In an effort to continue to be productive, Kris' crew has begun working on the drainage project on #7 fairway. This was originally planned for the spring but we decided to move forward while the weather was cooperating. It won't be completed until the spring, but it does give us a head start which is always beneficial.

                                                      Drainage in front of #7 Green.

Above is a picture of the gravel bed over the drain tiles. This is installed over the whole drainage area to accommodate the springs that occur on this hole. Over time, springs may move where they rise to the surface. By placing the gravel bed, if a spring moves, the water will rise to the gravel and move to the drain tiles instead of rising completely to the surface. This will provide a firmer playing surface which is much needed on this hole.

                                                    Low spot on the left of #7 fairway.
Below is a picture of the old terra cotta drain pipes that have caused some of the problems on #7. Over time the original tar paper that was used to hold the sections of pipe together has degraded. This has caused a separation between the tiles which is one of the primary causes of the sinkholes in the fairway. Part of the work being done is to remove the terra cotta pipes that are found to try to fix this problem. Some of the sinkholes are also caused by springs, so our hope is that by performing all of this work, we can remedy a great deal of our problems on #7.

Most of our work for the fall will be wrapping up within the next two weeks. I will try to post one more time to let you know when the work will be stopping before picking back up in the spring.

November 13 Update

Once again the weather this week has cooperated nicely. The irrigation crew had a busy week working on hole #1 and the driving range. #1 took some extra work due to the fact that they had to install the main line to attach to the pump station along with the lines which contain the sprinkler heads.

                                           The wider trench on the right is the main line.

                                    Main line and necessary valves at the pump station connection.

                                                   Irrigation lines on the driving range.
Kris' crew continued working hard on the green project as well. The back tee on #3 has not been finished because the soil is still drying and settling. It is important to let it dry out and compact so that it is firm after completion. The rest of #2 surround has been sodded. I think everybody will be pleased with the tie-in, especially behind the green leading to #3 tee. As you can see in the picture below, it flows together nicely.

After the sod work at #2 and #3, Kris' crew moved over to work on #10 and #12 greens. Both greens are in various stages of completion. #12 green has been cored out, drained, and the mix has been installed. The irrigation was looped around the green on Saturday. This green still needs the final float to be completed, but I anticipate that they will be sodding the green by Tuesday or Wednesday if the weather cooperates.

                                                                      #12 Drainage

                                                              Adding green mix to #12.

In the picture above, you can see #10 green being cored out. You can also see the left edge of the green as it is being rebuilt in comparison to where the existing green is located. The gray looking area is where the sod was removed from.

We applied a heavy topdressing to greens 14-18 this week. This topdressing serves a few purposes. First it will help to smooth out the sod as the grass grows through it in the spring. Secondly it helps to protect the grass plants by covering the main growing points (crowns) heading into winter. Covering the crowns helps to protect the plant from drying winds during the winter.

                                                       Dragging in the sand topdressing.

Busy Week

We have had another incredibly productive week here at the club. Our new pump stations arrived on Monday. The main pump was placed in the pumphouse at the lake and the booster was placed in the building on #1.

                                                      Unloading the pump stations.

                                                      New pump station at the lake.

                                                      Installing the booster station at #1.
Along with the pump stations being installed, we completed two big road crossings for the irrigation system. The irrigation line crosses from #1 tees over toward #9 green and also from #1 green over to #2 tees. Both of these crossings required an outside boring contractor to come in to complete the work due to the size of the sleeve. Below is a picture of the process going from #2 tee to #1 green.

While all of the irrigation work was going on, Kris' crew was hard at work on #2 green and #3 tee complex. #2 green has been completed and sodded. The tees for #3 require a bit more work as do the surrounds to make everything blend in together but it should all be completed within the next few days.

Below is a picture of #3 tee. If you look behind the tee, you can see the shape of the new back tee that has been added. It's hard to show because of the shade but I assure you it's there!Stay tuned for additional pictures as they finish the tee and surround.

Half Done!

Sorry that it has been awhile since my last update. We have been very busy with the good weather the past two weeks. A lot has been accomplished that I want to update you on.

1. #15 Green has been completed. It was sodded last Friday and Saturday. We have recaptured quite a bit of putting surface on this green which should add to some interesting playing options. It is especially interesting on the left side of the green where it now brings the bunkers more into play.

2. #14 Green has also been completed. This green was sodded yesterday, Wednesday the 26th. This marks our half-way done point for the greens. Holes 14-18 are completed and now growing in.

3. Kris' crew is now working on #2 Green and #3 Tee. We have moved over to this portion of the golf course for a few reasons. The main reason is for irrigation purposes. After 2 green and 3 tee are completed, we will move back over to the back 9 greens with holes 10-13 still remaining.

 Building the new back tee on #3.

4. As you can see Kris' crew has been quite busy. The irrigation crew has also made great progress since the last time I posted. Holes 13-18 have been completed along with 10. They will be finished with hole 2 by tomorrow. That means they have 8 holes completed since we started on September 19! Below is a picture of the irrigation work on 10.

5. Our crew has completed replacing all of the sand in the bunkers. Hopefully, next year everybody will enjoy the same sand in all of the bunkers and a more consistent playing surface. We have begun covering all of the bunkers to ensure that our investment does not blow out during the winter months!

 6. In anticipation of the impending cold weather the next few days, the golf maintenance staff covered the newly sodded greens today. Covering the greens will help to keep soil temperatures up which will help the greens to root in cold weather.

I apologize for having not posted in a while, but as you can see, we have all been extremely busy. We tried to take advantage of the wonderful fall weather that we have had the last few weeks.

In-House Projects

While the irrigation and green construction crews have been hard at work in their respective areas, so has our own golf maintenance staff. Along with our usual maintenance duties, we have taken advantage of the opportunity to work on improving a few areas ourselves. The first area that we worked on fixing was the area at #5 cart path. There was some extra bluegrass sod after stripping around #17 green so we put it to good use. Here are some before and after photos.

Another area that we decided to fix was around the left greenside bunker on #18.  The area outside of the bunker had been raised up by sand blowing out of the bunker in the winter months. It also didn't hold any water which is why the turf died in this area every summer. We removed over 14 inches of sand to get back to the original soil level! We then brought in a little topsoil, seeded it and put mulch mat over the area to help germination. We have been covering the bunkers the last few years with great success and minimal sand loss so hopefully we can prevent this from happening again.

Last year we began a fairway overseeding program to work on improving the density of our turf stand. We have continued this process this year and hope that within the next few years we will be able to see an improvement.

As you can see, we have been quite busy working on improvements to the course! Now is the best time to be working on these projects to get the grass established before it gets too cold.

#16 Green Finished

On Monday, #16 green was sodded to completion. Now that the weather has been cooperating the past two weeks, the crews are hitting full stride. The green was completely rebuilt in approximately 5 days. It is often working out that Kris' crew is working on two greens at one time. Some of his employees are working on stripping, moving, or laying sod on one green while the other individuals are staking, coring, or draining the other green. They are currently working on #15 green (pictures to follow). Below are the process pictures of the rebuilding of #16.

The green was sodded on Monday. Two days later it is already starting to root! If you have ever heard that the fall is the best time of year for growing cool season grasses, this is why!

#18 Green Finished

Once again, we made tremendous progress this week. #18 green has been completed with the sod being laid back down on the green on Friday afternoon. If you are curious as to how we are actually finding the original elevation of the greens, look at the picture below. After the sod is removed, holes are dug throughout the green to expose the clay. The clay is the original base and everything above is topdressing and organic matter buildup. If you look at the back right portion of the hole, you can see the lighter colored clay as shown by the arrow.  After this is exposed in all of the holes, the excavation process begins.

After excavating the topdressing material, the grades are marked as shown in the picture below.

 After coring out the green, the drainage is installed. Depending on the size, shape and contour of the green, different drainage patterns may be installed. Below is an example of the typical herringbone design.

 After drainage is installed the mix is added to the green.

The mix is then compacted to reduce the possibility of settling. In this instance they are using a tractor to pack the surface after wetting the sand.

Sodding the green on a beautiful October day in the mountains!