First One Done!

After much anticipation the seventeenth green is done! Although the weather this weekend wasn't exactly pleasant, a lot was accomplished. Yesterday, the irrigation on 17 was charged up so that it could be used for #17 green. Today Kris' crew spent the whole day finishing the green. They started the day by doing the "final float". This entails smoothing out the green surface as much as possible and making sure the contours are correct.

After performing the final float, the green was ready to be resodded. The crew sodded the edge of the green to form a clean line. They then started sodding from the middle of the green to the outside.

Using the plywood in the process insures that they are not walking on the final float and putting footprints on the green.

Despite being cut for almost two weeks, the sod is very healthy as shown by the extensive white roots and dark green turf! Yes, those are all roots on the roll and not the plastic that is beneath the sod!

The finished product along with our new irrigation watering the sod. Stay tuned for further updates!

Making Progress

After a bit of a slow start due to the wet weather last week we are really starting to make progress. We have accomplished a lot this week and both the contractors have been working long hours trying to make up for lost time. Here is a run down of what we have done this week.

1. The subgrade work and drainage have been installed on #17 green.

Kris' crew began installing the greens mix this afternoon. Our goal is to have the sod re-installed on #17 green on Saturday. There are a few steps that need to be completed before the sod can be laid, but we hope to accomplish it all tomorrow.  I will do my best to repost tomorrow or Saturday to show the rest of the process.

2. The irrigation crew has made tremendous progress. They have already completed all of #17 and #18, except for the greens loops which can not be performed until the green is ready for sod. They have also put the irrigation around the chipping green and putting green.

3. Along with all of installation work that has been completed, the first irrigation road crossing has been completed. This process is quite time consuming as precision is necessary when performing the work. The first step necessary is to hand dig out where all of the utilities are located such as power, cable, television, and fiber optic lines.

After the lines are exposed, a pit must be dug to accommodate the boring machine. This pit was dug approximately 5 feet deep to make sure that the bore was deep enough to allow for movement or directional changes that may occur if the drill bit hits rock while under the road. After the pit was dug, the boring machine was installed and set up.

After set up, the actual boring process began. 

After making it cleanly through to the other side the machine was removed and the sleeves were installed. First, an 8 inch steel sleeve was installed to protect the irrigation line and also because it provides a solid surface under the road as required by the DOT.

After the sleeve was installed, the irrigation line was run through the sleeve. Once this was done, the final necessary connections were made. The holes were then backfilled to complete the process.

As you can see, after a slow start we are in full swing now. I will follow up within the next day or two to show the rest of the green completion process.



Restoration Underway

After much anticipation we finally began the golf course restoration and irrigation system installation on Monday. Although this week hasn't been the best in regard to weather, we are off to a good start. Monday was very productive as a mobilizing day with numerous truckloads of irrigation pipe, supplies, and equipment arriving.

Tuesday both crews hit the ground running. All of the sprinkler head locations have been precisely marked, or "flagged" as we call it, for holes 17 and 18. They have also installed one row of irrigation thus far on #17. 

For the green construction work, we started on #17. After looking at the ground features, Kris marked out where the outer edges of the green surfaces were located (seen below in orange paint).

Kris' crew then began removing the sod from the green and the surround. After the sod was removed, the equimpent went to work removing all of the excess build up material. As they performed this work, the original green surfaces were identified by locating a firm clay layer below the organic buildup.

Although no work could be performed today on the course, we did have a very successful meeting. Kris Spence met with his assistant Nathan Cashwell, Steve Plummer, Bill Glenn, Dunlop White and myself to discuss the features of #17 and #18 greens. We were all in agreement of what was discovered and how we will be moving forward. As soon as the weather clears, the crews will pick up where they left off and keep pushing forward.

This has been a very exciting week for Roaring Gap Club. Now that we have begun, I will begin posting more frequently so be sure to check in and follow along as we work through our restoration!

Bunker Work Nears End

We are slowly but surely getting close to completing our sand replacement project. We are currenly working on the greenside bunker on #2 which is one of the biggest bunkers on the course. After #2 is complete, we still have 2 bunkers on #18, 4 bunkers on #17, and 3 bunkers on #16 to complete the project.

This project has been difficult for a number of reasons. Sand blown around many of the edges of the bunkers has changed the faces dramatically over the years. Typically we want the bunker sand to be between 4-6 inches deep throughout the bunker. As you will see in one of the photos, from the base of the bunker to the grass line, we have accumulated 24 inches which means the ground surrounding the bunker is 18 inches higher than when it was built! When we run into these areas, we must cut the sod around the bunker, remove the excess sand, and then put the sod back down at the intended elevation.

It will take my staff about 3-4 days to complete this bunker alone. We need to shovel the sand out by hand to avoid damaging drain lines within the bunker, cut the sod and fix the surround, fix any liners that are damaged within the bunker, replace the sand and spread it evenly, and finally tamp the sand to compact it to provide a firm surface.

As you can see this is a labor intensive process. While the process has taken longer than expected, hopefully now you can see why it has taken so long to complete the project. Our hope is that the membership will enjoy consistent lies within the bunkers when we are complete.