Greens Aeration

Day two is a wrap and the first aeration of the spring is officially over!  Today went much smoother.  There were no major mechanical issues and everyone hustled to get the remaining greens finished.  My thanks goes out the entire agronomy team for getting aeration done on schedule.  All 18 holes will be open tomorrow.

Greens Aeration

Punching holes on #3 green

Yesterday was the first day of aeration on greens.  Spring aeration has always been a sign that the spring season is officially here and that from here on out, our days will be filled with mowing, fertilizing, and watering.  The first day was a big success but wasn't without our share of adversity.  Our topdressing machine has some welds break that we had to repair, but the important thing is that we pushed through it and the front nine is open and ready for play as scheduled.  Today should go smoothly with everyone knowing their rolls and being comfortable within the system.
The next few days will be filled with more rolling, blowing and mowing to get the greens back into the best possible condition by the weekend.

The finished product on #9 green

Spring green up

Well, the sun is finally trying to break through the clouds that have been around all week.  The final rain total for the week is around 5 inches.  Besides having to pump the tunnel out every day, the bunker drainage performed wonderfully.  For the first time in many years, we didn't have any standing water in any bunkers.  This is a tribute to the agronomy staff's dedication and hard work during the renovations over the past few years.

The warm weather from last week and the soaking rain from this week have really encouraged the Bermuda to quickly come out of dormancy.  Once we get past greens aeration next week, we will prioritize mowing of all surfaces to get our first wall to wall cut of the season.

Rain

This latest storm has dumped over 3.5" of rain over the last 24 hours.  As you can see from how much water collected in the tunnel, the golf course is closed for play today.  We shouldn't have any issues getting the tunnel pumped out and the course, although soggy, should be ready for play in the morning.

#15 bunker renovation

The impending storm held off just long enough this morning for the crew to get the new sand installed in #15.  Now that the sand is down, the rain cannot contaminate the new drainage we installed on Friday.  Once the area is dry enough, we will finish all the dirt work and install sod in the new basin to the left.

#15 Bunker Renovation

Day two of the bunker renovation has
been very productive.  Since finishing removal of all old sand yesterday, the old drainage material has been removed and additional drainage trenches were dug out.  Our assistant superintendent, Michael Liebe, was in the mini excavator knocking down the old bunker edge on the west half that is to be converted to a sod basin.  Tomorrow we will finish the grading the soil and get the area ready for sod while simultaneously installing the new drain pipe and gravel in the right side of the bunker.  If all goes well, we should be ready for sod and new sand by the end of the week.

#15 Bunker Renovation

We hosted a superintendent's chapter golf outing yesterday, and now that its over, we are jumping right into our last bunker renovation of the off-season.  The bunker on #15 looks okay because the sand in it is fairly new, but the internal drainage is aging and last season it began to hold water.  Today we are working on removing the sand to expose the drainage.  Once that is done, the left side of the bunker will be converted to a sod basin and the right side will be fully renovated with new drainage and sand.

Spring is in the air!

After a mild winter, it seems safe to say that spring is here.  Nights are warming up, Bermuda is waking up from dormancy, and trees are blooming all over the place.  I love this time of year!  We have been taking full advantage of the nice weather and the course is as ready as ever for a busy spring season of great golf.

Wind

The wind has really kicked up today.  We are seeing sustained winds up to 35 miles per hour with gusts over 45.  Come on out today for a true links golf experience. =)