We're Trying!

More rain, same old story.  We are making progress but now we are dealing with mud.  The good news is the retaining wall is just about done, the new black tee up by the patio will be getting mix today and we are going to attempt to start drainage today.  If all goes well, we should have the mix on the lawn area by the end of the week and then hopefully next week get the steps in, install electric and irrigation and lastly sod the area.  A lot of moving parts but the weather has not been cooperating.

Old Practice Green Going Away

Now that the new practice green is constructed and growing nicely and the 18th hole is completed, we are moving on to removing the old practice green.  The 6000 sq ft practice green will be bulldozed to create a 10,000 square foot lawn area that will serve as the blue tee, a dining area, a tent area for big events and other recreational purposes.  The tee will be sodded with the same grass as our range tee and mowed at the same height.  When completed this will mark the end of a very busy spring for our staff who stepped up and did a great job on all the construction work.

New 18th Green Complex Open

The design of Steve Smyers has been brought to life on the 18th hole.  Battling through difficult weather from day one, Randy Ray the shaper and our staff were able to get the product completed.  Phase 2 will take place in the fall when the entire fairway will be reshaped.

First Mowing on New Practice Green

The new practice green was sodded last Wednesday and yesterday was our first mowing to try and keep top growth under control.  We added 4 amendments to the soil before sodding and fertilized the green after.  We already have some root growth starting so we want to keep up with the top growth.  Mowing heights will slowly come down after a few weekly topdressings and a another plate compacting. 

Another Step Closer

The practice green was sodded today about 2 days later than our target date we set back in November.  Thanks to New England Turf who came in today to lay the sod for us.  With high temperatures and low humidity we have our hands full trying to keep more than 6 loads of sod alive.  We are hoping to have most of the remaining sod laid tomorrow, leaving only the bunkers and some other misc. work to do to finally complete this project.  Once completed, we will move up to the clubhouse and remove the old practice green.  Most likely this will take place on May 15th so we can concentrate on the golf course and finishing up 18 next week.  While we are only in early May, we have not put all of our resources into the golf course to date and we need to start putting our manpower on the course to get conditioning on track for the upcoming season.  A week or so of concentrating on the course will get it on track for the upcoming season and then we can move on to removing the practice green.