Planning, Planning, Planning

 

Never underestimate how much space you need to create a construction compound.  The entire area by the old house is being used to store materials, equipment, offices and fuel for our irrigation project.  Once the construction gets going it will grow even bigger.  This is a major project with a major contractor!

Irrigation Underway

 

The official flagging of golf holes is beginning with Paul Roche (irrigation consultant), LaBar Golf Irrigation (contractor), Ewing Irrigation (distributor) and Rain Bird Irrigation (supplier) on site.  This is the official beginning of our new irrigation system installation for the next 4-5 months.

Good Improvements

 

Above, the staff ran a 12" trunk line to alleviate the drainage sumps on 18.  This 12" will continue up towards 18 green later this year to provide a drainage source for the new green on 1, all the new bunkers on 1 and all the restored bunkers on 18.  Before, during prolonged wet spells, the sumps would fill up keeping water in the bunkers.  This will not happen going forward.

Belgium block curbing was installed along the practice green to help protect the cart path edge from carts and utility vehicles from pulling off into the grass.  Being a high impact area and visible from the clubhouse, this will clean up the area and offer options for cart path reductions in the future.

A Welcoming Entrance

 

When you look back at our original entrance, it was a miracle there were not more accidents.  The pinch point was right where cars were swinging in and cars were trying to get out.  Now, our entrance will allow cars to safely turn in and out and also allow trucks to make deliveries without damaging our plants.  A great improvement!

New Employees

 

We have officially entered the autonomous world!   We are starting with 2 mowers and if the mowers continue to mow like we have seen, we will definitely be adding more to our fleet in the coming years.  The self adjusting height allows the mower to mow low, then automatically raise the height to mow rough areas.  Ideally practice areas and rough are where I think this will fit in at Arcola.  They mow 24 hours a day unless charging so stay tuned for more updates.

Data Based Decisions

 

Often times we are asked how fast the greens are or how firm they are.  With the new USGA GS3 ball and Deacon app, we can now provide numbers for how fast, firm and true they are.  The USGA determines numbers for each matrix so we know how we are doing on a daily basis.  With moisture meters that sync with this app and apps that provide growth regulation data, we can now have more control over our inputs daily and are able to make more data based decisions every day.

GS3: A Look at How to Use the USGA's New Smart Ball