Signs of Spring (but not for long)

 It felt good to pull the covers off the new greens 2 weeks ago to see how they look.  They have been under snow cover since mid January. 

A small Arcola Grounds staff have returned and are busy sodding the new tees on 9, 16 and 17.  

LaBar Renovations returned for the first time in 2 months on Monday and are busy prepping for sod.  Sod will start flying on Wednesday and continue until Mother Nature stops us.

What a Winter!

 Just as we were starting to make progress, some snow events hit us last weekend, leaving about 4" on the ground.  With the cold temperatures, the snow will not melt quickly enough.  If that's not bad enough, the forecast is calling for another 8-12+" this weekend, followed by a week of frigid temperatures.  

This means we have to let the snow melt and the frost out of the ground before we can start to make progress again.  The last snow melt and frost thaw made the course a mess and we can expect it to be a little worse this time!

Back At It!

 

LGR and LGI are back at it again following the snow melt.  Cap Con cannot be installed with cold temperatures but they are able to rough shape in new bunkers and once approved by Andy, they are draining them.  A good start with such poor weather this winter.  Once we do get good weather, we will be able to start installing Cap Con, bunker sand and more fairway sod.  

Time Stands Still

 Mother Nature decided to give us a legitimate winter so far.  Only 10 days into winter and we already have had 3 snow events and cold temperatures that rarely get out of the 30s during the day.  We figured this into our planning before the renovation but we always expect to get work done during the winter months.  This picture from the new 1st tee says it all, machines sitting idly with little grass exposed.  Once the weather turns the corner and warms up we will be back at it again and still plan on finishing by the contracted dates.  A course that has been buzzing with activity since early September now sits alone.

Pump House Delivery

 

Santa came early yesterday as our new pump station was delivered from Wisconsin.  A multi step process to get the station off the semi and loaded onto a flat bed to get off loaded by 13.  A crane had to remove the roof from our pump house to remove the old station and set the new one.  We will not be able to check it until mid March when we can power it up, but so far it looks good!  We now have the capability to deliver water quicker to our fine turf areas during the day and get the golf course watered more efficiently at night.

Progress is Slowing

We had a great September, October and part of November, but the last 4 weeks have not been good weather-wise.  Cold temperatures, rain and now snow twice in the past week and a half has slowed our progress significantly.  CapCon cannot be poured in bunkers if the temperature will be below 35 for 24 hours and we have not had night time temps above 32 for close to 3 weeks.  Add in frozen soil and it has been difficult to finish anything.  LGR and LGI have been finding ways to at least get bunkers shaped and drained and get irrigation in the ground, but the finish work is almost impossible.  We still have 2-3 months of winter to go and we are banking on getting a lot more work completed if the weather cooperates.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Putting The Greens to Bed

 

Part of our annual ritual is to bury the greens in sand and then aerate on top of them using solid tines.  This is important for helping with drainage, thatch dilution and traffic during the winter months.  This will be the first winter since 2011 that the greens will not be open for play due to the renovation.

This year was a quiet year for aeration on greens, tees and fairways due to the renovation beginning in the fall and shutting the course down in early October.  With 5 new greens and 4 others with XGD drainage installed in October and November, we have had to be careful where and when we aerated.  The XGD greens were fine following the aeration and the new greens received minor aeration two times with 3/8" hollow tines before we covered them and buried them in sand.  Depending on weather, we should be in a good position come late March.