New tee location

New tee #2

Here is a sneak peak from the new tee on #2.  We have added a bit of yardage to the blue/white teeing area, but more importantly the severe dogleg has been softened, and a driver will be more tempting to pull from the bag!  This tee complex was grassed this week, and is now in the grow in stage.

Newly planted tees

#11 Tee

This was a great week for progress on the course.  No storms to contend with and plenty of sunshine.  Above is a picture of the 11th right side blue tee just after sprigs were laid.  Other tee tops that were sprigged included #2, #3, #9, #12, and #17.  These newly planted tees will take a number of weeks to fill in before they are ready for play.  As a side note, I cannot get over how great the sky looks in this shot, and that is without any filtering! 

Range work completed

Range Tee

Work on the driving range tee is now complete.  The final sprigs were laid yesterday.  It will take a number of weeks before the new grass tacks down and begins to spread.  Once I think they are out of harms way I will allow practice from the back portion of the tee.  This will be no sooner then the beginning of August.  The newer areas, which include the chipping green, bunker, and chipping area, will remain closed to practice until further notice.

We are also making progress out on the course with tees completed on holes #3, #11, #12 and #17.  Also bunkers on #1, #2, #3, #7 and #16 have received work.  These areas will be grassed by next week.  Tees on #2 and #7 will be completed next, with the remainder of the work finished by the end of the July, first couple weeks of August.

    

Day 18

Day 18

Just take a look at what 1 week difference looks like.  The previous post was from the same position just a week ago.  Since then the sun has returned and we have begun mowing.  If sunny, warm weather continues the putting surfaces will rapidly fill-in.  Mowing will almost be an ever day occurrence from here on out.  Practices such as topdressing and rolling will take place to smooth the surfaces and get them ready for play.  Next week we will put the final touches on the collars with some new sod.  At that point it's just a matter of time and growth before the greens will be ready for play.   

Day 11

These last few days have been a true test to see how much rain a newly sprigged green can take.  We have experienced some moving of the sprigs, but overall it could be much worse.  I have recorded over 6 inches of rain in the last 10 days, and almost 10 inches in the month of June.  Let's hope for a dryer July.  The greens continue to grow, even through all the rain.  Above is a picture of the putting green just 11 days after planting.     

Chipping green and Practice bunker

With all the rain the last 10 days its been quite difficult to get things done on the course without making a muddy mess.  We were fortunate this past week to get a load of sod from our supplier.  They too are having trouble with harvesting there product when their fields are underwater.  We will resume with laying sod and planting sprigs once the fields dry out enough.  Above is a picture of the new chipping green and practice bunker at the driving range.  The practice bunker will be duel purpose for both shots to the green, and shots out into the range.

Day 5

Just after a few days from planting the greens, you can see some positive signs of the new sprigs beginning to establish.  I would consider it a huge success if we can make it until this weekend without encountering any substantial thunderstorms.  These new sprigs are quite prone to washing with heavy downpours.  Once we get past day 8 or 9, that threat will become less and less.   

Planting of the greens

Putting Green

17 greens were planted on Thursday June 20th and the remainder 5 were planted the morning of the 21st.  The picture above is of our putting green on day one.  The sprigs were shipped from Texas in a refrigerated semi-truck and arrived quite early this past Thursday.  A crew of 6 were responsible for shaking the sprigs on all 22 of our putting surfaces.  I liken the process to a landscaper pine-strawing a planting bed.  Once the green is sprigged, we then cover them with sand and begin the watering process.  It is critical we not allow the sprigs to dry out, so frequent watering will be evident over the first week to ten days.  In just a few short weeks from planting we will begin mowing and establishing them as fine-cut putting surfaces.   

New Pond Bank

#10 Pond Bank

The bulk head removal on #10 pond bank is complete.  We are now in the finishing stages of grading and laying sod.  The grade matches up well with the remainder of the pond.  In a couple of weeks you will not even notice that anything was ever done.  I am very pleased with this new look, and hoping that future improvements to our pond edges will consist of this method.

Fumigation

Over the past couple of day tarps were pulled over all putting surfaces and the greens were fumigated.  This is an important step in our conversion process to insure a sterile planting environment when the new ultradwarf is planted.  These covers will be removed the end of this week so we can make final preparations before the sprigs are planted next week.

Driving Range

With just a few days under our belt, the driving range is taking shape.  Once completed the range will add nearly 50% more teeing area.  The practice chipping area is also getting a face lift.  A new elevated green along with a practice bunker will be built to greater mimic conditions one might find out on the course.  Below you can begin to see the bunker taking shape, as well as the elevated green on the other side.

And so it begins

This week begins the first process in our greens conversion.  Unwanted bermudagrass has contaminated our bentgrass putting surfaces.  This bermudagrass is not the same as what will be planted in a few weeks.  In order to insure total eradication of all unwanted grass, we are taking all precautions possible.  Here some of my staff are making spot applications of those contaminated areas.  This process will be replicated a couple times before the entire surface is treated.   

2013 Member/Guest

2013 Member/Guest has no come and gone.  What a great stretch of weather we had for the 3 day event.  The golf course showed off its' beauty as only it knows how.  A special "thank you" goes out to the Golf Course Maintenance Department in the preparations leading up to the event, as well as the daily set-up and  conditioning.  My staff spends numerous hours with the little details, making sure no areas are overlooked.  Great job guys!


  

Welcome!

This is the first post of the official Dunes Club Golf Course Maintenance blog. With an extensive greens renovation scheduled to begin in June, we hope that you will follow our posts and stay up to date with the progress. Here, you will also find other tips for keeping the course in immaculate condition and miscellaneous tidbits of information along the way.

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