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.