Seventh Green Improved

Based on how well the partial rebuild of the fourth green went, our architect, John LaFoy suggested we rebuild the front of the seventh hole.  The improvements we are making will allow us to have faster green speeds next year and the slope on the front of #7 needed to be reduced to keep downhill putts on the green.  It was tough enough before the renovation.

                                                                                                   

Just like we did on the fourth hole, we removed the bent sod for the first 20 feet of the green and placed it on the fairway.  Double Eagle then added new top mix (we had some extra from the fourth hole) to raise the front of the green about 2 inches to give us a 2% slope.  The existing slope was 5% which is simply too steep given today’s green speeds. Then they put the sod back on, supplementing with new sod as needed.

Double Eagle then contoured the approach to the green over 20 feet to provide a smooth tie-in to the existing fairway. The approach is steeper, but the green is flatter. Because the approach is steeper, it could be harder to run the ball onto the green, but we will have more on that in the next update. The approach was sodded with new Bermuda grass we used on the rest of the greens.

Mr. Bill Haywood making sure the contractor understands
 that we need more usable flag stick locations on the front of the green

Finished product on the 7th green

The front of the green will be roped off until the bent grows in well enough to survive cutting to green height.  If the weather continues to cooperate, we should be playing on the full course, including four and seven by mid-November. 

Golf Course Construction Complete (Almost)

On Tuesday of this week, the Green Committee met with John Lafoy (our architect,) Marc Gooden (Double Eagle, our builder,) and Jay Long to review the course renovation work performed over the past month.  The Committee was extremely pleased by the design and the workmanship and with only a short list of items to complete, we signed off on the project.

What is next? We still have some drain pipes to install and we need some help from Mother Nature.  The more warm weather we get, the better it will be for our new Bermuda grass sod. The bent grass sod will do just fine in this cool fall weather, but the Bermuda will soon become dormant and will not grow in well until next spring.

The biggest change you will notice is on our fourth green.  Actually you might not notice the physical changes, but we think the change will significantly improve the performance of the green next summer.

Jay Long has long felt that the top mix layer on this green was too thick.  USGA guidelines call for 12 inches of top mix with an allowed variance of ½ an inch.  We took samples on the green and found as much as 20 inches of top mix. When there is that much top mix, a green will not experience a problem right away. Initially, drainage through the soil is satisfactory, but over time organic material that should pass through to the gravel layer builds up which causes the green to retain moisture. This inhibits root growth and bent grass cannot survive the summer.

So last week we did a mini-rebuild of the fourth green:

Venture Turf took the bent grass off the green and stored it to the side

Double Eagle removed the excess top mix.

Double Eagle re-graded the green with the help of our troops

We then put the sod back. We could salvage about half of the sod and we finished the job with new sod.

Finished product

As we removed the excess top mix, we moved from black colored mix down to whitish gray mix. The black colored mix had too much organic material built up in it and now that is gone.

ISTRC soil tests lead us to believe we have similar but less severe problems in other greens.  The solution for the other greens is an aggressive aeration program that we began this fall. We need to remove 20% of the volume of each green each year and replace it with sand.  This means more hollow core aeration with sand top dressing.  No one likes playing on aerated greens, but playing on dying grass is even worse.

Next week, an update on Hole #7.

We are almost there!

The course will officially open on Tuesday, October 28, 2014.

(Weather permitting and golf course conditions allow)

Please join us for the opening weekend!

Saturday, November 1 and Sunday, November 2 

8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Join us for complimentary mimosas, bloody marys, egg and sausage biscuits and other breakfast items at the first tee!

When you play again you will notice 5 differences in playing conditions:

1. The new Bermuda grass sod surrounding the green will be cut higher while the grass is getting established. It will not be cut to fairway height until next spring and we are certain it has grown in well. In the meantime, it will be difficult to putt from off the green, but Jeremy and Sean are available for chipping lessons. 

2. The edges of the greens do not have a collar or fringe. Each green has a three foot wide perimeter of the new bent grass sod. This new sod will eventually be mowed at putting surface height which is about 0.12", but it will not be moved at that height until it is well established. Next year we will create collars around our greens by moving the Bermuda grass shorter than fairway height. Normal fairway height is 0.5" and our plan is to cut a three foot wide Bermuda grass collar at 0.3" when conditions allow.

3. There are still places on some greens inside the newly sodded area that are bad.  We are aware of those places. We feel the overall improvements in the greens will allow these areas to recover on their own or with plugs.   Once the major construction is complete, we will be able to focus on these specific areas on a green by green basis.

Jeremy Franks and Bill Haywood looking at problem spots on the 14th green

4. There are piles of dirt in the woods.  It will be tilled and leveled over the winter to eliminate some of the hardpan areas around the course.  Next year we hope to be able to have grass in these areas.  In the meantime, play these areas as Ground Under Repair.

5. Certain bunkers don’t seem as deep.  Lips on some bunkers (10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) have been cut down in order to make them tie in better with the green.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and support.  Come visit your Pro Shop.  They will be glad to show you around the course.

Completed 18th green

Photo Update!

The work on the course is progressing as expected and we are excited about the end results. We have started to sod the back nine and the below pictures show you different steps in that process. While we continuing working on the course, we hope that you are enjoying the other courses in the area. Remember, Jeremy and Sean are still available for lessons during the renovation. Call the golf shop to set up any tee times. 

This sod is coming from North Carolina

Men rolling out the sod

Lining up the sod

Mr. Bill Haywood with Mark

Finished Product! Just needs a little help from mother nature

Construction Begins!

Double Eagle Construction started work on schedule earlier this week.  They have made good progress rough grading the back nine and the practice green. The rough grading should be complete this week.

The next step is fine grading and sodding which is done by a different work crew.  That work is scheduled to start Monday and it should be finished in a week.

 In the meantime, our staff began work on the front nine yesterday, so we enter the period where both nines are closed.  The large core aeration and top dressing will take two days and that will be followed by the soil sterilization of the green surrounds.  Those areas will be covered with tarps for four days.  The tarps will come off towards the end of next week, timed to occur as Double Eagle wraps up the back nine.

We have been fortunate with the weather.  Let’s hope it continues. Enjoy your opportunities to play other courses.  Call the golf shop for more details!

Jeremy Franks with Mark Gooden

Rough grading

Rough grading with Jay Long

Discussing the finished product