Golf Course Renovation Update

The remaining areas of the course that had not opened after Double Eagle finished their work are now open.  This includes the practice putting green, #4 green, and the front of #7 green. In addition, the drain work on the front of #4 and #17, right of #13 and #3 have been completed.  The only remaining work items are the drains on the front of #7, left of #9, left of #12, and left front of #18. 

#7 Before

#7 After

Keep in mind that we are only talking about the subsurface drains that move water off the greens.  If the budget allows, we plan to add fairway drains in the front of #1, #7 and other areas of the course that do not drain well.

The new bent grass sod edge on all of our greens has done well.  It loves the cooler temperatures and it should continue to grow in on mild days when ground temperatures are between 55° and 65° F. 

The Bermuda grass sod appears to be doing well, but it has largely gone dormant.  The final verdict on the Bermuda grass will come in the spring. If it attached properly, it will green up with the rest of the golf course. We seem to have had enough nice weather this fall and we are optimistic that the new Bermuda grass will thrive this summer.

Putting Green

The large tine aeration (5/8 inch) that we did at the beginning of the project is slow to heal (if you look closely you can see where the aeration holes were), but healing as planned.  We will continue next year with an aggressive aeration program, the schedule for which will be determined by our golf course maintenance.  We will have additional testing done by ISTRC next year to make sure we get proper water infiltration rates on the greens.  According to the report done this summer, too much water is being retained in the soil on our greens and we will continue aggressive aeration until that condition is fixed. Their report dated August 29, 2014 is posted on our web site for those who are interested in reading. Click here to go to the website (the document is at the very bottom of the page).

Pro Tips on Pitching

Having trouble pitching over the newly sodded areas? Check out the soft pitch instruction by PGA Head Professional Jeremy Franks.

Setup with the ball in the middle of your stance and keep your weight towards your lead foot.

Rotate your shoulders and arms so that the club is parallel with the ground. Keep your arms and hands relaxed.

Brush the grass keeping the momentum of the club head swinging towards the target. 

Let your arms extend and your body weight move towards the lead foot. 

Hold the pose until the ball comes to rest. This will allow the player to evaluate distance control. Lengthen or shorten the body rotation to adjust for distance change. Do not hit it harder or swing faster. 

I hope this helps you navigate over the soft, newly sodded areas and ultimately shoot lower scores. For more information on this or other types of shots, contact the golf shop!

Practice Putting Green Ready to Open

Previous to the renovation, the ground around our putting green has always been higher than the green. Over the years we paved more of the area surrounding the green.  In major thunderstorms, the drain system around the green is overwhelmed and the green becomes like a creek bed with water rushing over it. 

As part of our renovation project, Double Eagle installed two new drains to the right of the green and contoured the ground. When the drain in front of the green is overwhelmed, the water will flow toward the new drains.  On the left side of the green the ground has been contoured to encourage water to go around to the back of the green rather than across the green. 

The green and the surrounding areas are recovering nicely and we look forward to opening the practice putting green on Friday, November 6, 2014.

The final phase of our renovation project was to evaluate and repair the drainage system in each green.  The first step was to dig holes in the top side of each green to locate the beginning of the drain lines.  When all the greens were rebuilt in 1996, with the exception of #1, the contractor was allowed to bury the beginning of the green drain line.  This is not in accordance with USGA guidelines and occurred because we did not properly supervise the 1996 construction.  Our staff has located the beginning of each green drain line and installed an access pipe that allows the drain lines to be flushed out with water, air to be blown in the drains, and a camera to be inserted to inspect the drain system. 

We were able to run a camera through the main trunk of each drain line and we found the drains on 1/3 of our greens were stopped up.  We cannot inspect the branches, but they seem to be performing well.  The blockages were largely due to crushed lines and/or negative slope on the line from the original construction.  Fortunately all of the problems were off the greens so the repairs can be made without damaging putting surfaces.

The three greens on the course with the worst problems are #4, #7, and #17, where the drains were completely blocked. The drains to the right of #3, left of #9, right of #13, and off the front of #18 are not as severe but they need to be repaired too.  We also will add a catch basin to the left of #12.  These repairs will involve digging in the ground so please be patient if you see this work in progress while playing.