Welcome to the Jungle!

 We have begun clearing tree-lines around the course to bring a cleaner look to Rivercrest as well as increasing the turf health surrounding these areas.  The crew have been hacking, slicing, raking away the underbrush between holes 11 and 12, 10 green, 10 fairway end, and 9 gold tee. The end of 10 fairway was cleared so that the entire fairway could be seen from the black tees. This not only allows us to utilize the entire black tee, but allows better airflow to the bottom corner of the fairway which has been difficult to maintain.

Thick underbrush along 12 Approach.

Finished look.

 

Even without the leaves 10 green is barely visible.

The guys tearing into the jungle.

Half way there.

Cleared and ready for fine fescue seed.

First look from 10 Black Tees.

Removing underbrush and dead trees.

Complete view from the tee.

Increased airflow to lower portion of the fairway.

Bunker Rehab

One of my main goals this fall and off season is to rehabilitate the bunkers. The bunkers will be depth checked, re-edged, and any contamination within the bunker removed and refilled with fresh sand. One other issue we are addressing is the bunker faces. As the years pass, the green side bunkers will have a tremendous amount of sand splashed onto the grass faces. Many of the bunkers that are southern facing can begin to show decline during the summer as the sand beneath the grass will heat up much faster than the soil. The green side bunker on number 1 poses more challenges due to its southern facing banks (rapid heat up)as well as reduced airflow from the wood-line to the left. After removing the sod from #1 almost 5" of sand was uncovered and scraped away. Once the new sod becomes established we should see much better results for years to come.

Decline due to excessive sand build up coupled with a south facing slope.

Stripping away years of build up.

Re-sodding the face after proper soil amendments were applied.

Finished product!

Face-lift for #15 Bunker

Another of our fall/winter projects is the green side bunker on # 15. This was originally a small pot bunker with sod walls and very little room for a back-swing. We decided to renovate this bunker by raising the height of the floor 2 feet and slightly increasing the overall dimensions. This will allow golfers an unimpeded swing an eliminate the need for a sideways shot.

2 feet of drain pipe added to raise the height.

Soil added and reshaped.

Final hand work and edging before we plate tamped the floor.

New drain installed.

Stapling and gluing down the bunker liner.

15 green side completed!

# 5 Bunker Project Update

We received a little more snow than I was expecting, but that didn't hinder our progress on #5 bunker. Late Tuesday afternoon as the snow was winding down the crew went out and shoveled the sod-cut area around the green and bunkers in preparation for a sod delivery Wednesday. Until this snow storm arrived, we've actually been quite dry through November. This usually doesn't matter during late fall, but with temps in the 60's arriving early next week and our scheduled irrigation blow-out coming up, we needed to get the sod laid while still having access to water on the course.

Waiting for sod.

 

Finishing up the bunker slopes.

        

Walk on/off restored.

New look on # 5

 

# 5 Bunker Project

 One of our many projects this fall was revitalizing the bunkers with new sand to give golfers a more consistent playing surface to hit from. Over 100 tons of new sand has been added to the bunkers to reach a 4" depth over the entire bunker. 

The front center bunker on #5 has become an issue, as many shots will bury into the steep face. This leaves an already daunting shot even more unfair. I decided to follow in line with some of the previous bunker work and create a bunker with a grass face and flat bottom. This should help eliminate those difficult buried lies.

These pictures will illustrate the steps taken to fix this bunker, as well as the surrounding areas of rough turf that have declined from traffic and splashed sand.

 

Pic # 2   Nearly 10 inches of sand!

Pic #1   First step - sand removal

Pic # 3    New bunker dimensions.

 

 

Pic # 4   Removing the years of sand above the bunker.

Pic # 5  Newly shaped front face.

Pic # 6  Reconfigured bunker with liner installed. (Notice left edge of bunker closest to Derek has been smoothed to remove the small pocket seen in the top left of pic #3)

Pic # 7  Stripping away the old sod.

 

Updates to follow soon!

VENTRAC!

We gave our new multi-purpose Ventrac machine a trial run on some of the steep slopes to the left of 2 tee and right of 2 and18 fairway. I have to say, Wow, as this tractor handled the slopes with ease and confidence with the dual wheel kit. The area just to the left of 2 tee would usually take two of our guys 4-5 hours to complete with string trimmers. I was able to finish this section and continue up to the Lejeune's house in just under an hour. The Ventrac has the capability to attach over 20 different implements and will definitely increase our efficiency. Once the natives are cut we will attach the aerovator and punch holes in the 2 inch rough around the course.

Right of 18 Fairway

Getting close to the red zone on the right of two fwy.

New Machines!

Our hard working crew ready to go on the new Toro cutting units!

From Left to Right:  Mariano, Nicolas, Derek, Neal, Me, Mike, Rene, Martin, Corey, Michael, and Kevin.

The walk mowers in the front row will be used this Saturday for the first time. These, along with the five tri-plexes, and two fairway units pictured behind, will bring newer cutting and eco-friendly technology to Rivercrest. This will help us achieve cleaner more precise cuts, ultimately increasing plant health while preserving the environment.

Sunrise

 I know Old Milwaukee coined the phrase "It doesn't get any better than this" but I have to disagree. This is one of my favorite perks of the job.

Deeper, Deeper

 Twice a year, as a golf course superintendent, I get to close the course and have at it with the greens. The days are ever long and tiring but the benefits always outweigh the negatives. Keeping the plants healthy throughout the long season regardless of those filled tee sheets, the daily cut and rolls, remain my number one priority. The deeper and more dense the roots can be, the greater chance for not only survival, but better playing conditions through the tough summer months. This creates a tremendous surface area for the plant to absorb oxygen, water and vital nutrients.

Roots diving deep 1 month after aerification.

18 healed up and ready to go!

                                                                                                                              

Aerification 2012!

Loading up the topdresser for greens. 150 Tons of sand were used for this fall aerification.

A new brush we demoed which has bristles rotating in the opposite direction forcing the sand into the holes.

Results after one pass. Even with heavy sand the brush did an excellent job.

Brushing sand in on 18 approach as the sun went down.

Finishing up a very successful  fall aerification!