Short Game Tee

The short game tee will remain closed for 2-3 weeks for turf recovery. Extra fertilizer and the lack of traffic will help this area tremendously. This tee is very popular and takes a beating.

Aerification 2013 Update (4)

It has been 5 weeks and 3 days since the first hole was punched in the greens. We have reached the point where all holes are filled and we can now focus on playability. With each passing day greens are becoming smoother and speed is increasing. We will continue to verticut and topdress on a regular basis throughout the rest of the growing season. I would like to thank you for your patience during this time. Below are a couple pics from the practice green.

Aerification 2013 update (3)

Greens: Holes 12 -18 were aerifyed and topdressed on Monday, fertilized on Wednesday and will be topdressed over the weekend to top off remaining holes. Keep in mind that it will take several more weeks before they return to normal.

Fairways: Holes 9-18 were aerified, verticut and scalped. It should take a couple more weeks before the fwys are back to normal.

Tees: Holes 1-18 were verticut and scalped. It should take 10-14 days before they return to normal. Our intentions were to aerify them but due to the frequent rains we were unable to. This will be completed over the next several weeks.

Of the 17 days we have been closed, it has rained on 7 of those for a total of 8.55". To put that into perspective, June and July's average combined is 8.80".

#11 after being aerified

 

Verticutting tees

 

New roots pulled from aerification hole

Aerification 2013 Update (2)

Last Sunday the staff came in and aerified 1-11 so we would be ready to push the plugs Monday morning. That evening it rained heavily and over the next 3 days it rained a total of 5.5". We were finally able to resume the cleanup process on Thusday. Our goal is to aerify the remaining greens and topdress all by Monday afternoon. I'll update early next week on our progress.

Removing plugs from #3

Aerification 2013 Update

A dry week allowed us to accomplish a significant amount of work. Greens were aerified 2 directions on a 2"x 2.25" spacing using .660" tines which impacted 15.34% of the surface area. Following the coring they were cleaned off, rolled several times, fertilized, topdressed, brushed and rolled again.

The International Sports turf Research Center, Inc.(the company that performs our physical soil property testing), along with the U.S.G.A. recommends impacting at least 20% of the surface area per year for our grass type and climate.

Yesterday we were able to begin aerify the greens for a second time. Holes 1-9 and the practice were completed and ready for clean up this morning. Unfortunately we received 2.60" of rain that has halted our progress for now. We will need a couple of dry days before we can resume with greens aerification.

Fairways 1-8 have been core aerified, with 1-6 being cleaned up, verticut and mowed. We will resume when they dry out. Below are pictures from last week.

Check back for an update at the end of this week.

First direction on #18

.660 cores

Prior to sand

 

Rolling following topdressing

New fairway aerifier in action #5 

Verticutting plugs in #1

Aerification 2013

We began aerifying greens yesterday following the Jr. tourney.It will take several more days to complete the process, then we will do all over again next week. I'll provide an update with picture and details later in the week.

Course Pictures

This past week seemed like the perfect time to take some course photos. I wanted to take this time to thank the staff for an incredible job in preparing the course for your enjoyment.

#2

 #3

#4

 

#5

#6

#8

#11



#12

Severe Storm Damage

                Around 4:00 pm yesterday, a small but very strong storm passed over the course. High winds (60mph) and very heavy rain caused bunkers to wash, scattered large amounts of debris and downed 4 trees. Today all of our resources will be used blowing greens and removing debris. Once these items are completed we will be able to concentrate on playability. This process could take through the weekend before the course is back to normal. Check back over the next two days for updates.



#5

#9

#10

#16

#16

#17



Spillway Repair #9

Each side of the spillway had undermined, allowing water to bypass. We lowered the water level a couple of feet, then used 25 bags of concrete to fill the holes. After one or two good rainfalls, it should return to its normal level. Below are pictures of each side.

Why do we aerify greens?

Below is a link to a video on the importance of greens aerification.


 Greens Aerification the by the USGA

Lake Bank Repair #2

Overtime, water shed from the fairway has eroded the corner of the lake to the point it had to be reconstructed. Step one was to build up the original edge and fill the bottom of the cavity with rip rap. The next step was to add dirt then pack to grade. Following the dirt, the area was sodded.



Prior to work being performed 

 Rock added

Prior to sodding



Irrigation Addition

Two heads were added to the left side of #2, providing water to an additional 21,000 square feet of turf. Below are a few pictures of the process.

Hole where tap was made

Holes being dug for heads

Pipe installation

Area in fwy repaired

One of the two heads installed

#15 Creek Work

Work began on 11/5 reshaping the creek that had eroded dangerously close to the cart path. Our contractor spent 7 days excavating, installing a larger pipe, and adding 10 truck loads or 270 tons of rock. Once he was finished our staff prepped and sodded the work site. Below are before, during and after pics.

Before


 

Banks being sloped

Rock being added

Finishing touches

Bunker Sand Additions

Over the past couple of years the sand depths had become critically low. Without enough sand it is extremely difficult to maintain playable and maintenance friendly bunkers. Although we hand rake bunkers on a daily bases, following heavy rain events it is necessary to use the bunker machine to repair them. During this process a push blade and plow is used to redistribute sand. If sand levels are low the machine grabs and tears the fabric lining the bottom.

Last month 8 truck loads or 205 tons of sand were added. Our goal of filling them to proper levels has been accomplished. Remember that it will take several months for the sand to settle. During this time you will see an increase in plugged balls.

Cart Path Update

Broken sections of cart path on #"s 11,12,13,16 and 18 have been replaced. The total area is 2500 sq ft or 312 linear ft of path. Below are a couple of pictures before and after on #13. Thanks again for your patience.

Before

After

Cart Path Repairs

Beginning the week of 8/13 sections of broken paths will be repaired on #'s 11,12,13,16 and 18. If all goes well it should take 6 or 7 working days to complete. During the process dump trucks and machines hauling concrete will be back and forth many times in the work areas. We apoligize up front for any incoveniences this may cause. I'll provide you with an update next week.

Flooding Rains, High Winds and Lightning Damage!

Since midnight we have received 7.20" of rain. Debris has been scattered along creek banks and pinestraw areas have been washed. Bunkers are washed severely and will take several days to restore. Lightning struck the tree next to #3 green and a couple of large trees on #8 were blown over in the high winds. Less than 2 weeks removed from the crippling lightning strike to our irrigation system, it has suffed more damage. Constant lightning has blow many fuses and damaged on couse satellite components.The majority of our resources will used to get the course back in playable condition by the weekend.

Bunker on #9

Trees next to #8 tee

Tree hit by lighting on #3

Lightning Strike

On 7/18 a bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of #18 green. I wrote a short story of the event and the damage it caused and sent it to James Spann of abc33/40. Below is the link to the weather blog that he posted it to. You may have to scoll down because of new material added periodically.

http://www.alabamawx.com/

Verticutting Greens

On Mon.and Tues. of this week greens were verticut and topdressed. Over time bermudagrass greens become so densly packed with plants that is is necessary to thin them out. By verticutting and topdressing it helps to reduce scalping, dilute organic matter, increase firmness and promote new growth. It takes about 3-4 days to return to smooth conditions and about 8-10 to completely heal. This practice is vital to maintain healthy greens.



In this pic the mower is cutting the plants that are stood up as a result of the verticutting.

Grass removed off of the putting green. 

Brushing in the topdressing.