Rain on the last day of the year is a fitting end to the wettest year on record.  Let's all make a wish for drier conditions in 2019.  The mild weather is allowing us to accomplish some unusual jobs as we enter the new year.  Changing hole locations, rolling greens and raking bunkers are seldom done this time of year and it's a nice change.

 

This is an unfortunate consequence of too much rain and very disappointing.  Please repair divots by replacing the turf or use sand if available.  Replacing the divot is preferred in the cool months of the year and will heal rapidly.  Leaving the divot unrepaired allows an opening for weed invasion.

 

 

Raking bunkers for New Years Day.

 

 

Rolling greens as well.

 

 

Eight tee turned out great.  Here's a picture earlier this year and ...

 

 

 

Here's the new tee and expanded collar. Once the turf greens up it will look significantly better.  

 

 

Our family went downtown last week and look who also has a bemudagrass problem!  Reducing the amount of this weed will be difficult but will be a major focus in 2019.

 

 

 

 

Rain arrived just as the eighth tee project wrapped up.  We removed two maples between it and the seventh green and increased the size of the expanded collar and the results are stunning!  The new tee has nearly fifteen yards more in length and the red tee has been enlarged as well.

 

A view of the seventh green from eight tee.

 

 

Hole eight from the back of the new tee.

 

 

Catch basin in front of five fairway bunker.

 

 

Catch basin on six doing it's thing.

 

 

Basin behind eight green waiting for sod but functioning well.

 

 

Winter is officially here as the irrigation system has been winterized.

 

 

Replacing some bermudaggrass with bent in the 18th fairway.  Reducing bermudagrass will be a priority in 2019.

 

 

While not a huge fan of USGA greens there is no questioning their ability to drain rapidly.  Here's the practice green and conversely....

 

 

The 18th green.

 

 

Topdresssing the 5th fairway.

 

 

Awesome sunrise this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally some dry weather to help us complete projects on the course.  Unfortunately a little too cold for most golfers but what's new.  The weather has not been kind to golf in 2018.  Eight tee is wrapping up as are the leaves on the course.  Firewood splitting is ongoing and is now available to the membership.  It is located in the woods adjacent to the driving range near twelve green.

 

Ready for sod.  You could shoot pool off that surface!

 

 

Bentgrass going down.

 

 

Drain basin on the sixth hole ready for grass.  There are also basins going in on the fifth hole at the fairway bunker and behind the eighth green (two very wet areas).

 

 

Topdressing approaches.  The sand helps firm up these areas.

 

 

Leaf mulching madness.

 

 

All chipping is complete.

 

 

Splitting wood while waiting for frost to lift.

 

 

Three green still frosty at 11:30 on Tuesday.

 

 

Come and get it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finally have a break from the rain but not the cold.  Golf season in essentially over but not maintenance.  Eight tee is proceeding well and looks to wrap up next week.  The crew is finishing up this fall's sod project.  They have replaced almost two acres!  All fairways have been solid tine aerated and bermudagrass areas overseeded   We rented a chipper and begin work on the mess near twelve green on Monday.  If the course remains dry we will topdress all approaches as well (better late than never),   Leaves continue to drop late but appear to be about done.  Hurray! 

 

Eight tee with drainage installed waiting for irrigation.

 

 

Irrigation installation.

 

 

Drainage work on the fifth hole.

 

 

All collars have been reduced to a consistent 24 inch width and additional sod added around.  Excellent project!

 

 

Monday morning felt like a spring day and the fairways responded accordingly.  Unfortunately it lasted only a day.

 

 

A very strange fall.  Here two willow oaks acting very differently.  One has already lost it's leaves while the oak in the foreground is just turning.

 

 

 

 

It's been unseasonably cold this week but we are making a lot of progress with our winter projects.  Construction on the new eighth tee complex began on Wednesday.  The subgrade is nearly ready after two days of work.  Expect to see grade stakes tomorrow and the corners of the tees should be set.  With more rain in the forecast this weekend expect some drainage work to commence on Monday on holes five and six as we wait for the tee area to dry up some.

 

Before construction began on eight we took the best bentgrass sod and sodded both upper tees on fifteen.  These tees have been covered and are now closed for the winter.

 

 

Day one of construction.

 

 

Getting the collars back to a consistent 24 inch width and then sodding with tall fescue.  The height of this turf will be lowered in the spring.

 

 

The course has been so wet we have had to use back pack blowers more than normal to protect the turf.  Here the guys push leaves across the ninth fairway.

 

 

Daylillies on the fourth hole illustrate what a wet year it has been.  Normally these would be back to bare ground.  The dark row in the center is our local deer path!

 

 

We have an abundance of ducks right now.  I counted over sixty mallards and mergansers today.

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  Another really wet month is about to end with now 8.65 inches for the month and totaling 61.25 inches since April 1st at the club.  Not much happiness in that statistic.  Eight tee construction begins on Monday with some more rain in the forecast.  The crew will begin reducing the width of our collars and adding more sod this week as well.  This work should wrap up by mid-December.

 

Prepping for sod on the tenth hole.

 

 

Looks great except for some washouts.

 

 

Next time guys sod staples where the water runs please!

 

 

More bentgrass to be relocated to the 15th blue/white tee.

 

 

Equipment has arrived and is ready to go.

 

 

You wouldn't want to be a tree with a red dot!  Some trees are dead while others are removed to improve turf health and better playability.

 

 

A beautiful red oak on the 12th hole.  Plenty of leaves to fall still.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snow?  Pretty typical for 2018 I guess.  The course received over 2 inches of snow followed by one and a half inches of rain and is closed for the day.  Expect the course to open on time excluding a frost. 

 

A beautiful scene on November 15th.

 

 

A saw tooth oak still green with snow on the ground.  Crazy.

 

 

Burning bush and hollies painting a beautiful winter picture in fall.

 

 

Construction will begin the week after Thanksgiving on the eighth tee.  Here we have marked the gold tee on fifteen for sod removed from the eighth tee prior to construction.

 

 

This tee was completed before the snow and covered for the winter.  We will try and replace some of the forward tee too.

 

 

We treated the greens and tees with fertilizer, fungicides and a wetting agent before rain events and the results were excellent.

 

 

The two maples between seven green and eight tee were removed in preparation of construction.

 

The view looking back at the seventh hole from eight tee.

 

 

Excluding the bermudagrass encroachment our fairways are absolutely beautiful.  We are working on transitioning out the bermudagrass too.

 

 

It's been so long it's worth a mention- this is the sun!