We are about to have some great weather as the golf season nears.  Tarps come off Tuesday and play will begin off the first tee on Friday.  Greens three and four will open then.  The fifth hole will remain closed until it is ready for play.  Fifteen will continue to have a temporary tee as well.  As tempting as it is the sod needs to root and get established before we can play on it.  Please stay off the new sod!  Tree removal is complete for this winter and now we push to clean up with plenty of sod and spring seeding occurring. 

A nice forecast for the start of March.  In like a lamb?

Our tree contractor did an outstanding job.  Fifty-seven trees were removed in thirteen days.  Here Frank Delph does a photo shoot supported by a crane on eighteen.

This multi-trunked oak has been watched carefully for over twenty years.  The decision was made to remove it and for good reason.

Frank showing the size of this tree before removal.

Pretty remarkable it stood as long as it did.

Their chipper devouring a white pine.

Crazy weather!  Here Shawn waters very dry bentgrass with our sprayer.  He used nine tanks to bring it back to life.  The rain that followed was perfect!

Internal drainage continues and should wrap up soon.  Here drainage is installed in the expanded collar behind seven green.  

Our crew has completed cutting back growth from all pond and creek banks.  Check out Oscar in the water cutting back saplings!

A look at some of their nice work from the fifth hole.

Another view.  We will spread wildflowers in many of these areas soon.

Hauling off logs.

Our red tail hawks are nesting in a different pine this year.  Our course provides habitat for many different species of wildlife.

 

 

 

 Golf season is fast approaching.  Dry weather has allowed our crew to really move on course work.  Last season's growth has been cut back around almost every creek and pond bank.  Fresh chips have been spread throughout the course.  Our crew did an outstanding job building a walkway for members to enter the club from the Rygate community.  The tree removal project has gone well and will wrap up next week.  The course looks very open and will take some time to adjust to the changes.  Next week we begin repairing any damaged turf after picking up the stump grindings. We plan to use plenty of sod and seed in March.   Once the tree's leaf out the existing deciduous trees will shine!  Golf course construction is moving along as well.  The bunkers on 15 will be finished next week.  Internal drainage in specific fairways will be the last part of this winter's improvements.

Waiting for the frost to lift before drainage installation in 7 approach.

Spraying the polymer in the Better Billy bunkers on 15.

Sod installed on 15.

The bunkers before adding sand at sunrise with new fairway turf.

What a clean, open look.  The tree pruning is exceptional.

New chip bed behind 13 tee.

Logs waiting to be hauled off property.

Cutting back ornamental grasses.

Mr. Julio pruning our roses.

Less than two months away!

 

 

 
 

  Rain and warmer temperatures moved our crew inside Thursday and Friday to work on golf course accessories.  Tree and construction improvements stopped as well but has resumed this week. Fescue sod arrived today and will be laid on the fifth hole to cover exposed soil and around the new bunkers on fifteen.  The Better Billy gravel layer is in place and ready to be sprayed later this week.  New internal drainage will be installed on holes 1, 7, 10, 15, and 18 as we get closer to wrapping up phase one.  These areas have been marked with orange paint.

Rony and Oscar installing vinyl guard on rake handles.

Oscar in the grinding room sharpening fairway cutting units.

Julio, Jose, and Lu painting tee markers.

The bunkers on fifteen almost there.

Another view as we prepare for rain.

Monday and the gravel layer completed.  

View from the tee showing the bunker flash.

Our crew spreading chips behind 13 tee.

Friday's amazing sunset after the rain. 

 

   

 What a cold January we have experienced.  February is starting off cold as well with temps at 18 degrees this morning.  This week features a brief warmup and then cold again with a chance of more winter precipitation by the weekend.  While the cold has stopped construction tree removal is humming.  Approximately fifty trees will be removed with about one third of the work now complete.  Seven days of contract pruning also was completed last week.

The locust at the first tee looking very much like our signature logo.

Three red oaks pruned to perfection by the practice green.

Some new views of the course- Looking at seven from two green.

Another view looking back towards the seventh tee.

The seventh hole with no more pine trees.

Logs hauled off site.

Spreading chips on our nature trail.

View from two fairway after a nice prune on the oak.