As expected, November has been a busy month for the maintenance staff. We completed most of our to-do list even with the 6.1" of rain. The latter half of the month saw mild weather that allowed for some bonus golf, but it also kept the turf growing which needed to be mowed. Fungicide applications for snow mold have been postponed due to the mild weather and continued mowing, but will need to be applied in the next couple of weeks. Daily leaf cleanup has also been a top priority, which includes blowing, mulching, and more blowing. We try to have all playing surfaces clear for play every morning, but many times a gust of wind comes along scattering leaves everywhere and it appears nothing was ever done. Besides the Oak trees, most of the leaves are down and we hope to be done with leaf cleanup soon.
In addition to our regular maintenance, the management team felt it was important to address some of the areas impacted by poor drainage this summer. Today we started that process at the beginning of Orchard 6 fairway. We started by digging some test holes to see if there was drainage pipe in the ground and what condition it was in. Then we rented a machine to speed up the excavation process and proceeded to remove the old, non-functioning pipe along with the clay and muck that was not allowing the water to drain from the surface. Once the trench was dug a new layer of gravel was spread along the bottom and new, free-flowing pipe was laid on top. More gravel was then used to cover and stabilize the pipe. The final steps are to fill the trench with sand and repair the area with sod. It took a little while to get going this morning, but the staff was able to install the 50 feet of new pipe and cover everything with gravel. The plan is to keep working on drainage projects as long as the weather allows this year and we'll continue to work on the Orchard course.
All the photos below were taken today on Orchard 6 fairway.
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Low area resulting in turf loss
from non-functioning drainage |
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| 50 feet of old drainage pipe removed from low area |
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| Excavating trench |
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The two visible drainage pipes were in good shape
and the new pipe was connected to them |
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| Trench filled with gravel and ready for sand |
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| Lower end of trench connected to a catch-basin in the rough |
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