Course Update 1/31/19

Several more trees have been removed behind and left of the green on Lakes #4 to allow for more sunlight in areas with thin turf.  Two years ago we removed numerous trees along the woodline to improve the turf on the green, which helped tremendously.  Since then, we realized the rough surrounding the green needed help and decided to remove the additional trees.

After finishing on #4 we spent one day around the drainage area left of the cart path on #3.  We started thinning out this area back in December, but didn't have the excavator yet for the larger material.  We still have to flush-cut and grind the stumps, but the area looks great now that the junk is gone.

Tree removal behind #4 green to allow for more sunlight and airflow to improve the rough surrounding the green

View of #4 green from the fairway.  3 trees were removed along the left woodline and 5 trees removed behind the green

Thinning out the drainage area left of the cart path on #3 Lakes

#3 after the brush and debris are gone

Course Update 1/24/19

Tree work continues on Lakes #4.  A total of 95 trees have been removed down the right side of the hole and at the end of the fairway near the rain shelter.  This is the most amount of trees we've removed on one hole since starting the tree program in 2016, but the improvement in turf quality of both the fairway and rough will be evident this summer.  A few stumps still need to be flush-cut before grinding begins, then the debris and surrounding area will be cleaned up and prepped for seeding in the spring.  While down around the rain shelter, the staff also cleaned up the overgrown banks of the drainage ditch between #4 and #5 to improve the aesthetics and better define the hazard.

View from right of the cart path near the fairway bunkers on Lakes #4.  This area will be seeded in the spring and maintained at regular rough height.

This is the drainage ditch between holes #4 and #5 after the overgrown banks were cleaned up.  It will be much easier to maintain the banks with rough mowers and string trimmers now that the jaggers and small brush are gone.

Flush-cutting stumps is much easier when using the excavator.  We rent the machine for 3 months during the winter at a cost of $3,000 per month.

Course Update 1/17/19

Tree work continues on Lakes #4 and our productivity has increased now that the ground is frozen.  Several large Maple and Cherry trees have come down along the right of the cart path that will have a noticeable improvement in turf quality.  Another benefit from removing trees is it opens up more width for tee shots at the beginning of the fairway.

View from the blue tee.  Notice how the right side of the hole has opened up by removing the trees that were growing into the line of play.  We also plan to remove a few trees down the left side that are affecting tee shots

Another load of wood being hauled out

This maple tree had a large crack up one side that created an opening for fungus to attack the wood

Here's a view of the infected trunk and you can see the significant amount of wood rot

Course Update 1/10/19

Tree work continues on Lakes #4 along the right side of the cart path and at the end of the fairway near the rain shelter.  So far 40 trees have been removed and we're already seeing more sunlight in the areas with little to no turf.  We're hoping the sub-freezing temperatures last a while to freeze the muddy ground and make it easier to work in these areas.

The mild weather at the beginning of the week also provided an opportunity to test out the recently acquired fairway topdresser.  It took some time to get the settings dialed in, but we were able to topdress Orchard 2 & lower 8, along with Grove 1 & 9 fairways before the rain.  There was 480 tons of sand piled up in the back parking lot at the clubhouse that is meant for one application to all the fairways.  The topdresser unit can hold 6 tons (12,000 pounds) of sand so it will require 80 trips to topdress all the fairways one time.

Topdressing Orchard 2 fairway

Course Update 1/3/19

Tree removal is in high gear now that the holidays are behind us and we're working on Lakes 4 along the right side of the cart path.  Several trees were removed along the left side of the path last winter to allow for more sunlight and airflow around the fairway bunkers, but we quickly determined that more trees needed to come down to achieve our goal of having good quality turf down the right side of the hole.  Removing the trees will also keep the fairway and surrounding rough drier.

Chipping the first of many trees

Trees are removed first then the stumps are flush-cut and ground down

The maintenance staff hard at work

All the trees right of the cart path have damaged trunks that will eventually lead to death of the tree

A majority of the trees removed so far are showing signs of wood rot that most likely started because of a damaged trunk and/or compromised roots

Surface roots cause problems for golfers and mowing equipment, and are typically associated with poor soil conditions