Course Update 2/28/19

Work continues along the tees on Lakes #8 with 45 trees removed so far.  I anticipate another day or two and we should have this area wrapped up.  It appears the ground may freeze next week from another cold spell, which would allow us to address a few other areas this year.  Despite a few chilly mornings, the dry, sunny weather has been a welcomed break to all the rain!

When leafed out, the large Oak tree to the right of the excavator completely shaded the front corner of the blue tee and was the main culprit for the turf loss.

We're already experiencing a lot more sunlight and air movement on the blue and gold tees with fewer trees.

This view gives you an idea of how much we've cleared along the cart path.

Course Update 2/21/19

We took advantage of frozen ground earlier this week and continued clearing brush and unwanted trees along the right side of Lakes #9 near the green.  We started clearing the right side of the green last year, but ran out of time and weren't able to finish.  This week we picked up where we left off and worked our way back to approximately 100 yards out from the green.  There was a significant amount of honeysuckle, jaggers, sumac and black cherries that were blocking the entire right half of the green no matter where you were in the fairway.  We pruned up and left a couple large oaks and numerous silver poplars to provide a visual indicator regarding the edge of the hazard.  We should be able to finish the area tomorrow by hauling off some logs and doing one last cleanup of the rough.

The right rough near Lakes #9 green always suffered due to the amount of shade and tree roots taking up all the water and nutrients.

This is the right side of #9 fairway looking back towards the tees.  You get an idea of how dense the vegetation was.  Most of the trees are still there but pruned up.

The right side of #9 green has been cleared except for a large maple to the right of the bunker in this picture.  The tree had a considerable amount of dead wood and major structural damage, which made it an easy decision to remove.

Here's the trunk from that maple tree after we got it on the ground.  We could tell it was hollow by how easily the saw cut through the wood while making a notch.

Here's the stump from that same maple tree.  There isn't much good wood supporting a 30" diameter tree so it was the right call to remove it.

Expanded view of the green from the 150 post in the fairway.

Course Update 2/14/19

We lost a couple days to rain, but still making progress around the tees on Lakes #8.  28 trees have been removed so far and I'd estimate we're halfway done.  Similar to other areas, we're finding most of the trees are in decline with varying amounts of trunk damage and wood rot.

I'm very fortunate to have a dedicated, hard-working staff that enjoys being outside no matter the weather.

This type of work would not be possible without an excavator with hydraulic thumb.  We rent the machine for 3 months at a cost of $3,000 per month.

The large oak in the center of the picture blocks most of the morning sun on the gold tee and was too close to the tee for pruning to be effective.

Here's what it looks like now with the oak removed.  A few more trees need to come out to allow for full sunlight.

Here's one of the stumps showing a significant amount of wood rot/decay.  This limits the trees ability to circulate nutrients up and down, and causes the trunk to become weak and less able to support the full weight of the tree.

Course Update 2/7/19

Mother Nature has not made it easy on us the past week with the abnormally warm temps and rain.  The soft, muddy conditions forced us to alter our plans and work in some areas less susceptible to damage from the equipment.  We started the week removing brush and dead trees behind Lakes #2 green, working our way towards #9 then up along the tees.  Following #9 we cleared out the marsh area to the left of #8 approach in front of the green.  Once finished there, we moved to #8 tees and continued removing trees near the water cooler by the silver tee.  We'll be working along the tees on #8 for at least a week given the number of trees that need to come out to allow for sufficient sunlight.  The work area on #8 is less prone to damaging surrounding turf because the cart path is so close to the tree line and there's enough room for the excavator to maneuver in the woods.

While working on Lakes #2 we cleaned up the brush and jaggers along the stream bank adjacent to green

Brush and jaggers removed along the right side of the white and silver tees on #9.  This is looking back towards the blue tee from the silver tee

Lakes #9 from the gold tee.  We can start removing trees down the right side now that the brush is gone and the goal is to see most of the fairway bunkers on the right side.  They are visible now since the trees don't have leaves and it's easy to tell which trees need to come out

We also cleaned up around the bridge on #9 because the brush and vines were taking over the left side

We spent one day in the marsh left of #8 approach removing brush, sumac and willow trees prior to the ground thawing

With the marsh cleared on the left of #8 you can now see the entire green and all the bunkers from the fairway

Tree removal underway near the silver tee on #8.  We'll be working our way along the tees on #8 finishing behind the gold tee