Course Update 3/5/21

We received 1.27" of rain last weekend which made the courses extremely wet combined with the melting snow and ice.  Surprisingly, we were able to work outside all week and finished some tree work in previously inaccessible areas now that the snow has melted.

This large Maple tree on Orchard 1 blocked sunlight on the back 1/3 of the green during the fall. This kept the green wetter than normal and led to unhealthy turf heading into winter. This picture was taken in early September and you can see the amount of shade produced by it.

Here's the same Maple tree on Orchard 1 taken prior to removal. It was a big tree but unfortunately in the wrong location.

Once the tree was down we realized it was in decline due to the size of the cavity and amount of decomposed wood in the stump.

Here's a dead Black Cherry tree covered in vines along the right side of Orchard 4. There were several trees like this that appeared alive during the season but the leaves were on the vines, not the trees. The vine-covered trees were also very unsightly and removing them will make a noticeable improvement for the aesthetics of the hole.

Here's a better view of Orchard 5 green from the fairway with the snow melted. We included a picture in the last post of a Maple tree removed between the fairway/approach and the cart path to improve turf quality in this high-traffic area.

This picture of Orchard 4 was taken from the gold tee. The left side of the tees had become unusable recently due to the vegetation growth along the lake edge. In season, you could only see the tops of the Pin Oak trees between holes 4 & 5 due to the density of the brush.

With the snow gone, the staff was able to safely remove the vegetation on Orchard 4 so players can use the left side of the tee boxes again.

The log staging area at the maintenance building is filling up quickly!

Dead trees along Lakes 5 tees were removed for safety reasons. Notice the bark falling off the trunks.

Flush cutting a stump on Lakes 5 near the gold tee. 5 trees were removed left of the tees.

Here's another stump showing signs of wood decay. This was from a Maple tree near Lakes 5 tees.

View of Lakes 5 and you can see 4 stumps left of the cart path from the trees removed.  The 5th stump is further down, also left of the path near the forward white tee.

Randy started painting the tee markers for this season. The process involves applying a coat of primer, lightly sanding, then several coats of paint. He can usually complete one color per day so a full set of markers requires one week to complete.