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.

Course Update 2/26/21

 We were able to work outside all 5 days this week and are nearly finished with our winter projects.  Most of our work this week focused on removing dead trees that posed safety hazards in high traffic areas.

Orchard 5 near the green looking back towards the fairway.  We removed the tree on the right to improve the turf conditions in the rough and approach. The remaining tree will now be healthier due to less competition from the other tree for water and nutrients.

Removing dead trees around the restroom on Orchard 5.

Another view of Orchard 5 restroom.

We removed 4 large, dead trees right of Orchard 6 green.

Our Senior Assistant Superintendent, Bryan Morgan, is preparing to drop the tree by cutting a notch in the direction we want it to fall. The bark falling off the trunk is a clear indication of a dead tree.

Here's the base of a Poplar tree that had died on Orchard 6. The lack of bark and amount of decayed wood are likely due to an injury from construction equipment when the hole was built.

Here's the final log to be cut up and removed on Orchard 6.  The surrounding turf will greatly benefit from receiving more sunlight and the area will stay drier.

We removed this dead Elm tree near the creek behind Orchard 3 green. This was a messy tree and we're glad to see it gone.

Having the right equipment makes the work safer and more efficient.

The Elm tree is gone and the area cleaned up. After the stump is ground we will spread topsoil and seed the disturbed areas with a rough mix.

Course Update 2/24/21

 With warmer temps forecast this week we took the opportunity to get out on the ice on Grove 6 to replace the old trash guard that was rusting away.  We've had the new trash guard for over a year, but the pond never froze last winter and we couldn't safely remove the old guard without sliding it across the ice.  Initially, our biggest challenge was getting the equipment down to the pond thru all the snow and ice.  Turns out getting down there was actually a lot easier than getting out as we had to use our big tractor to tow out the other vehicles.

We think this trash guard is the original one installed when the course was built in the early 90's. It just sat on top of the 54 inch diameter galvanized drain pipe that goes straight down for 20 feet then runs under the green and exits out the back hill.

We borrowed a boat to slide the new trash guard across the ice to the stand pipe.  The boat was also there for the staff to jump into in case the ice broke.

The old trash guard has been removed and is resting on its side. There's some grass and other debris frozen to one of the bottom edges that was sitting on the stand pipe. This gives you an idea of how big it was and we estimate it weighed around 100 pounds. We had to tie a rope to it and drag it off the ice using the tractor that was up near the green.

The new trash guard is in place and much more appealing versus the old metal box. This new one should last another 20+ years and will function just as well as the old one.

Course Update 2/19/21

 The amount of snow and ice so far this month has limited our ability to work outside, but we've managed to find access to a few areas to continue tree work.  In addition to the daily maintenance of the parking lots and sidewalks around the clubhouse, on days we can't access the golf courses the staff have been refurbishing equipment and course accessories for the upcoming season, deep cleaning and organizing the staff areas and equipment storage in the maintenance building, and participating in virtual continuing education seminars.  Better weather will be here soon and our goal is to have all the winter projects completed by early March so we can focus on the long list of course maintenance activities this spring.

We removed two pine trees along the cart path near Orchard 7 green that were nearly dead and would pose a safety hazard this year had they been kept. 

We also removed several smaller trees and two Maples that were in decline behind Orchard 7 green along the road.

Here's the stump from one of the Maple trees removed behind Orchard 7 green.  We suspect the tree suffered major damage at a young age due to the hollow trunk and the growth pattern of the live wood.

This Mulberry tree behind Orchard 9 green was removed due to the shade it cast on the practice green during fall mornings. The dense shade led to poor turf quality and heavy frost on cooler mornings, which further delayed opening the green for play.

This large Oak tree between Lakes 8 green and 9 gold tee unexpectedly died last fall and was removed for safety reasons.

We also removed a multi-trunk Oak tree in the penalty area behind 8 green that prevented the blue and gold tees on Lakes 9 from receiving full morning sun.

Here's the stump from the dead Oak tree near Lakes 9 gold tee.  The chainsaw in the picture has a 28" long bar and a smaller person could have stood in the hollow cavity.

The tree was so big that we could only fit two of the trunk logs in our trailer at a time.  The hollow cavity was found in the bottom 10' of the tree, which would have created a serious safety hazard if we hadn't removed it.

The stump from the dead Oak tree had to be cut into quarters due to it's size.  There's a glove near the center of the picture to illustrate how big it was.

All our equipment is serviced and broken/worn parts are replaced during the winter to minimize breakdowns during the season.

Randy, our long-time mechanic, is rebuilding the protective cage on the tractor used to collect balls on the driving range.

Ronnie and Tommy are cleaning and sanding over 300 tee markers so they can be painted for the upcoming season.

Course Update 1/31/21

We were able to work outside 4 days last week and finished clearing at the beginning of the fairway on Grove 1.  We then proceeded to clean up dead trees and other undesirable vegetation along the retention pond left of Grove 1 fairway.  We finished the week by starting to remove the group of Poplar trees along the guard rail on Grove 2 near the gold and blue tees.  The snow storm moving thru today will delay us a day or two, but work will resume on Grove 2 as soon as we can safely get to the area with our equipment.

The overgrown mess near the beginning of Grove 1 fairway.

Here's the same area on Grove 1 after removing the unwanted vegetation.  We now have full access to the irrigation satellite box, and the rough in this area will be much better from increased sunlight and less competition from the trees and brush.

Here's a view of Grove 1 from the white tee.  We kept the large Oak tree on the corner because it's in good health, but removed numerous trees and related brush to the right of it to allow full view of the fairway.  We'll monitor this area throughout the season and determine if additional trees need to be removed to further improve sight lines.

The staff is cutting down dead trees and cleaning up debris on the ground along the retention pond left of the fairway on Grove 1.

Looking back towards the beginning of the fairway on Grove 1.

We're removing this cluster of Poplar trees near the gold and blue tees on Grove 2.  This will provide more sunlight on the tees and surrounding rough, especially in the fall, when these areas stay wet most of the day due to the lower sun angles.

Course Update 1/22/21

 The staff has been busy outside the past two weeks continuing to remove brush on Lakes 5 & 9 and Grove 1 & 8.  A rental excavator is scheduled to be delivered next week which will allow us to begin removing the larger trees on the holes that brush has been removed.  We plan to have the excavator for 5 weeks in order to complete our list of tree work this winter.

Clearing brush on the left side of Lakes 5.

Overgrown vegetation on Lakes 5 doesn't allow for healthy turf and limits visibility during play.

Lakes 5 after brush and small trees have been removed.  Still have some larger trees to remove that requires the excavator's pushing and lifting power.

Removing brush on Grove 8.

Visibility of Grove 8 fairway and green will be much better from cleaning up this area. 

We started removing overgrown vegetation to the right of the cart path near the beginning of Grove 1 fairway.  We anticipate needing another couple days to complete this area.

Dense, overgrown vegetation on Grove 1 choking out the turf adjacent to it.  The entangled mess of vines and jaggers is also visually unappealing.

Course Update 1/8/21

 Happy New Year!

We had a full week of tree work and our focus was on Lakes #7 & #8, specifically areas that still had stumps from previous tree removals.  We also cleaned up a lot of downed branches and dead trees scattered throughout to improve the aesthetics in these areas.

Our arsenal of equipment currently being used

Ground stumps near the water cooler station at Lakes #8 tee

We walk the areas first to locate the stumps and mark them with orange paint

Stump grinding and removing dead trees right of the cart path on Lakes #8

Stump grinding on Lakes #8