A new tree, a Columnar Oak, was planted near the golf cart staging area today that replaced a 'Nellie Stevens' Holly, that graced the area prior. Unfortunately, 3 years ago, an ice storm broke the top out of the Holly, destroying its apical dominance. For the last 3 years, it's been growing wider and wider, like a ball, and getting harder to control. The Holly got to a point where aggressive pruning was required to keep it away from the railings on the stone patio. What was a nice specimen Holly, turned into a not so attractive tree. This species of Oak tree has a very upright growth habit that will fit this area perfectly.
Our contractor is wrapping up the mainline irrigation install on #17! To date, over 2 miles of pipe has been installed. The size of the pipe ranges from 6" up to 12". The next step is running the smaller size pipe (2"-3") to the individual sprinkler heads. This is the least complicated part of the project and it's done using a trencher, not an excavator like the mainline. This means it's easier to cleanup and sod. This phase of the project will go fairly fast...we're anticipating getting 1-1.5 holes done per week. This will allow us plenty of time to get our other projects (the bunkers and the forward tees) completed before Springtime.
We are spraying greens today with a follow up snow mold prevention fungicide combination. The warm weather we dealt with over the Christmas Holiday resulted in some minor turf growth on greens. I want to be sure the succulent leaf tissue is protected from winter disease pressure.