It's a spectacular day in Highlands with high temperatures in the upper 50's! One of our main objectives for the day was to get the tees and greens sprayed with a second preventative fungicide application for snow mold. Our first application was made back in December. Snow mold is very easy to treat on a preventative basis but can be difficult to gain control of it after it takes hold. Curative fungicide applications are more costly and less effective.
We are also working today to pick up more sod on the 3rd hole. Wednesday, our first (of many) truckload (9,000ft2 or 18 pallets) of Kentucky Bluegrass will be delivered. This sod will be used on #1 green surround, #15 and then #3. This winter, we will re-sod approximately 2 acres worth of rough on the golf course.
With the sand removed from the Front 9 bunkers, the team is going back and removing the 2" gravel layer that is below the sand in the bunkers. It's important to keep the gravel and the sand separate. The sand removed will either be reused in bunkers or it will be used in drainage ditches at the practice facility or #7 fairway. Some other sand may also be used to topdress fairways and approaches provided it's clean and not mixed with any gravel.
The exciting news today is the Hap started the irrigation system on the Front 9! As reported, the irrigation project is complete and we are pushing water through the whole system to be sure there are no issues with any of the pipe and fittings. The system will remain primed for the next few days so we can run sprinkler heads and be sure they are properly distributing water. The weather looks like it will remain nice, until the weekend. We will depressurize the system on Friday, in anticipation of more freezing temperatures.
Our tree removal and trimming efforts are finished for the year. Young Tree Service has a stump grinder on site, getting rid of tree stumps. This will take about 3 or 4 days to get around the whole course.