Tropical Storm Thursday Night

It's looking like a couple inches of rain is on the way for Thursday night into Friday!

#13 Rainshed

 

On #13, we are working to make the new rain shelter look a little more natural in that setting.  Unfortunately the ground wasn't properly leveled prior to construction, causing the railings to be mounted entirely too high.  It just looked out of place.  Between the landscaping and the earth work, I think we are able to make this look like it fits in.

Phase I Compete

 

Phase I of the dam project is officially complete!  The lake is now being filled back up and I suspect by tomorrow, water will be flowing over the dam.  Your patience of this project is much appreciated! 

Dam Concrete Poured

 

Despite the afternoon shower, 22 cubic yards of concrete have been poured to encase the new drain valve.  Tomorrow, the forms will be removed and the following day, the lake level should be back to normal.  This completes phase one of the dam work.  Phase 2 is scheduled to begin by December 1st and will involve draining the entire lake.

#11 Approach

 

#11 approach has turned into a challenge this year.  The approach sits on solid rock, about 8-10" below the surface.  Water has been surfacing at different locations, leading to a soft playing surface that is easily scalped.  Rather than wait until the off-season, I think it is important to address the issue now by installing sub- surface drainage, to catch the water before it gets above ground.  If you see us digging drainage trenches on this approach, this is what we are repairing.  

Monday

 

The new valve has been installed on the dam and the forms are set and ready for concrete.  We have a concrete pour scheduled for today.  Weather permitting, the lake will be be back to full capacity by Wednesday or Thursday.  The forecast is looking a little suspect at this point with rain in the forecast everyday this week.

USGA Green Section Record

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#13 Rainshed

Now that the new rain shelter on #13 in constructed and complete, we are working to screen the structure in order to make it blend in a little more to the environment.  

White Grub Control

Over the next two weeks, we'll be treating the golf course 'wall to wall' with an insecticide for white grub control.  The term, wall to wall, means we spray every square inch of the golf course and campus.  

A white grub is the larval stage of several species of beetles.  The most common being Japanese Beetles.  There are four stages of a beetle's life: egg, pupa, larva, adult.  In the world of turf, it is the larval stage that is most damaging because the small C-shaped organisms feed on turfgrass roots.  If turf isn't treated, this can get ugly once the turf becomes compromised in late August, September and October.  Animals like skunks, raccoons, bears and even wild hogs (yes we have them in Highlands) will dig for the grubs, creating a real mess.  Let's not leave out armadillos either, which now call Highlands home!

The life of a beetle starts in late June/July when adult beetles lay their eggs in the grass.  The eggs ultimately pupate and then form a white grub, which hangs out in the upper 2" of the soil, feeding on roots.  When it gets cold in the fall, they'll go deeper in the soil.  When spring comes around, they will rise back up in the soil feeding on turf roots again, before becoming an adult.  From that point on, it all starts over again with the new generation of adults laying the eggs in grass.

The way to prevent all this from happening is to make an insecticide application to prevent egg hatch.  When pests like this are treated on a preventative basis, we can use safer products at much lower use rates compared to what would be required to knock back a population of white grub larva once they become destructive.  

So, if you have a lawn in Highlands, now is the time to have your landscape contractor address this pest.  Animals will not dig up lawns where there isn't a food source.  And if you ever had your lawn uprooted in September by an animal, you know first hand how destructive, not to mention costly, it can be.  The best thing you can do is not take to risk, and treat now for white grub prevention.  

Dam Phase 1

The work on the dam valve replacement started this morning and will continue on through next week.  After excavating the bottom of the spillway, in became obvious the void at the bottom that will need to be filed with concrete.

Thursday

 

With the dredging equipment out of the way, it's time for clean-up of the site!  Our goal is to have this site clean and sodded by next Thursday at the latest!  Your patience on this project has been most appreciated!

Below, I met with the Town Manager, Code Enforcement Officer, Contractor and Engineer at the dam site this morning.  It's important to keep the town abreast on on our work for numerous reasons.  There is also a need for us to relocate a power pole in order to safely remove the necessary trees and also to be able to safely pump the concrete needed during phase 2 of the dam project, scheduled to start in November of 2026.   The intense rains we received have slowed our progress on phase one, but we are still on track to knock it out next week.

Mowing Resumes

After all the rain, we are out making an effort to get all fairways and rough mowed over the next two days.  We try to stay off the turf with heavy equipment when we get as wet as we've been to avoid any damage to the surfaces.  It's been almost a full week since fairways have been mowed!

Rain Totals

 

Wednesday, we received a total of 3/4" of rain, bringing the total to 9.75" for the week.  For the month of May, we received 12.05" of rain.  This means we eliminated the annual deficit by 4.55" of rain.  We are still well over 10" below average for the year.  This shows just how difficult it is to make up for drought conditions.

Dam Project- Phase One- Valve Replacement

 

Our work at the dam continues, although its been made a lot more challenging given the 9.2" of rain we received over the weekend.  This morning, we installed another 10" siphon to lower the water, and we are still losing ground.  Keep in mind, last week, an 8" siphon was able to drop the water level one foot, in as little as one hour!  Once we are able to get the water below the dam level, we'll be able to proceed with the valve replacement.  

Rain Update

Yesterday, we received another 1.2" of rain.  

This brings the total since last Friday to 9".