I hope it is always evident that each day we are looking at ways to improve the club down to the smallest details. For some background, about 7 years ago, we did a little bit of winter time earthmoving and landscaping project to improve the area below the stone verandah. The purpose of this was to create an area for events that could easily be tented. The project was a success and each year since, you've seen the tent go up like it is right now for the 4th of July holiday. Driving stakes in the ground to support the tent isn't an option because it not only can damage the turf, but there is a network of irrigation lines, electrical lines and other infrastructure below ground that could be severed by one of these tent stakes. Therefore, the folks who we rent the tent from use 55 gallon plastic drums, that we fill with irrigation water, to be sure the tent stays fastened to the ground. There is nothing wrong with the water barrel method other than (in my opinion) the area isn't as attractive as it could be.
This morning, my sidekick and I marked the exact location of every barrel surrounding the tent. In all, there are about 35 barrels used to support the 3 structures that are currently standing, using just shy of 2,000 gallons of water. By weight, that's 15,400lbs. of water or 7.7 tons of water supporting the tents.
As you can see, the plastic barrels go on for as far as the eye can see. This winter, I'd like to enhance this area further, by installing concrete footers with large eye bolts sticking from the top. This puts all the support infrastructure below ground, eliminating the bulkiness of the 35 water barrels. The cement footers and eye-bolts would be recessed below ground and covered by a valve box, so they would be flush with the ground and hidden from view when the tent isn't on site. This project would also include laser leveling the area and regrassing- provided the equipment is on site for the potential golf course work the Green Committee is now discussing. All in all, its a win for the Club because we'll have a much more attractive tent and it's a win for the tent folks because it reduces the time and effort required to set up this tent a few times a year.