ABOVE: Green Tee Golf started this morning on the 12th green. A total of 28 employees are on site and got started by removing the sand from both of the bunkers. Once the sun got up, we focused on removing sod for a majority of the day. Unfortunately the idea of insulating the 12th green with pinestraw and black colored plastic sheeting did not work as well as I hoped. Because of the tight schedule we are on with various scheduled visits, we are not going to be able to reuse the sod from the 12th hole. The 10-day forecast continues to look very cold, with night time temperatures down in the low teens. There is no break in site that would allow us to wait for the green to thaw and still make our deadlines. This will present a minor challenge for us when we are ready for grass. I have a few ideas I'm contemplating and will post more about this in the next couple weeks.
Once the frost lifted we were able to start aerating fairways using 3/4" hollow tines. Our goal is to have all the fairways finished and cleaned up by the Christmas Holiday. Doing this work this time of year inefficient because we can't work full days. Because of cold weather and frost, it's usually 10:00AM before we can get out on the turf to continue aerating.
Today, Tim finished fairways #1, #3, #5 and the first half of #6. Tomorrow, we'll start dragging the plugs and blowing them to the center of the fairway for pickup.
Above, Chris and his team are continuing on the curbing on #11. This project is a lot like building the Transcontinental Railroad in the late 1860's. It goes on forever and hope we are able to meet in the middle along the same line.
Hap is checking on the job that's being done to re-square the three tee on #18.
Above, on the right side of #16, we cut some Rhododendron back that were leggy and inundated with briars and other weeds. We are re-sloping the banks to the stream and then hauling soil that will raise a significant portion of the area. When complete the whole area will be sodded with new turf.
Finally, we have a chipping crew working behind the 13th green today. This is the first step that will allow us to get the necessary equipment behind the green to remove the large, uprooted tree that fell last spring.