It's only the 2nd day of work and nearly all the greens mix has been removed from the 12th green. The bunkers are cleaned out and most of the turf has been removed from the green surround. There is a good chance that we will be starting to do the same on #14 green, tomorrow. By December 19th, our goal is to have the subgrade of each green complete and ready for our architect, Ron Forse, to sign off on his designs and be sure the slopes are exactly what he envisioned. To be clear, what you are looking at here is sand being removed from the existing green. In another week, I'll be posting drone shots showing the shape of the newly expanded green on #12. The 12th green will be about 700-800ft2 larger than what we have now. The front left bunker will also nearly double in size while the bunker on the right will remain as it currently is. The shape may change slightly but not the size.
For many years, the rumor is, the 12th green is built on solid rock! By the end of the week, I'll be revealing whether or not there is truth to that! We aren't far enough along to get into the subsoil just yet. Rest assured, the truth will soon be revealed!
Above: As I mentioned before, we are going to be reusing the greens mix (sand) for the rootzone on the new green. It still needs to be removed so the subgrade can be changed, new drainage installed and the green expanded. In the meantime, the sand is being stock piled on #13, in front of the forward tee. If you look towards the #13th green, you can see some of the rhododendron pruning we are working on in that area.
Speaking of which, those rhododendron have encroached on the back tees on #14. We are not only pruning those back but we are also getting ready to clean up the uprooted tree and other logs in the creek below #13 green. This will be a great improvement and better look!
Above and below, are images of #16 and the project we are working on over to the right of the hole. We removed a substantial amount of briars and weeds that made this area unsightly for so long. We then hauled in a lot of soil to raise the ground level about 18". We are going to reshape and rebuild the stream banks, placing large boulders where appropriate. When finished, everything you see in the photos that is bare soil, will be sodded with Kentucky Bluegrass. This too, will be a huge improvement!
Above, as the fairways are being aerified, the plugs left behind are given a day or two to dry before being run over several times with this chain link fence. This breaks apart the plugs, returning the soil and sand back into the holes left in the ground. The thatch and organic material is left on the surface, where it is blown into a long row, down the center of the fairway. Once that is done, the debris is picked up with a turf vac or raked into piles and picked up by hand.
Finally, below, is probably the most noticeable project taking place if you were to pass the Club on Dillard Road. I have a local grading contractor building a temporary gravel road across the 10th hole, over to the pond. In a few weeks, dredging of the pond will commence and this road will allow dump trucks to access the site. The trucks will be loaded and the sediment hauled off site.
