Staples No More!!

I thought this picture would be an eye catcher!! To date, we have completed removing the staples on 21 of 71 bunkers on the course and this photo shows just how many staples are in the old bunkers. By our counts, we estimate that there are 9 staples per every square foot. That means a single 2000 square foot bunker contains as many as 15,000 - 18,000 staples, maybe more!!

The Klingstone work continue again today with an antcipated application to the 7th fairway bunker sometime around lunch. When complete, all the bunkers on holes 7-10 will be complete.

Klingstone and Pro-Angle Survive the Down Pour!!!

Great news to report today! Last week we applied the Klingstone product to five bunkers and installed the new Pro-Angle sand in them. Although we did that test bunker on #6 earlier this year, yesterday was the first large scale test of how the two products would hold up to a good downpour. The course received 1" of rain during the day yesterday. 0.4" inches came as a steady rain the morning, but later in the day we got hammered with 0.6" is less then 15 minutes. One of the hardest downpours I have seen in some time. I am happy to report that there was not one single issue with the 5 completed bunkers.



The Klinstone product is sprayed directly on to the soil using compressed air and a standard garden hose.



While the Klingstone is still wet, a light (1/2") layer of the Pro-Angle sand is placed throughout the bunker. This helps the sand, native soil, and klingstone become one cohesive unit.



Here is the right side green bunker on #8 this morning. It's just the way we left it the day before!!!



Here is the right side approach bunker on #10 this morning. Again, nothing has moved!!!

Grass!!!

After starring at soil for the better part of two months, it so nice to see the emergence of new grass plants. We have now completed the seeding of all areas, except the first tee, and are seeing great germination of the seed all over the property. From a distance, it is starting to look like a golf course again.

The greens are coming in beautifully! We have successfully mowed all 19 greens twice now with little to know issue. When mowing newly established turf, you are always nervous since the mowers can do significant damage if there are any issues with the grade. I am happy to report that through the first two mowings there is hardly a blemish worth mentioning. The tees have germinated and are growing in quite well. I think we may be mowing grass on these new surfaces by the early stages of next week. The fairways are filling in quickly and I anticipate mowing the first set (5, 6, 13, 14, 15 and 16) late this week.

The contractor is now focused on the bunker portion of the project. We have already begun applying the Klingstone product to a hand full of the bunkers on #'s 8 and 10. We anticipate this portion of the project to last for approx. one month. I am really excited about bringing the Klingstone/Pro-Angle combination to the membership next year. The responses to the test bunker of #6 were nothing but positive so my expectations for success are very high on this component of the project.

As a side note...Just yesterday I re-gained Internet access in my temporary office so I will try to post a bunch of photos of the work tomorrow.

Seeding Tees

I am still a little out of sorts as a result of the fire so please forgive the lack of photos. I'm hoping to have Internet access at the office sometime this upcoming week and that will let me more easily post some photos. As it is, I am having to do these posts from home at late hours of the evening.

Today was a great day as we managed to get 13 holes worth of tees seeded today. We should see germination in those by the weekend. Only 8-10 and number one are left to seed and those will be done very shortly. The contractor continued prepping the remaining tees for sod today and by the end of tomorrow should only have number 10 and 1 to accomplish.

By now, most of you have noticed the greens have germinated and are steadily filling in. It has only been 7-10 days since the initial seeding depending on the green. We tried to kick start the growth further today with a fertility application. Our current thinking is to begin smoothing these surfaces using the greens mowers - with the mowing reels off - late this week. If successful, we should be mowing these greens for the first time one week from today.

With the construction of greens and tees nearly complete, MacCurrach has already begun to remove the old sand from the bunkers. We anticipate it being full steam ahead on the bunkers late this week or very early next week.

I hope to post photos soon, please bare with....

Back in the Saddle!!

This has been a week to remember and one that I am ready to put behind us. With all the fire inspectors, insurance adjusters, and estimators that have visited the property this week, it is amazing that anything was accomplished.

I am happy to report that much was accomplished this week and the credited clearly belongs to Assistant Superintendent's Dan Koops and Andrew Harrel. If you have never had the opportunity to introduce yourself to these fine young men, please do. They are both destined to be Head Superintendents in the very near future and we all owe them a great deal of gratitude for the way they absorbed the tragedy and pressed on.

The work accomplished this week is impressive and the greatest sign that things will soon be back to normal. As of this evening, only the 3rd, 17th, and 18th fairways remain to be seeded. The seeding of fairways has gone smoothly and we expect to see germination any moment. The greens have germinated beautifully over the last few days and we expect to mow them for the first time by September 11th.

The finishing of the tees is cruising along and by the end of tomorrow only holes 8-10 and the first tee will remain. I anticipate seeding the tees as soon as the fairways are finished, maybe Saturday afternoon. The tees will for sure be completed by the deadline of September 8th.

Again, I want to thank everyone who has expressed concern for our department in the aftermath of the fire. Your thoughts and concerns have helped keep the spirit of the department up. We are looking forward to a "greener" future. I, for one, am tired of looking at dirt and sand!!!