Cultural Practices Have Begun

This week we crossed another milestone marker in the preparation of the new greens. For the first time, we were able to aggressively brush the greens and remove some of the unnecessary tissue. This process involved driving a cart on the greens for the first time...you can imagine my fear...that's why I did it myself. Below are some photos that outline the process.



The first step of the process was to brush the greens with the pull behind unit pictured above. This brush stood up lots of unnecessary tissue that could then be mowed off.



On the right side of this photo, you can clearly see how much tissue is being removed.



Here is a wider view of the mowing process. Just look at how much grass is being removed!



The final step of the process was to mechanically roll the greens to remove any slight impressions that may have been left behind by the cart tires.

This process of brushing is just one off many maintenance items we group under the title of cultural practices. Others include aerification (hollow tine, solid tine and deep tine) and topdressing. These are the critical practices that will ensure the longevity of the new greens. They are the basic maintenance items that help prevent the excess accumulation of organic matter (thatch) in greens and maybe more importantly to you, they are the practices that promote smooth, fast putting greens.

Let the Preparation Begin

We're Back! Well we actually never went away, just took a little break from the blog site during the winter months. We are very excited to get the golf course re-opened and get you back to playing your favorite track. As of today, we see no reason that won't happen by the July 1st date you were promised. If we can open earlier we will, but we must protect these new greens like a newborn.

All of the greens and tees have come through the winter beautifully. There is ZERO dead turf anywhere in these locations. I could not be more pleased with where we are today. The turf density has increased over the winter and we are well on our way to establishing the outstanding set of greens this membership has come to expect. We have already mowed the greens for the first time this spring and the results are outstanding. We will continue to roll and mow on a regular basis to firm and tighten up the putting surfaces. In the coming weeks we will be maintaining these greens as if we were open - mowing daily and topdressing weekly.



As I write this update this morning, the crew is finishing up the last of the debris removal from the golf course. We have hand raked the entire property and all the debris will be gone today. It's nice to see everything look so fresh and clean. With the clean-up behind us, we will move immediately to repairing the golf course from last summers project. There are a number of small projects that must be completed over the next couple months - most notably the repairing of the haul roads used by the contractor last summer. We will take a hole by hole approach to repairing anything and everything. Our Goal = 18 holes in 36 days. By Mid-May we want to havy every bit of sod or seed on the ground and starting to establish in order to get everything to fill in by our opening.

What's new for 2011? There are some exciting new things on tap for 2011, but I'll keep most of them under wraps for now. Call it a tease! One thing I do want to share is what you should expect of the blog this year. In 2011, we will transition the blog from a project update site to an everyday information tool for the membership. This site will be the place to go for the most up to date information regarding the golf course - Is the course open today? Are there carts available? What projects are happening this week? etc. etc. One thing that I will try to do this year via the blog is answer your questions regarding the golf course maintenance operation. Questions can be submitted to me via email at bmccurdy@ccdetroit.org

An exciting year is ahead of us all. Your patience through this project has been outstanding. We are over the hump and the waiting is almost over. Thanks again for all your support!!!

Progress Report

Excuse my absence from the blog spot, we have been trying to squeeze every last second out of the precious time we have this fall. I am sure many of you are wondering were things stand:

Greens: The grow-in of the greens is going superbly!!! We have just completed the second hand topdressing application just today. We continue to mow the greens 5-6 days a week right now and are slowly lowering the heights as the grass plant can take it. The collars are filling in rapidly.

Tees: The tees look amazing at this point. We have mowed all of the tees some 8+ times already and anticipate mowing the first tee any day now. I heard a rumor that "because the first tee was seeded later than the rest, it won't be ready next spring", let me say that it is simply not true. The first tee looks great and will no doubt be ready when we open next year.

Fairways: All of the fairways have been mowed multiple times except number 17 which was mowed for the first time today. What few thin areas there are, are filling in steadily. I am very pleased with this aspect of the project.

Bunkers: We have made the turn for home with the bunkers. We have completed all the bunkers in the 7-11 section and the 12/6/14/15 area of the course. Currently, we are working on the 3rd and 17th holes and anticipate finishing the bunkers early next week.

This has been an exciting time and I appreciate all the wonderful comments some of you have shared over the last few weeks. I see the excitement building in YOUR eyes and that exists us to get this renovation done and over with so we can return the course back to you as soon as possible.

Remember the Fire!!

None of us will soon forget the events of August 27th when the old polo barn went up in flames. One of the headaches created by that blaze was the contamination of the large stockpile of Pro-Angle Bunker sand.



This pile of sand (approx. 900 tons or 1/3 of the project total)has since been moved out of the fire location and re-located to the lower parking lot near the tennis courts. In an effort to make sure the sand is free of any fire debris, your CCD team first removed the outer two feet of the entire pile and that sand was discarded. Don't worry, the insurance policy does cover the replacement material. The remaining sand is being run a 3mm screen to make sure there is no additional debris embedded deeper into the pile.



The machine in this picture has been brought in from the same sand mine where our greens and tees mix was blended. This machine is very effective removing any "junk" that may still remain. I am happy to report that the first 200 tons that have been run through the machine have come out perfectly clean and we have begun to use this product in the construction.