Turf Mystery Solved

The other day while driving around I noticed a couple areas on the golf course that distinctive rectangular areas of turf damaged. At first I though it was odd and was not sure what caused the damage but upon further investigation the mystery was solved.

It turned out the day before on a warm day with temperatures in the 80's my irrigation tech was working on some of the bunker pop up zones.  These zones are controlled by an electric valve contained in a valve box that had the lids removed during the servicing. The warm temperatures and intense sunlight heated up the plastic lid that was laying on the grass and burnt the turf underneath.


Fortunately only the leaf tips were damaged and the turf is already growing its way out of the injury. It goes to show you that the turf can be damaged in many different ways several of which are not expected.

What Is The Yellow Grass In The Fairways?

Throughout the fairways there are many areas that are off color and under stress, this is an intended effect from the use of herbicide that targets Poa Annua.

The fairways have received successive applications of Velocity to help control the Poa populations and this is what has caused the visible signs of turf injury. Currently the Poa is not dead, but it is under severe stress and the plant is in shut down mode which will help the desired Bentgrass to out compete it for space in the fairways.

We will be backing down the future applications so that unacceptable turf discoloration does not persist into the upcoming Member/Guest tournament in a few weeks.

Scalping

A couple of weeks ago when the weather began to heat up we had a flush of growth throughout the golf course. This occurred even with the use of growth regulation products.

The flush of growth helped us with some final recovery in the rough areas, but hurt us on a couple of the greens. The greens that were effected were some of our more contoured greens in which the mowers began scalping the turf. The scalping took place due to the fact that the turf got puffy from the excess growth and when the mower when over it scalping occurred.

On the greens which the scalping took place recovery has already begun and the good news is that the scalping does not effect the putting quality of the greens it is more of an aesthetic issue than anything else.

Bear Cub Tees

We have recently added an additional set of tee markers to the golf course. The latest addition are th Bear Cub tees which can be found in the fairway areas.  This new golf course setup was designed by Golf Professional Sean Mackin for our Junior Golf program.

The Country Club golf course is a very difficult course to play for kids just starting out, so the idea behind these new tees is to make learning to play more fun.  These tees eliminate the need for forced carries which are present on nearly every tee shot out here and additionally the holes will be played from a reduced yardage. Hopefully this new setup will make the learning of the game more fun for the Club's up and coming golfing generation.

Leak Repaired

Some of you may have been wondering why the water level in the pond at eighteen tees has been so low all year. The reason for that has been that the overflow collar had a leak around it causing the water to flow out to the current level.

The other day I had a contractor out to try and repair the collar seal and I think we were successful in doing so.  He used a hydraulic cement to reseal the joints between two of the collars.  We have begun to raise the water level to the point at where water would leak and it appears to be holding so far.  Over the next several days we will top off the water level in the pond so that it will once again look as it should.

Low Water Level In The Pond

Installing the Hydraulic Cement

Raising The Water Level

A Lack Of Respect

It amazes me to no end the lack of respect that people have for their own golf course and fellow members.  Over the last several weeks there has been an alarming number of divots taken out of the putting surfaces on the golf course.

The latest crime scene occurred on the eight hole sometime durring the day on Saturday.  Imagine the horror of my setup guy Sunday morning as he walks up to the green to change the cup and he sees this:

This type of behavior is unacceptable and shows a complete disregard for the rest of the dues paying members and also is a slap in the face of the entire maintenance staff that goes above and beyond the what is asked of them each and every day. 

Splotchy

Throughout the golf course there are many areas that are off color (brown) by design. These brown areas are occurring as we continue to fine tune the adjustment of the new irrigation system. It is my goal to provide the driest conditions possible, while still providing enough moisture to keep the plant alive and viable.
As hot spots develop it tells me we are going in the right direction with controlling the amount of water applied to the critical play areas. These critical areas are greens, approaches and fairways.

When the hot spots show up we will hand water them only, so that we are  more specific with the water applied creating a more uniform playing surface.

#13 Approach

Close Up Of Stressed Turf

#15 Approach

Too Many To Count

On the golf course there still exist many areas that have still not quite recovered from winter and most especially Elk urine kill.  It is a mixed blessing to have the abundance of wildlife on the course that we do, but it also presents numerous maintenance issues.

The Elk are beautiful to look at but the damage they leave behind can be devastating and very labor intensive to repair. Year after year the biggest challenge we face from the Elk is the Urine burn that occurs on all of the playing surfaces.  We typically will start repairing  greens and tees first and then move to fairways and finally the rough.  This year the rough is probably the most damaged area on the course.  The recovery has been slowed by less than favorably growing conditions this spring and a lack of resources to do the work.

Now that we are fully staffed for the season will will be putting a large focus on repairing these damaged areas by re-seeding them.  This will all be done by hand with the use of hand tools to prepare the surface for soil to seed contact.  Without this prep work the re-seeding will not be successful and further delay the recovery process.

A good Two Weeks Behind

We are now in the third week of May and just now is the Scrub Oak pushing out leafs.  Typically by the middle of May the Oak is fully leafed out, but not this year.  This year spring does not seem to want to consistently stay and this has caused the delay in not only deciduous tree leaf production but has also significantly delayed germination of seed.

During aerification the fairways were overseeded with Bentgrass which has just sat without even thinking of germinating.  Finally 35 days later I am beginning to see germination in the fairways as well as on some of the greens that had additional seed applied to them. Typically Bentgrass will germinate after 14 days in the spring with normal weather conditions.

This spring has gotten off to a slow start which hasn't help the overall recovery from the late season winter damage. Let's hope we start consistently warming up and get things actively growing so the golf course can be once again at its best.

Meeting In The Middle

Part of the challenge in bringing newly installed sod down in height of cut to match other play areas is not doing it too quickly but doing smartly.  Often times when purchasing sod from an outside vender the sod comes in at a different height of cut for where it is being utilized on the course.

For Bentgrass sod  used on greens this is especially true when the sod farm maintains it at nearly 1/3 to double the normal height of cut that most guys maintain their greens at. The reduction in height can be still done smartly and quickly if you attack the height of cut difference from both sides.  By this I mean rather than only lowering the height of the mowers and focusing on the amount of green material coming off you need to be thinking about raising the turf canopy.

This  is accomplished with frequent heavy topdressing of the new sod to help fill in any imperfections and unevenness in the sod in addition to helping reduce scalping.  The applications of sand  are generally around 1/4" deep at a time so the material can be worked in without completely burring the green. The frequency of topdressing applied is based on the growth and recovery of the turf from the previous time material was applied.  These applications of sand essentially enable me to lower the height from two directions without stressing the plant too much.


Other cultural practices that help with the establishment of the new sod is weekly solid tine aerification of the new sod to help increase the rooting.  Fertility levels are increased and preventive fungicides are being applied to further help with the transition towards matching up with the rest of the greens on the golf course.

The Sand Applied To The Green

Solid Tine Aerification

The End Result 

Ball Marks

It is the age old problem of unrepaired ball marks and what to do about. Recently at our last Green Committee Meeting we discussed  new ways to get people to fix their ball marks and I am convinced that nothing will help.

The only way the problem will get better is for people to take responsibility for themselves when they are playing.  Everyone  needs to understand that a tremendous amount of time and money is spent on maintaining the golf course for all the members to enjoy and show off to their guest.


The most frustrating thing for me to see is on our newly sodded greens how many ball marks go unrepaired.  We are starting off with a clean slate and to see the lack of  effort in caring for them is mind boggling. Perhaps the best way to think about it is, if your not going to fix it for yourself then do it for your fellow members.        

Don't Be A Follower

As play increases on the golf course the negative effect of golf carts becomes readily visible. Due to the design and construction of the course we suffer from limited exit and entry points from the cart paths. Most of the obstacles come in the way of severely shaped landforms as well bunkers and native plant materials.

These areas are managed daily with the use of ropes and stakes. In efforts to minimize the use of the materials I encourage golfers as you are playing to to the path less driven. By this I mean don't follow the same tracks that were formed by the previous carts, go a different way. This should be done in a smart manor as to not endanger yourself or someone else by taking the cart in an areas it should not be. This would include areas such as; within 25 feet of greens or tees, native grasses and steep hillsides.

All other areas that are safe and not controlled with ropes are fair game and I would encourage you to take the path less traveled. By doing so will help spread out the wear and tear in our heaviest cart traffic areas.

A Different Look

While playing golf this spring you may have noticed a different look to the mowing pattens on the fairways. We have been mowing in a light and dark pattern which is more commonly used on golf courses with classical architectural design.

The main reason we are mowing in this manor is due to a reduction in labor. We were asked to reduce expenses in the 2010 budget and the easiest way to do that is with labor. We will not be at full staff until June and until then we have to get by with a smaller than normal staff. This has forced us to change some of the ways and frequencies of how we maintain the golf course.

The quality of what we do is in no way being reduced but some of the aesthetics will not be as they are under normal staffing. The classical mowing patterns allow us to only use two operators to mow the fairways with larger equipment as compared to smaller lightweight mowing which requires seven people to do the same job. Once we reach full staff we will be converting back to the look that you all have become accustom to seeing.


Classical Mowing Patterns On Hole #8

Classical Mowing Patterns On Hole #9

Typical CCCP Mowing Patterns On Hole #18

Rolling Pull Lines

Throughout the golf course there are still irrigation pull lines that have not completely settled from last years irrigation installation.  These areas have gotten better after a freeze and thaw cycle, but they still are acting like mini speed bumps every 55 feet across the fairways.

We have recently rolled the pull lines with a small asphalt roller to smash down the heaving that took place.  After rolling the lines have flattened out, but a slight bump is still present.  One of the visible signs of rolling is a slight discoloration or blackening of the turf from the roller's drum going over the pull line several times. 

Is Spring Ever Coming?

I am beginning to wonder if we will ever warm up and start to get active growth of the turf.  The moisture we have been receiving in the last couple of weeks is great, but if soil temperatures do not increase growth will not take place.

We have started to green up but that is it.  We are still mowing in a modified (reduced) schedule of what we would normally be doing this time of year because of a lack of growth.  Soil temperatures are still in the upper 40's and peaking out in the low 50's durring the day when ambient temperatures are at their highest.  It seems like when we start to make positive steps in warming up the soil, we are thrown off track once again with unpredictable weather. A perfect example of this would be that yesterday we had a high temperature of 74 and today we have not gotten any higher than 39 degrees with snow coming down.

Enjoy the video below that shows today's wonderful working conditions.

The Driving Range Is Open

 After many months of hard work and fighting Mother Nature the new and improved driving range is open.  Weather conditions today were not great today for practicing, but those who braved the wind were able to enjoy the new configuration.

Even though we enlarged the tee surface by more than 25% it up to you to help us by practicing in a systematic manor.  The most efficient way to hit balls is to keep your divot patterns tight and not randomly within your teeing station.  A tight pattern leads to more efficient use of turf and allows for easier divot filling and faster re-establishment of turf.    

Proper Divot Pattern

 Horrible Divot Pattern

Plenty Of Precip

The crazy weather patterns have continued and the snow and rain keep on coming.  In the last four days we have received  nearly 3.0" of precipitation.  Historically for the month of April we only receive 1.83", so that puts us way ahead of normal. 

The excess moisture is great to a degree but we are now being effected in a negative manor due to the lack of being able to mow  the golf course.  Many areas have not been mowed since last Thursday and with active growth taking place most of the areas will require additional cleanup after mowing takes place. 

Spring Flushing

On this beautiful spring morning we woke up to quite a surprise it looked more like winter than anything else.  The timing of the snowfall is not great but the moisture that comes along with it is hard to beat.  From an agronomic standpoint the moisture will put to work the soil amending products that were applied durring aerification last week.

Applications of Gypsum were made to the main play areas to help offset the high levels of Sodium found in our soils. The natural precipitation from the snow will further help putting the Gypsum to work by saturating the soils and moving the Sodium down and out of the soil profile. This process is made more effective with the use of natural precipitation versus effluent water which contains the elements we are trying to remove.

More Is Better

Now that the greens have begun to actively grow, the areas in which Poa Annua was lost to Crown Hydration are easily identifiable. We are fortunate to have relatively small populations of Poa on our twenty five year old greens.  This has resulted in small circular areas of damaged turf that can be more quickly re-established than larger sprawling areas of  turf loss.

Aside from increased fertility levels and the use of PGR's to promote  increased tillering many of these spots have been overseeded with Bentgrass. Full scale broadcasting of seed has taken place throughout the greens with even more specific work being done to the small spots.  The seed that was broadcasted was spiked into the soil surface to increase soil to seed contact which is vital for germination.  On top of that a divot mix that included Bentgrass seed was also applied to these thin areas to further improve the germination likelihood.  This sand mixture also serves another purpose in keeping the green surface smooth because some of these dead Poa areas are slightly sunken below the turf line.

As existing Bentgrass moves laterally and germination of new seed occurs the putting surfaces will still roll true even though adequate turf might not exist.

Close Up Of Dead Poa With Bent In The Middle

Sand And Seed Mixture Applied To The Voids

Almost There

A little more than a week has passed since completing our spring aerification on the course and things are beginning to get back to normal.

I am extremely happy with the recovery on the greens as you would be hard pressed to find any indication that holes were punched only eight days ago. Ample fertilizer and soil amendments have been applied to the greens to encourage a quick but health recovery.  One of the negative side effects from this would be slower than normal green speeds due to the amount of positive growth taking place.  Now that full recovery has already taken place PGR's (Plant Growth Regulators) will be utilized to help slow down growth and encourage a more dense stand of turf which will result in an increase in smoothness and green speeds.


One area that is still not quite where I would like to see is the fairways.  They are still a bit messy from the compost that was applied during aerification.  Each time we mow the compost is still being tracked up by the mowers and requires dragging to breakup and re-work in the compost.  This problem should get better in the next week as the material works it's way down the canopy and active growth begins to take place in the fairways.

Compost Being Tracked Up By The Fairway Mowers

The Range Tee Is Complete

I am happy to say that the driving range tee has been sodded and construction on the range is nearing completion. The sod on the tee surface has been down for one week and is already showing roots that are approaching one inch in depth. The immediate tee surrounds were sodded only two days ago and is also beginning to show signs of rooting.

Under normal situations the sod should have three or four weeks of time to become established before letting people play on it, but we are pressed for time and will be opening the teeing ground here in the next week or so.

The First Mowing

New Tee Complex

A New Beginning

The damage that was incurred throughout the course from the March snow storms is being methodically repaired.  The fairway areas that were damaged are being overseeded during aerification which will help establish the proper turfgrass species in these problematic areas.

The greens are being overseeded as well to encourage new Bentgrass growth in some of the newly created voids from the dead Poa Annua.  Not all of the Poa is totally dead and some regrowth is occurring which will help with the overall recovery of the turf.  Ideally the Poa will stay inactive and the Bentgrass seed will germinated and allow new seedling to become established.

Most of the greens have minor damage on them with the exception of the greens on #4 and #10.  Rather than fight a long re-establishment period on the tenth green, I decided to bite the bullet and re-sod the entire green. Although not ideal this is the best thing that can be done to get the green back in play as quickly as possible. The green will be mowed at a higher height of cut for several weeks before being slowly brought down to match the other greens.  Throughout the years the green will receive additional care such as increased fertility topdressing and aerification all to help with the elimination of seams and help with establishment.

The Tenth Green Ready For New Sod

Sod Going Down

Back In Play The Next Day

Aerification Woes

Today was the last of the three days we normally use to aerifiy the golf course in the spring and the weather has not cooperated.   This would be the first time i can remember that wind has caused delays in our aerification process.  Over the years we have had rain and snow delays but never wind.

Over the last three days the wind has been consistently blowing 10- 20 mph with gusts reaching 45mph.  This has made it impossible to overseed the fairways with Bentgrass and apply compost on top.  Both of these materials are very light in weight and would blow away from the intended area of application.  This has forced us to delay seeding and composting until Thursday and Friday.  Unfortunately this will have to take place through play. This is the best thing to do because but if we did not wait the money spent on the seed and compost would be wasted.

We Have Sod

After numerous delays that were caused by the weather we were finally able to get the tee surface and some of the surrounds sodded yesterday.  We will continue to work on the tie in area around the tee so that the rest of the sod can be installed shortly.

The fact that the sod was able to be installed is largely due to our staff,  Green Valley Turf and Modern Golf's commitment to doing whatever it takes to successfully complete this project.

The End Is Near

After nearly a month of weather induced delays the new driving range tee has been laser graded and is ready for sod. The teeing area will be sodded in two phases due to overall size of the area and the fact that our sod contractor is booked out for several days.

The tee surface will be the first area to receive sod and then the surrounds will be done a couple of days later. The overall footprint of the new teeing ground takes up more than 150,000 square feet.

Once the new sod is installed on the tee surface I would like to give it two weeks to become established before opening it up for play.  This would give us a tentative opening in the third week of April.  Lets hope the weather cooperates from this point forward allowing us to successfully complete this project.

A Tough March

The golf course was showing signs of coming out of the winter without any problems in early March, but then the snow came.  In March alone we had over three feet of snow that caused some late winter damge to the golf course.

The areas that were primarily effected were ones in which poor drainage and surface water flow occurs on the turfgrass.  These areas can be seen on greens, fairways and rough.

The primary loss of turf occurred to the Poa Annua and some Ryegrass. Losing both of these species of turf is good for our long term agronomic programs, but it has made some areas on the course look worse than they are.

The technical term for what occurred is called Crown Hydration. The process is complex, but it involves water freezing in open spaces around individual plant cells in the crown portion (growing point) of the plant. The ice crystals forming around the plant cell pull water out of the cell causing dehydration inside the cell. The process causes irreversible damage to cell membranes and death to the individual cells. A hardened plant can tolerate this condition, but once a plant loses hardiness (a natural occurrence in late winter) individual cells lose the ability to combat the dehydration process and severe injury can occur. The process is still not fully understood but damage seems to be worse when certain environmental conditions are met.

CONDITIONS NEEDED FOR CROWN HYDRATION DAMAGE TO OCCUR

Crown hydration damage usually occurs when warm temperatures are followed by quick drops in soil temperatures below . Hardiness of plants are generally reduced at this time when exposed to thawing. Free moisture (usually from melting snow or precipitation) around the crown of the plant freezes and draws water from the cell. This form of winterkill is more likely to occur in early spring once the snow begins to melt and there is excessive moisture present. Exacerbating this problem can be low-lying areas where water sits, poor drainage, and heavy soils.

I believe this damage occurred in the first two weeks of March when the heavy snows melted quickly during the warm daytime temperatures which were followed by cold freezing nights.  In this time period there were days in which temperature swings of more than 45 degrees ocured in a 24 hour period of time.

We will be addressing the damaged areas individually and use the appropriate method for repairing these areas whether it is sodded or seeded to best put the area back in play.

Elevation and Orientation

The golf course is beginning to green up for the season and it is amazing how varied the green up process is throughout the course. We have areas on the course right now that are green, while other aren't even close to greening up.

This is largely due to two factors; elevation and orientation. The golf course has more than 600 feet of elevation change throughout which creates numerous micro climates. The other factors would be orientation and shading from trees.

Some of the best examples of this can be found on our first and eight hole. These two holes have the complete opposite orientation, the first hole faces north while the eight faces south. Elevation the first hole is at 6600 feet and the eight is at 6200 feet.

The following pictures best describe these effects on the spring green up process.

The First Hole

The Eight Hole

Wall Collapse

In the last week and a half we have received nearly three feet of snow and from that a large quality of moisture. This abundance of moisture has been both good and bad. The turf and trees could not be happier, but some of the infrastructure on the course is worse for wear.

During the construction of the golf course several of the elevated tees were constructed with Rhyolite retaining walls for support. Unfortunately these walls were constructed without drainage installed behind them. This has led to many of these walls failing over the last several years when soil moisture levels have become saturated.

When these walls have been rebuilt after a failure we have had our contractor install drainage to help alleviate any future problems.

Wrong Turn

Yesterday's storm brought more than a foot of snow that was enjoyed a little too much by some people. Someone made a wrong turn onto the ninth hole and tried to make it up the hill to the green. Luckily they did not get far and did not cause any damage.

For those of you who live adjacent to the golf course and you see any activity like this could you please contact Emergency Services regarding the trespassing taking place.

A Week Of First

It has been a busy week of firsts for the season. As usual everything hits at one time durring the transition out of winter into spring. We have been begun to get the golf course back in playable condition for the upcoming season.

This week we have changed cups, removed winter debris from bunkers, put out tee makers, fertilized greens, mowed selected fairways and even aerified many areas on the course.

Last spring we started with an earlier than usual aerification of selected areas and this year I have carried that process forward. With all of the renovation work that has taken place over the last several years, I feel there is a need for additional aerification to alleviate some of the compaction from the heavy equipment utilized.

By the end of next week weather permitting I am hoping to have all of the fairways aerified. This is a slow process because it is being done in a manor not to effect play. We will try to aerify one or two fairways a day and cleanup right behind so that it looks like we never did anything. This different approach works now since it is mid March and we are having limited play.

We will still be performing our normally scheduled aerification April 12th-15th to the main play areas. The bonus early aerification will go a long way to help with recovery from all of the construction traffic the course has been subjected to.

Winter Damage

Winter is a tough time on the golf course for many reasons, but the Elk add another dimension to an already difficult situation. Mother Nature throws many different challenges at us each year some are easy to deal with and others are not. The Elk on the other hand are hard to deal with because you know it is inevitable that they will cause damage but the question is how much.

Even with the prolonged snow cover this year the Elk were still able to cause significant damage to numerous areas throughout the golf course. The damage ranges from broken tree limbs, urine burn,tearing up the turf and leaf shearing.

This year we have numerous areas in which "shearing" occurred, this is a term I will use to describe how the hooves shear or cut of the dormant turf. This is most problematic on greens where the turf must be at the highest quality at all times.

Fortunately most of the "shearing" only damaged the leaf tissue and did not remove the crown of the plant. The crown is where the transition from roots to green colored food-producing stems and leaves occur. The crown is located at the bottom of the plant, right at the soil line. If the crown is damaged the likely hood for turf problems is significantly increased.

Close Up Of A Sheared Area

Upon closer inspection of the sheared areas a lot of new leaf growth is visible which is very encouraging. Any areas that do not make it will be seeded or plugged out to properly repair the damaged areas.

Picking Up Where We left Off

We have once again been able to resume work up on the driving range. After a long three month weather induced hiatus work is picking up where we were at the end of last season.

Our initial focus will be completing the remaining irrigation to be installed in addition to final grading of the teeing ground. These two items must be completed before the new sod can be installed. We have also begun to modify the greens mix that was placed last fall. The mix is a 85/15 sand/peat mixture that will provide a good growing medium for the Ryegrass sod. On thing we are doing to further enhance the rootzone mixture is the addition of compost. The compost will help with moisture retention as well as inoculating the sand with beneficial fungi and microbes creating a viable soil foodweb.

Tilling The compost In

Initial Impressions

As the snow cover recedes throughout the course I have been given the opportunity to get my first real look at how things faired over the winter. Many of theses areas have been under snow cover since December, so some areas were a mystery as to what was there.

Snow melt revealing areas of healthy turf

Overall I think things have made it through relatively unscathed with the occasional areas of Snow Mold and Vole damage in the rough. The main play areas such as greens, tees, and fairways appear to be in good shape. Minor Snow Mold break through has occurred on a few fairways of which will not have any lasting effects.

Minor Snow Mold break through

I am perhaps most surprised by the lack of Vole damage in the rough areas. Typically when we have periods of extended snow cover the Vole populations explode due to a lack of competition from predators such as Eagles, Hawks and Coyotes.

Our efforts in managing the snow and ice accumulations on the course this season appear to be paying off once again. It goes to show you that a little extra effort does pay off in the long run.

Opening For Play

After nearly three months of snow cover the golf course will once again be open for play. This past weeks mild temperatures combined with snow removal has once again made the golf course mostly playable.

There still will be many northern exposure areas which are holding snow, but overall the majority of the course is clear. Currently three of the holes remain unplayable (#1,#3 and #4) other wise you will be able to get out and enjoy the course once again. We have begun the enormous task of cleaning up the Elk crap and Pine needles that were deposited in large quantities throughout. Our initial efforts have been made to both the greens and tees and will move onto fairways as weather and time allows.

The greens will once again be open for play after being on temporaries through the winter months. The use of temporary greens is perhaps one of the most important things we do to protect the overall heath of the greens. The elimination of golf traffic in the winter allows us to better fight Poa Annua and unnecessary wear and tear on the greens when they are unable to repair themselves. This break allows the greens to come out in the spring in better condition and be better suited for upcoming season long stress that they are subjected to.

Lingering Snow In Northern Exposures
Flags Back On The Greens

Lost but Found

Last week one of our members who works out of the old Castle Pines Village sales office found some of the original field notes from the Country Clubs golf course layout dating back to 1984. Louie Lee was kind enough to share with me these design strategy and conceptual plans for several of the golf holes.

It's pretty interesting to see how the original hole concepts changed from what was on paper to what actually made it in the field. This is a classic example of field changes that are made so that a hole or design feature will better fit with the land. Unfortunately some of these original concepts did not make it on the ground, I believe some of them are better than what was constructed. We still have an outstanding layout with features that are hard to match, but opportunities were missed to make something truly spectacular.