Something Different

We have begun to experiment with different products to help us deal with snow and ice build up on critical turf areas. For many years we have used compost to help us melt away these areas, but it could only be used on a limited basis on greens. We would try and minimize the amount applied to the greens due to the fact that a significant amount of cleanup would need to be done prior the the years first mowing.

Perhaps the most intriguing alternative to compost is a black sand a product that we have begun testing out. The sand meets with USGA particle size guidelines and is colored with a turf safe black dye. This product was specifically developed for snow and ice removal on golf courses. I will evaluate the efficacy of this product and decide on a future expansion with it.

Black Sand Being Applied
Close Up Of The Black Sand On The Snow

Bunker Repairs

The off season allows us the opportunity to do some more invasive maintenance to some of the bunkers that have had their internal drainage compromised. Over the course of last summer we had numerous heavy rainfall events that contaminated many of the bunkers as far as sand quality and internal drainage functionality. Check out these previous posts here,here and here from last summer that details the carnage that was left over after the storms.

Unfortunately the only way to properly deal with these problems is to completely replace the bunker sand and rebuild the drainage systems. This task can be somewhat of a challenge due to the fact that sand remains frozen and is unworkable for most of the day. In order to remove most of the sand we had to break it out into chunks with a spud bar and then physically load and haul it off. The drainage system was repaired and backfilled with new pea gravel to allow easy access in to the drain tile.

Chunking Out The Frozen Sand

The Finished Product

The finished product appears no different to the golfer, but from a functional and playability standpoint the bunkers will be good as new.

It's That Time Again

Over the last couple of weeks we have been consistently spot watering the golf course's more exposed areas. Now that larger scale areas of snow have melted away, we have begun expanding the scope of areas that are being watered.

The holes that have southern exposures are the first ones being watered on a full scale basis. Water is being applied via our new frost free system that allows us to irrigate even thought the ground remains frozen. The frost free mainline is five feet deep and feeds a series of stop and waste hydrants that are located every 110 feet from tee to green. These hydrants were modified with quick couplers attached to them allowing easy access to water with a cannon or a hose.

There is nothing automated about this frost free setup, but with a little hard work we can still adequately protect the golf course from desiccation.

New Tee Setup

Over the course of the winter we have been making a sixth set of tee markers for the golf course. That's right I said sixth set. Our daily course setup almost requires the use of a chart as it is for specific tee marker locations, but this new addition will allow golfers of all abilities to better enjoy the golf course on a daily basis.

In the last several years there has been a demand for a more varied setup as far as yardage goes. The result of this demand has come in the form a of a "combo" tee setup. For example, a combination of different tee markers would be used to achieve a particular yardage. This has been done for the current men's and ladies tees for several years.

Currently there exist a 700 yard differential from the men's tees to the pro tees which is too long of a stretch for many of our members who are looking to play a slightly longer golf course. The solution to this problem would be the addition of another combo tee setup that would create only a 400 yard differential between the two. This new combination will now establish a 1 Pine tee that would play to 7061 yards and the new "Bear" tees will play to 7373 yards.

New Year and New Equipment

Today we began receiving some of the new equipment that was was approved in the 2010 budget. The new equipment will be delivered over the next several days due to the number of pieces that are coming in.

Every year we either add or replace equipment to our fleet so that we can better maintain the golf course for the upcoming season. The extreme terrain that is found on the Country Club property is very hard on the equipment that is used to maintain it. With more than six miles of cart paths and over 600 feet of elevation change on the course we tend to go through wear items like; tires, brakes, clutches and transmissions at a faster pace than most golf courses.


We will be receiving the following items:
(10) Toro Workman MDX Workman MDX Specs
(1) Toro GM3150 Fairway Mower GM3150 Specs
(1) Toro Groundsmaster 4500 Rough Mower Groundsmaster 4500 Specs

Changes Over Time

In my tenure here at CCCP over the last 15 years I have seen a lot of change for the good and some not so good. The golf course has matured nicely over time with the growth of the Ponderosa Pines and Scrub Oak. The real estate component of the development has also moved along nicely until the last few years. It has always been known that the construction of home sites adjacent to the golf course was the plan all along, but some of these sites will have a lasting effect on both the aesthetics and agronomic health of the golf course.

As the trees have grown over the years they have helped with screening some of the homes that are adjacent to the golf course property. This is good, but a problem that is beginning to show up now is the fact that some of these trees are now causing shade issues on the course. This effects us in two different ways, the first being additional frost delays in the fall and secondly shadows causing prolonged snow cover to areas on the golf course.

In years past prior to home development we were able to trim and even remove some of the trees the were causing problems on the golf course. This is no longer the case and we have begun making changes to our winter snow removal based on this developing problem.

Previously we would routinely remove snow from five of our green complexes and now we will be adding at least one more to the mix. After all is said and done we could be removing snow from as many as half of our greens throughout the winter. This is a lot of effort to go to, but it is well worth it come spring time when the greens come out in better condition than if nothing was done at all.

It's Not Going To Happen

I have been holding out hope throughout most of the fall and early winter that we would complete our renovation work on the driving range, but it is not going to happen.

The weather has been our biggest obstacle from the beginning of this project so it's only fitting that the lack of completion of work is tied directly to it. In the last three weeks there have been several small windows of opportunity but they also did not come to pass. The biggest problem we are facing is that the ground is frozen and cannot get a final grade on several areas. The other equally large issue is the fact that sod can no longer be cut because of the frozen ground.

With normal winter weather patterns we should be able to resume work on the driving range some time in March. At that time final grading will be done and the sod farms should once again be able to harvest fresh sod.

Winter Protection

The newly installed target green sod was prepared for the upcoming harsh winter conditions. The fact that the sod is new and has not rooted will make keeping it alive over the winter more challenging, but by taking proper preventative measures now will help with our future success.

First and foremost adequate moisture levels will be maintained throughout with the use of frost free hydrants, secondly preventive fungicide applications were applied and lastly a protective cover of sand was applied.

The sand will help protect and insulate the crown of the plant so that the survivability is dramatically improved. The material was applied evenly to a depth of slightly less than 1/4". This depth allows the leaf tips to be still slightly exposed to sunlight and therefore eliminating the possibility of smothering the new sod.

Sand Covering The Green Surface

Freezing Bunker Faces

The forecast over the next several day is calling for snow and freezing temperatures so we decided to help chances of maintaining turf on some of our exposed bunker faces. Up until now the temperatures have been seasonal and without any hard freezes occurring.

Recently we went out and saturated the more exposed bunker faces in efforts to help them freeze solid and better retain moisture levels. The water was applied using the strategically placed frost free hydrants that were installed with the new irrigation system.

Last Chance

Today looks like it might be our last chance to get our preventive snow mold fungicide application to the fairways down. The forecast for the next week does not look great, so we will take advantage of the beautiful 65 degree day today.

Blowing off debris prior to spraying

Fairway spray going down

Getting Closer

We were able to finalize some of the last details on the 185yd target green today which needs to take place prior to sod installation.

With the latest round of snow hampering our efforts for completion, we have been forced to work in a very short window. As a lot of the snow has melted it has now created a muddy unworkable mess. Our solution to this problem has been to only work on the area for the first couple of hours each morning while the surface is still frozen. This has allowed us to install the rootzone mix for the green and the sand in the bunkers.

This area probably will not dry out for another couple days and at which time the final grading will occur and sod is scheduled for installation this coming Tuesday.

Dual Purpose

The uses for compost are nearly endless and we have found one that kills two birds with one stone.

With the recent snowfall that has once again delayed our project we needed a way to help melt the snow off the areas still under construction. The compost was spread on the surface of the snow to help accelerate the melting process. The dark color of the compost attracts the sun and does most of the work for us. One other side benefit of spreading the compost is that after the snow melts, the compost can now easily be incorporated with the soil below amending and improving it prior to new sod installation.

X Marks The Spot

As if it is not hard enough to maintain the golf course in season, the Elk and Deer make the winter months an adventure.

It is easy to track their patterns after a fresh snowfall, what is most amazing is the number of hoof prints left after a single night. They also seem to prefer to bed down in our most problematic areas as far as desiccation goes. The bedding down causes the snow to melt and therefore exposing the turf prematurely to the elements. This at times forces us to apply supplemental water to these areas in order to avoid turf loss.

Body outlines of melted snow from bedding down
Heavy foot traffic

Blog Mention

Last week my blog was mentioned in an article found in Golf Course Industry Magazine as one of the best Superintendent blogs. It is an honor to have the time and effort I put into the blog recognized by people in the media.

Click here to read the online article.

Target Green Complete

Some of the final details of the 135yd target green were completed today.

Newly installed overhead irrigation was turned on to water some of the newly sodded areas. The heads and HDPE pipe were installed in house by my staff, it was a great site to see. I believe that my staff was energized after seeing their hard work come to fruition in the operation of the new irrigation system.


The bunker was also completed today with the installation of both drainage and sand. Aesthetically the bunker looks great from the tee and will help provide realistic practice sessions.

Today marks another step closer to completing this project, but as i am writing this post the weather is quickly changing for the worse. The forecast is calling for snow each day this weekend, lets hope the weathermen are wrong again with their predictions.

Coming Back Together

Another positive step towards the ultimate completion of the driving range renovation took place today.

Just over 20,000 feet of new sod was installed today on and around two of the newly constructed target green complexes. Both the 100yd and 135yd target greens now appear as they have been there all along now that grass is down. The shaping that was done on these greens reflects similarities to what is found on the golf course, so that more purposeful practice sessions can take place.

The next area that will be final graded and prepped for sod will be the 185yd target green. With any cooperation from the weather, I will be hoping to have this sodded by the end of next week. In the mean time we continue to receive truck after truck of rootzone mix for the tee surface, of which we have still not reached the half way point.

Final Grading

Outlining The Green Surface
Installing Bentgrass On The Green
Laying The Bluegrass Surrounds

Initial Watering

The View At Sunset

Tee Mix

Today marked a big day for construction on the driving range tee. After numerous delays caused by the weather, we were finally able to start bringing in the rootzone mix for the tee surface.

The rootzone mix is an 85/15 sand peat mixture that allows for rapid drainage, while still having the ability to hold on to some nutrients and moisture. This rootzone is identical to the mix used to grow the new sod that will be installed on the tee.

This is an important fact, so that a future soil inter phase issue does not occur. We will be bringing nearly 2000 tons of rootzone material which equates to nearly 80 end dump loads. This is a slow process that will take us nearly a week to complete the installation of material.

Final Prep To Tee Subsurface
End Dump Unloading Material
Spreading The Rootzone Material

Blow Out

The winter blow out of the irrigation system has begun on the golf course. Over the last several weeks we have had significant snows that have provided more than adequate moisture levels throughout the golf course.

We are probably a week or two ahead of when we would normally blow out, but for the above reasons we have decided to go ahead and blow out now. This is one of the most difficult agronomic decisions that I make all year and getting the timing right is never easy. If you blow out too late the heads will freeze and blow out becomes difficult at best and if you blow out too early then the turf begins to dry out. Fortunately if we miss the timing on the early side we can utilize our frost free component of the irrigation system rather than re-pressure the summer or shallow system.
The Compressor

Blowing Out The Heads

Open For Play

The golf course will once again be open for play starting today. Although the entire course is not playable at this time, there has been enough interest to open the course as is.

At this time only eleven holes are truly playable, while the other holes range from partial snow cover to nearly complete cover. Please use great care while out on the golf course due the numerous areas in which snow and ice are still in place.

Evening Play

The golf course has been a busy place over the last week, but it has not been from golfers. The Elk and Deer have been extremely active on the course causing their normal damage this time of the year.

What makes the damage bad is the fact that the turf is soft and saturated from the melting snow. Until the ground freezes we will continue to sustain maximum damage from the wildlife. My staff will be repairing the damage by stepping down the hoof prints and filling them with sand and seed. This will be an ongoing situation for some time until the weather cooperates and begins to freeze the upper surface of the soil.

The wildlife is nice to look at, but they sure cause a lot of damage to the golf course each and every year.

Tree Limbs Broken
Elk Duds
Hoof Prints On #11 Green

Damage To #7 TeeDamage On #11 Fairway