Fairway Expansion

Now that the bunker has been removed from the landing area on the seventh hole, the area is now being prepped for a conversion to fairway.

We have begun to remove the existing Bluegrass sod from the area wich the fairway will be expanded into. Great care has been taken to have the new fairway contours flow in and around the mounding found on the left side of the hole.

The fairway expansion will greatly improve the overall playability of the hole, by eliminating the overly penal fairway bunker. We will have added nearly 6000 Sqft of fairway area, which will now give the player more options off the tee greatly improving the golf hole.

Still Rocky

It appears that the last of the rock does not want to go away. I thought we would be in the clear once we got to three tees, but that has not been the case.

We have currently hit a massive ledge that is once again slowing down production and frustrating everyone involved in this process. Nothing really can be done at this point to speed the installation other than continued hard work and perseverance. Tanto has all of the right tools and personnel on the ground fighting through this difficult section of the golf course.

Getting Out Of The Rock

It appears as if we have finally gotten out of the rock that has caused significant delays on the first two holes. The better digging was found in the area in between the second green and three tees.

Now that the digging has become more normal, our hope is that the contractor will be able to make up for some of the lost time. Additional resources i.e. staff and equipment have been brought in to help make this goal possible.

Satellite Controllers

You may have noticed throughout the golf course new satellite controllers have been installed. They are not functional at this point, but will be as soon as the rest of the new components are in.


The satellite’s are the field inter-phase with the central computer that controls the individual sprinkler heads. Each of these units is essentially a standalone computer in itself that is hard wired back to the central which is located at the maintenance facility.

View of Satellite Face Plate


New Controller Next To Old Worn Out Ones

Fairway Expansion

We have begun the process of enlarging the fairway landing area on hole #7. The first part of the expansion involves removing the fairway bunker that is closest to the tee, so that this area can once again become fairway.

This restored fairway area will be re-graded so that there is a similar look to the rest of the contouring found on the fairway. Once the grading has been completed, the area will be re-sodded with Bentgrass so that the grass types match up.

Native Mowing

Every fall when we mow the native grasses it is done for reasons other than just mowing it down. One of the most important reasons we mow is for weed control. The control of unwanted weeds by mowing is most effective when it is done prior to weed seeds being produced. There are times that we mow the native in the spring as well as fall when weed pressures are high.

The most effective means for controlling weed species is through the employment
of integrated weed management. This approach uses a minimum of two or more
control strategies to prevent weeds from adapting to any single control method.


Integrated Weed Control Techniques

Mechanical control
These include tilling, mowing, burning, flooding,
mulching, pulling, hoeing, or grazing.

Chemical control
This includes the use of herbicides or plant growth
regulators to disrupt the growth of noxious weeds.

Biological control
Uses organisms to control noxious weeds. Although there has been some success on some noxious weeds, bio-control agents are not available for all species.

Stair Repairs

The stone stairs that lead up to the upper tees on hole #10 have been repaired. For some time now several of the stones have been loose and in need of constant attention. We have been fortunate that someone has not fallen on these previously hazardous stairs.

The stone treads were removed and a new base of cement and stone was laid, so that a even natural rise and run occurs.

The next area on the course that will have work done to the stairs will be at #18 green. Similar to #10, these stairs will be removed and have the downward pitch leveled out.

What is GPS?

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a constellation of at least 24 satellites that provides world wide accurate position coordinates. GPS uses satellites and computers to compute positions anywhere on earth. The system is owned by the United States Defense Department (DOD). It can be used worldwide by any civilian.

GPS Segments: control, space and user.

Control

The control segment is the “brain” of GPS. A controller monitors the satellites transmission of navigation messages and sends necessary adjustments.

Space
The space segment is the NAVigation Satellite Timing And Ranging (NAVSTAR) constellation of satellites that broadcast GPS signals. When the system is a full operational capacity there are 24 operational satellites. The satellites orbit approximately 22,200 km above the Earth and make one revolution every 12 hours.

User
Many applications use GPS to calculate positions. Civilian users currently outnumber military users worldwide. Applications include; agriculture, aviation, emergency services, recreation, surveying, vehicle tracking, utilities and navigation.

We will be using the technology to accurately map features on the golf course such as greens, tees, fairways, and most importantly new irrigation system components.

Each piece of the new irrigation system will be logged, creating of a highly detailed and accurate as built plan. These will plans will be invaluable if a problem occurs, so the source of the problem can be quickly identified and located in the field.

Once all of the features have been collected a workable map will be created giving me a visual inter-phase with my new irrigation software. I will now be able to the see golf course features with an irrigation component layer over the top.

Another aspect of GPS mapping is that I will now have detailed measurements of all golf course features. This information will help with the creation of work orders and area calculations for material ordering.

Road Boring

Today we began the first of the eight rode bores that will take place with the irrigation renovation project. The bores are being done at all of the development road crossings that occur between the golf holes.

The bores will replace open cut trenching through the roads, which is far less invasive and more structurally sound as far as pipe encasement. The most difficult bore we will occur at the crossing from #16 green over to #17 tees. The bore itself will be over 300 feet long with a depth of more than 25 feet. Lets hope we do not encounter any rock during this one.

Quick Recovery

You would be hard pressed to find an open aerification hole on the greens only seven days after being aerified. The quick recovery is largely due to the fact that small holes were punched and an ample amount of fertilizer was applied in conjunction with aerification.

From a visual standpoint the greens are back, but from a playability standpoint the speeds are considerably slower than normal. This is due to the amount of fertilizer on the greens as well as a higher height of cut that is currently being used. The height was raised due to the amount of sand applied and the temporary unevenness that is created from the physical aerification process. Once we no longer are picking up sand while mowing, we will begin to come down in height and the green speeds will become normal again.

Breaking Free

After a week and a half of slow going through heavy rock on the first hole, it appears that the digging will be getting better for a little while.

The digging is now taking place up on the mounds to the East of the fairway bunker and based on the land forms near by, little rock should be encountered. The next area of anticipated rock will occur just past the tees on hole #2 to the tees on #3. After that point in time, the rock that might be found will be minimal if non existent. It would be at this time that Tanto will be able to make up for lost time and try to get back on schedule.

Tip Burn

On a several fairways #6,#7 and #8 in particular, have had some tip burn occur on them. The burn was caused by the compost that was applied during aerification. One of the six truck loads of compost that was applied was a little hotter than expected. The burn that is visible now, will mowed off and will become a non issue.

The compost I use has a low C/N ratio (carbon / nitrogen) which means that the compost tends to be a little hotter than normal compost. The reason I prefer compost that is on the hot side is because, I am using it as my primary fertilizer source.

In addition to compost being used as a fertilizer source, some of the other benefits of using composts are:

Humus
• Adds humus and organic matter to the soil
• Inoculates soil with humus building microorganisms
• Improves soil structure to allow better infiltration of air and water
• Humus stores 20 times the weight in water and significantly increases the soils ability to store water

Nutrients
• Mineral based nutrients
• Organic based nutrients
• Slow release
• Does not leach into aquatic environments

Microorganisms
• Supplies a large range of beneficial fungi, bacteria and other useful species
• Suppresses soil pathogens
• Fixes Nitrogen
• Increases soil Carbon
• Releases locked up soil nutrients
• Detoxifies poisons
• Feeds plants and soil life
• Builds soil structure

Washout

After some significant rain Thursday evening, the pipe installation was effected on Friday. The rains caused the soil to become saturated and cleanup behind the pipe installation becomes virtually impossible.

Once the soil becomes wet, the cleanup behind is no longer efficient and neat. The soil now sticks to and smears on the turf leaving a less the acceptable finished product. Additionally with the amount of moisture in the ground the potential for damage to the turf has significantly increased, which will cause further delays.

All in all we have gotten off to a slow start, but the resources are being made available to help get the project back on schedule. I don’t doubt that at the end of the day everything will be fine, but at this point the jury is still out.

As Staked Drawings

The as Staked drawings are what is used by the contractor to install the various components of the irrigations system. These drawings come from the irrigation design that was created from CAD files by LRDG. These files were taken into the field utilizing GPS technology to site the specific items for installation.

This will be the first of several as staked drawings, because each of the components is installed in layers. The first items that are placed are the mainline and all of the isolation valves. The next items that will be sited are the sprinkler heads.

As each of the items are installed, they will be re-shot by GPS creating accurate as built plans of where everything is located. In the future if there are any problems, I will be able to go back out and quickly locate and identify what component is causing the problem.

We Found Rock!

It was anticipated that rock would be a difficult obstacle in the renovation process on the upper holes and it turns out we were right. 285 feet into the new pipe being installed we encountered our first rock problem.

The rock was hit a depth of 60”, unfortunately we needed to go another 4” deeper in order to achieve a depth the four feet of cover over the mainline pipe. At first the excavator tried scraping off the layers of rock, but this did not work out very well.



Next a rock hammer was brought in to chisel away at the stone which it did, but very slowly. Anytime an obstacle like rock is hit the production goes way down until the right equipment is on hand to properly deal with it.

Aerification Day 3

We tried to make up for lost time, but once again the weather did not cooperate. Much of the morning was lost because the dew and moisture on the thatch lingered on. Once we were able to begin dragging the sand on the greens and the thatch on the fairways it was just before 10:00am.

We had a stretch of about three hours where we made good time until the rain started. Luckily the rain was light, but the damage was done to the production we needed to finish by today.

The last fairway will have compost applied and final cleanup will take place on anything that was not done before days end. It is our hope that this is all completed ahead of morning play.

Aerification Update Day 2

After a slow start on Monday because of the weather, yesterday we made up some of the lost time. Greens and tees have been completed; the only area that is still lagging a little behind is the fairways.

The Graden (de-thatching) has been done on all of the fairways, but the cleanup is still taking place on the back nine fairways at this point. In addition to the cleanup the fairways will be overseeded with Bentgrass and need to have compost applied.

The compost acts as a cover for the seed, as well as providing the necessary nutrients for growth of existing turf as well as the new seedlings once they emerge. The compost applications make up more than 80% of my total fertility applied to the fairways in a given growing season.

More than likely there will be some carry over into tomorrow morning with the final cleanup on #16 and #18 fairways. We will do our best to minimize the impact on play as we complete the cleanup process.

Gloomy Start

Yesterday we began the aerification process of the golf course and the weather was less than favorable. Most of the day it was foggy with drizzle, which does not lend itself well for some of the procedures taking place during aerification.

From a production standpoint we were able to get a lot done, but the cleanup that takes place, is lagging behind. The sand on the greens and thatch on the fairways never dried out and was not able to be drug in. Hopefully today we will be able to catch back up with some of the cleanup, so that the course will be ready to open for play on Thursday.

The Tie In

Sod Cutting Area Of Tie In
The Digging Begins

Today we began the tie in process. This involves cross connecting the current reusable portion of mainline to the new HDPE pipe. A tee is cut into the existing mainline so that the new line can become active, while keep the old system operational at the same time. As the installation progresses, the old system will be decommissioned as the new components are installed and come online.

This cross connection process will be the most difficult aspect of the entire installation. For obvious reasons the current system will have to remain active during the installation, so that the rest of the golf course can continue to be watered. There will be four or five key points that cross connections will take place on the course, these are critical so that an adequate hydraulic flow can take place.

Moving Day

Today the first sections of pipe are being moved from the staging area, out onto the golf course. This is one of the most time consuming parts of the installation process. The more pipe that can be staged and fused out ahead of the digging, the faster installation will go.

Fall Aerification

We're set to begin our fall aerification of the golf course beginning this coming Monday thru Wednesday. The Aerification process will be similar to what was done this spring, with a “light” aerification being done. Follow this link to see what will take place
http://cccpgcm.blogspot.com/2008/04/aerification-process.html

The reasoning for a lighter than normal aerification, is largely due to the fact that the irrigation renovation project starts on Monday as well. Typically the fall aerification is very aggressive and disrupts the golf course for several weeks.

The contractor has to do the mainline tie in and there is an unknown as to how long the water will have to be off on the entire golf course. The risk would be too great if problems are encountered while doing the tie in, so I thought would be best to go a little more conservative with aerification.

Signs of Injury

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have been playing around with some experimental treatments to help eradicate the Perennial Ryegrass in our Bentgrass fairways.

The first visible signs of treatment began to show up after six days following the initial application. Symptoms of the treated areas began to show up as a chlorotic effect on the turfgrass.

Chlorotic Effect Shown of Fairway

Ten days after treatment another indicator that something was going also started to appear. Smaller patches of the Ryegrass are beginning to turn reddish and are giving the appearance of dying. Not all of the Ryegrass is showing the same effect, but several areas are reacting more effectively to the treatment.

Ryegrass Checking Out

Mainline Staking

Today we started the staking for the new mainline installation on the golf course. You will see orange and white flags located on the first five holes of the course signifying where the new components will be installed. These flags are placed using GPS technology, so that the locations are accurately sited and recorded for use in the as built maps of the new system.

Using GPS To Locate a Lateral Isolation Valve

Each point will be re-shot after various components are installed such as; valves, sprinklers, wire splices, satellites and pipe. These data points will be recorded and put into a functional map of the course that will allow me to quickly find anything on the golf course.

Building a Compound

As more and more of the materials for the new irrigation system arrive on site, the size of the compound also grows. We are currently receiving all of the wire, pipe, valves, fittings and equipment to install the system and it has been hard to keep up the never ending convoy of trucks.

The picture below shows the elasticity of the HDPE pipe. If this was done with conventional PVC pipe, the structural integrity would be compromised and would lead to future problems. This is one of the key reasons that we have decided to go with HDPE due to the ability to expand, contract and bend without any damage to the integrity of the pipe.



We are fortunate to have a sizable place on site that these materials can be stored until they are ready to be installed. Over the next several days some of the pipe for the mainline will be laid out on the first several holes. This is being done to help speed the installation process. Each section of pipe is 50 feet and is not easy to get around, so the more staging that can be done the better. After some of the pipe has been staged the fusing process will begin, so that large sections of pipe will be ready to go into the ground as the contractor moves along.

Mobilization

Today marks the first day of mobilization for irrigation contractor on site at CCCP. They will begin setting up their compound on the far eastern end of the driving range. At this location they will be storing all of the materials necessary for the installation of the new irrigations system.

The materials will be coming in over the next several days and at that time some of these items such as pipe will be staged at various areas throughout the course. The staging will be done to help facilitate a more efficient installation, largely due to the handling of the bulky pipe. The 16” mainline pipe comes in 20’ sections and each weighs nearly 1000lbs.

Actual installation of pipe will not begin until next Monday the 8th, but some preliminary work will begin around the course before that time. Some of the items that will take place are satellite controller installation and the mainline tie in. The tie in point is located at the first tee and will hopefully done this coming Friday.