Pound the pavement, Pound sand, You talkin about practice!

 Well, its been quite some time since I've made a blog post so let's get after it. 

POUND THE PAVEMENT

That's been my phrase since I became motivated to change my health regimen at the beginning of December. Thirty pounds lost with a goal of another fifteen over the next few months. Diet generally has changed with throwing wheat out of my intake. Pretty difficult initially when I consumed 6-8 servings a day which a majority of it included bread, donuts and cookies. Active here at the club and on my job but a lack of control and will power with food intake has been an issue forever for me. Hopefully, after discussing potential retirement in just a few years, its time for a permanent change in healthy eating and some regular movement away from the job.

POUND SAND

Over this past week we have brought in over 60 tons of sand to place on and or into our golf greens here at Glen Echo. We contracted with a company to perform the Dryject operation on our greens and begin to do our deep-tine solid aeration using our Verti-drain aerator. We used about 35 tons of sand in completing this operation.

Dryject machine injecting sand with a 3000 psi bead of water and sand into the green about 5". You can see the staff filling 5 gallon buckets of dry sand to load the machine. It takes about 2 buckets or more across the green before it will run out.

3 x 3 spacing after completion. Greens were brushed and rolled after this picture was taken.

We are planning on deep-tine aerating our greens on Monday, March 21st. We do not all of them completed in one day so decided to get some of the greens completed this week. We did greens 15, 17, and 18 on Wednesday and completed greens 5-6, 8-9 on Thursday. The aerating process included the following;

• Sanding greens ahead to reduce tire rutting
• Aerate greens
• Apply soil enrichment fertilizer
• Blow sand in holes
• Brush greens and change holes
• Roll greens and apply an organic fertilizer

Skip apply a heavy coating of sand on the greens before bringing the tractor on the green and punching hole. Takes about 2 loads of sand per green, approximately 2 tons.

Russ using our Verti-drain deep tine aerator on our greens. 3" spacing approximately 7-8" deep with 1/2" tines.

Staff using our new articulating blower and backpacks to move sand into the holes in the greens.

YOU TALKIN ABOUT PRACTICE

Pro shop purchased 8 new mats for long range wet, off season practice area. Our staff power washed the concrete, removed the old mats and installed the new mats. The mats accept a regular tee so you will not have to hit from the rubber tees. We are providing a rubber tee on the mat for anyone who does not want to tee as high as a standard tee. These will also be available for groups to hit from as well during our tournament season. I've included a video regarding the new mats as well as a discussion regarding when will be opening the grass tees. Probably will be at least a month or more. 

Thank you for being a part of this great club. We look forward to the upcoming season of golf here at Glen Echo. Remember you can follow regular daily updates on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook regarding the property we manage for you. I will give you as many details as you can stand.

 

Long Range Tee Netting Completed, Mats Now Open

Finished our work on the Long Range Tee netting this morning(Fri). The mats are now open. Thank you!

Driving Range Protective Net Nearly Completed

The staff has installed the wire border and put all the netting up on the Long Range Tee over the last 2 days. We have some additional work to do in the morning and hope to have the mats open by noon on Friday.

Netting rolled out and staff installing rope border.

Guys had to run the rope in and out of the netting so it can be attached to the wire.

Hanging netting on wire that was installed yesterday. 5/16" wire stretched across the top,down the poles and across the bottom where the net is attached to it using carbiner snaps that hold them in place.

Additional view of guys up on the lift. Skip and Russ doing this work.

Attaching more snaps in place. About every 3'.

The maintenance building side of the range that was finished for the most part on Wednesday.

Aeration and More Aeration

Spent a lot of time last week aerating playing surfaces at Glen Echo. Tees, approaches and finished up with the range tees this morning before the storms hit. Also used our rough aerator with slicing blades and did back 9 last week and almost got through number 5 when we had a weld break. Should finish that later this week when the repair is made. Videos below describing our work. Links attached for those who video does not come up on your screen.

https://youtu.be/cOabWGH0DiQ

Picking up cores on short range tee.

All hands hurrying before the storm hit on Long Range Tee.

https://youtu.be/tby1MegAbnU

Long Range Grass Tee Officially Opened Today

The Long Range Grass Tee was officially opened today with the first shots being made by about 1/2 of our 17 member donor group. The grass tee will be open weather permitting on Wednesdays and Friday through Sunday until sometime in June when the turf will be actively growing and can fully recover from divots. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the mats will be used on the Long Range but the Short Range Grass will be open for your grass hitting pleasure.

We still must install a couple of poles and the netting on the Long Range Tee over the next few weeks and time allows.

We are very appreciative of our group of members who donated to this project. Over $ 22,000 was raised and spent on this project.

Mr, Coe, Dr. and Mrs. Herrin, Mr Henderson, Mr Storey, Mr Abel, and Mr and Mrs Muller taking first swings. Mr Todorovich arrived after the first swing. Contributors but unable to attend included  Lockhart, Caruso, Sommer,  Dr Miller, Mr Anthony Bommarito,  Carsten, Pranger, Lueken, Gabel, and May families.

Long Range Tee Work

With a 5 a.m. arrival and a dash around light frost Thursday morning, the staff quickly prepared the course for a 120 person outing. Once the outings work was completed, we then moved to the Long Range Tee construction. All the holes augured yesterday for the telephone and shorter metal poles for the netting on the long range. We initially borrowed an auger from our friends at St. Louis Country Club and made an extension. Drilled a great hole but not deep enough. We were able to use the smaller auger for our 2' deep holes for our 12.5' net which will go along the left side of the tee. We rented a skid steer with our change of plans and an auger which you will see in action below.

If weather is okay on Monday, we intend to put poles in place.



This hole is a little wider on top because we had large roots in the auger area. Removed them with the backhoe and were able to make quick work of the 9 holes that were needed. We also drilled 9 holes with the tractor auger.

We have retreated the bottom 6' of the poles with a water sealer in recommendations from Ameren where we purchased the poles. We still have to cut a few feet off the poles. The poles will be in the range tee area over the weekend.

Driving Range Tee Amenity Improvements

The Long Range Tee should be drastically improved this year with the leveling and installation of the zoysia sod. Golf Pro Barrett had asked if there were funds available, he would like to see some new bag stands purchased for this season. Cost of these stands can range from $ 100 to well over $ 300 for the top of the line wooden.

We were first thinking we would purchase 10 but after assessing the cost, the staff decided that we could make our own as a part of our winter work projects and could make enough for both tees. We have less than $ 25.00 in materials and a little over 2 hours labor in the project including staining the stands. We inserted a cup holder on the top of the stand as well as some slots to allow clubs to be laid against the stand.

We plan to make 25 and the range tee donations will pay for the cost of the materials. On a daily basis, we will use ten on the long range and about six to eight on the short range tee. The extra stands will give us a full supply for larger events.

The metal stands will still be used at the all weather mats and to supplement the wooden stands if needed. The stands will be brought in each winter to store away and refurbish as necessary for each season. Our prototype is below.  We also intend to replace the dividers that are currently used on the tees. They will be built from slightly larger materials.

The guys cutting the materials in preparation for full production of the stands.

Completed stand, looks great!

Ah, looks even better with that bag/color scheme and a cup holder.  

Long Range Tee Update/Course Etiquette

The long range tee was mowed for the first time today, 15 days since the sod was laid. We are using a walking mower and are mowing it at a height of .900" which is effective height of our riding tee mower of .750". To give you an idea of the height of cut, our tees are mowed at .500". We might drop it slightly over the next couple of mows but will keep it higher than normal  to insure good rooting going into winter. We have plenty of time next season to bring the height down to an effective practice height for you and our guests.

62 steps to walk mow the long range tee in one pass.  40 passes so far with about 25-30% left to mow.

Using our collar walking unit to cut the tee.  Trying to keep the riding equipment off of it as much as possible except the roller to help smooth the surface.

A disturbing view today was to see a divot out of the tee and a spot where someone set up out on the tee hitting drivers. Will one or two individuals hitting off the tee kill it, of course it won't but why not hundreds of people hitting off of it since one or two are going to do it. You know the answer if hundreds hit off of it, it will be destroyed before we get the opportunity to use it.  I do realize there are more than our members that use this facility who could be involved in this issue and the one below.

Also have seen two divots near holes over the last week. This type of damage is rarely seen at our club and now we have seen two of these in a weeks time.

Long Range Tee Leveled and Sod laid this week

June 29th was the beginning of the herbicide application to the long range tee.  On Tuesday August 19th, the tee was tilled and laser leveled by Schaefer-Meyer from St. Charles.  The staff worked through a couple of hot days laying the sod.  The top of the tee was finished on Wednesday and part of the surround  fescue as well was laid. The remaining sod was completed on Thursday that we had on hand.  I decided to expand the cool season turf out toward the walk path removing some crabgrass infested turf.  We still have to complete some of this area and will need to sod on the metro link side of the bank as well.

During the grow in process, we will be keeping the tee very wet to reduce stress to the turf and to assist in rooting.  Once roots begin to form, we will reduce the amount of water but will still keep it fairly moist. Once it is firm enough to mow, we will do some mowing at a higher height than its normal playing height to keep the crown of the plant from raising to high.  We also want to keep it slightly higher than normal to assist in rooting and growing it in.  We will also be lightly sanding the tee to assist in smoothing the surface, placing some protection over the crowns and helping the seems close.  We are also evaluating barrier netting on both the metro link side and an area on the right to reduce balls from entering the the maintenance compound.

We ask that you please keep off the tee and discourage anyone from practicing from the tee until it has been opened for play next season.

We will attempt to open the tee in mid-spring if conditions allow.

We are very appreciative of our member donors who contributed to this project.

First delivery of sod arriving at Glen Echo from Heartland Turf Farms from Columbia, Ill.  They have a sandy soil based sod that will transition and grow in better with our sandy based tee.  We used  54 rolls of zoysia. 35 yards per roll and 10 rolls of Fescue sod.

Mike McNeil from Schaefer-Meyer laser leveling the tee.  On the right front corner of the tee is a laser level.  Mike inputs information into the computer on the level.  We set the tee at a 1% slope from the right front corner to the back corner where Mike is located.  1% slope over 100 feet is 1 foot so the tee falls approximately 1.2" every 10 feet

First roll of sod being laid.  Sod is 3.5 feet wide and about 90' long.  The tee is about 135 feet deep so about 1.5 rolls per line.  Looks simple and it is compared to slabs of sod but the sod does not necessarily get rolled side by side.  It must be pulled or pushed together to reduce gaps which can delay the seams healing.  A lot of up and down and crawling around on ones knees.

The guys are close to finishing the zoysia.  Look over to the right corner and you see 10 roles of fescue.  I burst their bubble when I told them we had to lay at least 6 of those before we left.

The fescue trim on the left.  You can also see in the background the area below the netting which still must be sodded.  We will finish this area once the heat wave stops in the next week or two.

The tennis court roller we used to help press the soil on the sod in better contact with the tee surface.

This is the metro link side that will be sodded as well.  We are not going way down the ditch but along the main soil area to reduce erosion.

Watering after the work on Wednesday.  We will also be hand watering as well to concentrate the water where needed.

The finished product.  Looks pretty sharp!

Long range tee closed August 19-21 for renovation work

The long range tee will be closed from Tuesday August 19 thru Thursday August 21 for tilling, laser leveling and grassing.  It will be opened briefly for the Senior Amateur Qualifying Tournament which will be here on Thursday.  We appreciate your understanding during this process.  We will reopen the mats once the grass has been laid and watered in completely.

Long Range Tee Update

I don't normally shut ranges down on weekends but my contractor who is going to till the range tee and laser leveling it is available tomorrow morning, Saturday August 16th to do the work.  We plan on closing the tee once he arrives at around 9:30-10 a.m.  If I delayed his work until Tuesday or Wednesday which we originally planned, we would not be able to sod until at least August 26th due to end of the week preparations and other scheduled outings.  This would reduce our prime growing time by 8-10 days.

If the weather holds off next week, we plan to lay sod on Tuesday and Wednesday which would then give us almost two months of growing before frost sets in and places the turf in dormancy.  The  short range tee will be available for warming up before your round once the tee is closed.  We appreciate your understanding during this process.

Long Range Update

An update on the long range tee work.  While we had the trencher here, trenched a couple of additional areas that needed work.

We extended the drain line out of #1 bunker down to the fence line.  

We put a smiley face drain above the new asphalt on #4 to reduce the amount of moisture that builds up in that area during wet times of the year.  Should also keep the asphalt in better shape.  

The pop up drain along the start of 12 fairway was a continuous mess.
Underground you go and a larger surface drain basin to catch some runoff water.

Becky planted the  new ornamental screening bed next to 13 blue tee and will be mulching it today.

Video Course Update for the week of 7-28-14

A little video course update for your viewing pleasure this week.  Continue to check blog for regular updates as well as the twitter feed on the right hand side of the page.  Sometimes includes information that is not posted on the blog.

Long range tee closed Tuesday/Wednesday July 22-23

The long range tee will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday this week for construction.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may create.  Please use the short range for practicing.

Golf Course Update

A number of things are happening on the golf course so below is your update.  I've done this in video format with a little music so enjoy the update.  This took a few hours to complete but will be much quicker in the future as I become more familiar with the set up.  I hope you've enjoyed the weather as much as we have on the grounds staff.  We are beginning to dry a little around the edges but we have been able to hold our water costs well below budget over the first two months of summer which is a good thing.  Of course that can change in just a few weeks if the rain stops.

I do need to mention a equipment hydraulic leak which many of you might have noticed if you've played over the last few days. Our surround mower which cuts our rough around our greens had a leak in a rear hose.  The operator went around 6,8,9 and 14 green before he saw the leak.  My hope is that since this is in mostly taller turf, we will have some damage but mostly just leaf die back and no suffocation type damage where the crown of the plant is saturated with oil.  The lines were probably less than an inch wide initially but did expand when he began to make some 3 point turns which caused more additional fluid to drop to the turf.  I would expect the heat over the next few days to bring the damage out more. If necessary, we will cut out any major loss of turf.

Course Report July 7th Long Range Tee Work Beginning

Long range tee work is beginning in earnest today with the removal of the first herbicide sprayed turf.
Check out the video below.

Tom pushing dead material into loader which places material in the dump truck for removal.  This is the edges of the tee in the tall grass where we intend to widen the tee on the edges and front.

Long Driving Range Plan

As announced last week, the long driving range tee is being converted back to Zoysia which is our main playing surface on fairways and tees.  The following information will give you an approximate time table on our plans and what will take place during the construction work.  I will post this information in the pro shop and locker rooms.

Last Sunday, I sprayed the tee with a 10% Roundup Solution and a high rate of Fusilade II.  The Roundup is a non-selective material and kills everything that is green.  Fusilade is a grassy weed killer and Bermuda grass is on its label.  You need as much help as possible killing Bermuda.

After 6 days of Roundup and Fusilade spray.  Dying but far from dead yet.

In the next few days we will strip the tee of plant material with our sod cutter, fertilize the tee and attempt to encourage the Bermuda to grow again.  Once we get some growth back on the tee, it will be sprayed again with the same mix as we did before.We are attempting to get the material into deepest part of the plant in an effort to kill it.  I would expect this part of the project to take a minimum of 6 weeks.  The regrowth of Bermuda plus the second killing will require some removal of additional turf.

During this second removal process, we will install drainage into the tee.  It will be perforated 4" pipe with pea gravel creating the drain back fill material.  It will be kept about 6 inches from the surface of the tee.  The tee surface will then be tilled by our laser level contractor and the exposed trench lines will be back filled with the tilled material.  The trenching work should take a day or so to complete.  We also have to dig up our sprinkler heads and raise them so that they can be set slightly above grade for sod installation.

During the stripping and killing of the tee, we will begin the process of removing trees along with our contractor.  I expect to have a majority of the tree work completed before the grass is laid on the new tee surface.

Once everything is back filled and ready, the laser-leveling will begin.  The tilling and leveling will take about one day.  Could till on a day and then laser the next day.

Once the surface is prepared and ready, big roll sod will be brought in and installed by our staff.  We will also sod the outer ring of the new range tee with fescue,  This work should be completed in about 2 days.

I would expect that the tee will be completed before September 1st which should given it a chance to root and fill in.  Once the tee has firmed enough, we will be filling cracks in the sod with sand to help level these areas and fill in.

The tee should be open no later than June 1, 2015 if all goes well.

We are evaluating placing some additional netting along the teeing area to help reduce the amount of golf balls lost during the season.  We are having discussions with Barrett regarding the best potential course of action to take to help reduce the golf ball loss.

1. June 29th, Sprayed range tee with weed killer.
2. Week of July 7th, remove dying Bermuda grass.  Fertilize and water and begin to regrow turf.  Meet with contractor and discuss tree removal.
3. 4th-5th week of July, spray tee again with herbicide.  Ongoing tree work.
4. 2nd week of Aug. strip off remaining dead material and install drainage.  Raise sprinkler heads in preparation for leveling and sod work.  Make changes  in sprinkler alignment if necessary.
5. 2nd week of Aug. finish tree work.  Install any additional netting around range tee due to lack of access after it is sodded.  Any netting along the line away from tee can be installed later in fall.
6. Aug 18 or 25 Laser level tee   
7. Lay sod on and around tee after leveling is complete.

September 1, watch it grow!!

Long range tee sprayed

Due to storms lining up to our west on Saturday, I delayed the range killing spray until Sunday morning. Cut off the dead material in a couple of weeks, grow it and spray again.

  

There Will Be Some Killing Going On at Glen Echo Today!

I don't like to utter those words at a golf course, its all about keeping things alive most of the time.

Say hello to my little friend Roundup and Fusilade Long Range Tee Bermuda grass.  I will be spraying out the long range tee this morning in the beginning stages of changing the grass back to Zoysia.  Proper divot patterns are not necessary this morning as you get ready for the Clarkson.  Chop, chop all you like.

 Please refrain from walking on the grass area after this morning to prevent transferring of chemicals to finer turf areas.  We appreciate your cooperation.