Asphalt Overlay, Green Roots and New Concrete

 It was an interesting month of July we've just recently experienced. All-time record high rainfalls at the airport, a little above normal temperatures with 15 days over 90 degrees and have had 7 days this summer over 100 which is the 18th ranked summer of all-time. 

Asphalt Overlay

We were blessed when our asphalt contractor called and asked to come on property a week early. We were initially scheduled for last week which gave us 10" of rain so we are counting our blessings of the early start which helped us complete our work before we were forced to build Noah's Ark!. Over 12,000 linear feet were laid in 4 days. Overall, the work turned out well with just a slight bit of rutting at a couple of spots.

We did have difficulty with a couple areas on 11 and 12 where the existing paving gave way and rutting occurred. It was dug out and once the paving machine and roller went over it the ground was to unstable creating an uneven surface. We are working with the contractor to get this repaired but this work might be put off until the final work is completed on holes 15-18 next season.

As a part of the clean up, we have started picking up the excess asphalt laying on the sides of the paths. Staff went through holes 4-8. We also have major work along the edges of the new paths in a number of areas. We will begin to back fill these areas as weather and time allows. We will be looking at greens and tees first and then move to fairway areas. This work will not be completed until probably the winter and or spring of 2023. 

As mentioned in another social media post, the staff and I are so appreciative and grateful for the funds  being made available to improve our infrastructure to go along with the excellent turf conditions our staff strives to produce. It makes the grass look even better.

#5 New Cart Path

Green Roots

On July 4th, I took a picture of our roots and commented not bad for this date. Well, within a couple of weeks of very high temperatures and heavy rainfall a root disease broke out and helped to shorten our roots. The disease is called Pythium Root Rot. It is always in the soil but is usually in control from a number of different ways. Average temperatures with proper moisture levels in our greens. A spray schedule in the spring with monthly applications to help reduce any outbreaks and humans making sure proper air(needle tining/venting greens) and proper moisture. As these factors potentially get out of balance, the Pythium infects the roots and reduces the grass plants ability to pull in moisture and feed itself. In the end, the greens begin to thin and patches just kind of melt away.

6 inches of roots July 4th. I was happy.

We sent samples off to our Turf grass Pathologist who moved from Mizzou to Purdue and received confirmation of the disease. We drenched in some chemistry and begin to needle them to help get the product down to the root and also help to dry them out. It appears with last weeks heavy rainfall, raising of mowing heights, using walk mowers and cloudy cooler days has helped us tremendously. It appears the weather is going to moderate again this week which will hopefully allow us to get some much needed sand on the greens and brushing. As greens continue to improve we will lower our heights down and begin the work of increasing ball roll out.  

 

The arrows are pointing toward what appears to be dry spots on our greens but to the left is a larger mass forming. The areas look like they are potential dry areas but they are actual moist and wet. We have a moisture meter that gives us a water moisture capacity reading. These reading are then used to determine if we need more water in an area or not.

                                                        After needle tine and rolling.

New Concrete Walk Paths For Driving Ranges

I apologize for the delay in getting the new walk paths installed but the approximate 2000 tons of asphalt needed a home first. We intend to lay the concrete for the paths at the long range this next week and then the path at the short range the following week. This will improve the look of our practice area and reduce the need for mulching and repairing the washed away mulch.

The long range walk path as we anticipated heavy rain overnight. Took off our lower side framing to allow the water to rage into the creek and did not bring the gravel all of the way down so it would stay in place. No gravel needed toward the parking area since there is 20' of asphalt in the foreground that we can pour the concrete upon. 

Hopefully things will dry out the next few days and we will see you on the golf course.

                                                 

Day 2 Asphalt Overlay

 Had a pretty good day today but a couple issues cropped up. Laid overlay from 15 lake crossing through 13 tee and onto 12 but then it happened. 2” waterline gave way pouring a torrent of water down into the already wet area below the red tee on 12. We were able to get our 3 trucks asphalt out and laid, rerouted the trucks and moved over to 7 and pulled down to red tee on 7. Approximately 3,000 more feet with a little over 5,000 to go. Along with the work comes some additional damage due to the overall condition of the paths in some spots. 

We've been pretty much buried in work the past couple of days and have not had the opportunity to do much roping and staking in areas where the overlay does much up well with the soil around it. Please remember to use caution upon entering and exiting the new cart paths. We appreciate your understanding during this work. 

Blowout above 12 red tee. Luckily the shutoff was nearby and we were able to isolate  fairly quickly but not before hundreds of gallons ran down the hill.

Pulling out from the lake crossing at 15 tee.

Inevitably some damage going down the hill on 11. Brittle old asphalt ultimately won't hold up. Guys are pulling this out as I type and an extra layer of asphalt will be put in place.

Working toward 7 red tee.

Another area we were concerned about coming down hill in front of red tee on 12. Had about 20 trucks trips over this and it gave out. Luckily we routed trucks out a different way from the beginning of the day to reduce wear and tear which would have been much worse.

Day 1 Asphalt Overlay

 We had a good start to our first day of asphalt overlay at Glen Echo. I hope those of you that played were not too inconvenienced as you played your round. Laid about 3000 linear feet of pavement today which included the 5th hole from the main road, all of the 6th hole and off the tee on 7 to the main road. 8 from the main road to the green and all of 9. We did the short right path on 10 from the lake to the tee.

Our plan is to start at 15 tee tomorrow and work back through holes 14 and 13 which is about 1700 feet. I would anticipate getting 12 finished and possibly 11 but we will see. We have a lot of travel and staging of trucks with over a half of mile of travel back to our work area.

Contractor puts a seal coating down on existing asphalt to insure adhesion with the overlaid asphalt.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnk85IYdc7w

 

Our contractor laying the asphalt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l6ePkbV-kY&t=30s

                                                 Discussion regarding carts and the new paths.

                                                             

                                                            

Overlay, Holey Moly, Petri Dish, Renovation and Bye Bye Bye

It's been quite a while since I've blogged. three months, a couple Marathons and about 15 pounds less and pff its July. 

Mother Nature was not overly kind to us in the month of June but we survived. High temperatures and a big water bill toward the last 1/2 of June and into July will make for an interesting Financial Statement for the Grounds Department for July. 

We also had a little damage to a couple greens at the beginning of last week but things seem to be turning around and a majority of the spots are healing. We have others greens at various stages of funk and lacking beauty but generally speaking we are in pretty decent shape as we begin another hot stretch of weather over the next 7 to 10 days. 

We've been doing a great deal of hand watering in the mornings and afternoons and at time it appears we are taking a step forward and 2 steps backwards. Many times you think you see some disease, you pull the sample and you send it to your turf pathologist to tell you what you've contracted and what you need to spray. On many occasions there is not a great deal of disease in the sample but Abiotic Stresses are usually the #1 contributing factor in the sample. So Joe, what are abiotic stresses? Common examples of abiotic stresses are created by severe and or adverse changes in one or more of the following conditions: 

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Rain
• Wind
• Latitude
• Soil Composition
• Radiation(Sun)

So basically summer in the heartland of Missouri.

Your mind begins to wander as a grass grower during some of these stretches of severe conditions. "Am I seeing real issues or are we just seeing the effects of summer on living and breathing grass"? 

Your first thoughts are "I have to do something but experience has told me if you've done everything possible, the best thing to do is do nothing and allow the abiotic conditions to change to a improving plant health environment." 

Now don't get me wrong, you can't just give up just yet and say its abiotic stress and there is nothing we can do. One has to control water, continue to spray for plant health and be diligent in monitoring but patience is very important. 

CART PATH OVERLAY

Well, its that time again for some overlay on the golf course cart paths. Section 2 with the third coming next season. We will be laying roughly 12,800 feet of asphalt to over the next 5-7 days. Holes included in this run will be the completion of 4 from the Field Bar to the main road and 5-9. Also included will be holes 10 through 15 tee at the lake spillway.

• Our plans are to begin on Tuesday, July 19th on holes 5-6, 7 tee to main road and 8 approach fairway back around to #9 green and the main road.
• We will then pull out from the right cart path along 10 lake back to the main road. From the bridge on 10 approach back to the main road, 8 bridge tee back to main road. 
• 15 tee from the lake bridge back through 13 tee/12 green. 
• 12 green to the Field Bar, From Bridges at Field bar back to Cart path behind 7. Connect 4 and 7 back to the main road and we are complete.

I will make daily updates on Social Media and this blog.

Myself and staff members will be in the area helping to direct trucks and members/guests as we are working through the project.

Of course after the asphalt has ben completed, our staff will then begin the process of making smooth transitions between the new height of the path and the old grade along the side of the paths. This work will be ongoing through the rest of the summer and into the fall and winter as time allows. Of course cooler temperatures of fall and winter are more conducive to new turf survival but we will do what we can on the most severe drop offs to reduce the potential of accidents and or damage to carts or members in their carts. 

Just a reminder when operating the carts in the new asphalt areas, drive your cart at an angle so the cart wheels enter and exist with all tires hitting separately. This can reduce wear and tear on the new carts and protect our members and guests from injury. It would be wise to reduce your speed at entering and exiting the paths until we have opportunities to get these areas leveled. We will uses stakes and roping and or caution tape to alert you of any excessive differences in the height of the pavement and the exiting grade along the paths. 

 Asphalt Work July 2022 - YouTube

Contractor was out today grinding the areas that will have new overlay so they will butt up against them properly. This allows for a smooth transition between the new and existing asphalt.

HOLEY MOLY

We started fairway aeration a couple of weeks ago and has since been sidelined due to the aerator lift cylinder needing replacement. It has since been repaired so we will try to finish the remaining holes on the front 9, 1-3 and #7 over the next week or so as weather and work responsibilities allow for its completion. 

Below is a video of our aerator a couple of weeks ago. Many holes in those fairways and soil plugs pulled out onto the surface of the fairways. The rain on the weekend of July 9-10 helped clear up the soil on the back 9 and the Sunday  rain assisted to dissolve the existing soil back through the turf of the completed holes on the front 9. 

 Fairway Aerating - YouTube

PETRI DISH

This morning was a Turf grass Pathologists dream morning. High humidity, a layer of fog and warm. As I drove out the paths at Glen Echo this morning there were large patches of disease areas becoming active on the ends of the grass and down at the soil level of the turf. There were many plants with white mycelium which is where fungal disease is usually active. Its usually at the tips of blades due to guttation water coming out of the plants pores which is laden with nutrients that the fungus feed upon  Our superintendent text chain was lit up with photos of various levels of activity early this morning. 

One of the activities that assists in reducing this disease is the actual mowing of the grass and or rolling. These practices help to reduce the wetting time of the leaf which assists in reducing or stopping the additional formation of mycelium. Of course fungicides reduce this impact as well but we cannot afford or have the time to spray all of the rough to reduce this disease activity. We attempt to keep our greens, collars, smaller green and tee surround areas from infection which can look rather unsightly or weaken the plants.

Dollar spot on cool season grass. Phot credit LSU Ag.

TEE RENOVATION

The tee renovations of the blue and red tee on hole 9 and the special event tee for 17 made near the patio I believe turned out looking really good and were ready for play within about 18-20 days after completion. It appears they are holding up well and provide great playing surfaces for the future. We plan on expanding the drop zone tee at 9. Enlarging it slightly and leveling it in the next week or two. Our first effort was a bit rushed and was not the quality of work that we attempt to create when we renovated it last season.

9 Red tee

9 Blue tee

Bye, Bye, Bye

(9) *NSYNC - Bye Bye Bye (Official Music Video) - YouTube

Music and video by NSYNC.

Well, we aren't talking about NSYNC but we are talking bye, bye, bye to the continuous mulching of the walk paths to the practice areas with new brushed concrete coming soon. Moles, washouts from rain were just some of the problems experienced on these paths over the years.

We intended to complete part of the paths this week but the asphalt contractor was available to come a week earlier so that project will get priority and we are on hold. We also have high heat coming in again this week so we have to make sure we have enough staff available to keep an eye on our greens, maintain the course and assist with the asphalt project We hope to start this work next week.

The paths will be 5’ wide and brushed to assist in reducing slipping.

Top photo is short path at long range. Bottom left is long path at long range and bottom right photo is short range. 

Thanks for your time. Come out and see us when you get a chance!

Cart Path Update

 Good progress on the cart path overlay today at Glen Echo.

The clubhouse circle was completed this morning and the operation was moved to the area of 3 tee and our contractor brought us to within about 200 yards from the first tee.

Thursday play will begin from the 10th tee to allow us some extra time to get through #1 tee. We will be asking members to go through the maintenance area to get to the driving range since we will be stacked with trucks along 1 and into the range area. Our road begins at the guard rail near the cart garage. We will then complete the long range road and parking area and then move out to #3. I anticipate 4 tee to the field bar road behind 7 green off of #4 completed on Friday.

The asphalt that is currently laid is ready to be driven upon. Once the asphalt is rolled a few times it will be ready to drive upon. In the meantime, if you are out on Thursday or Friday, we will provide some guidance in the area that we are working. I Thanks for your patience as we work through this project.

Areas ground on parking lot as contractor prepared to fill with new asphalt.

Rolling the newly patched area.

Laying asphalt in clubhouse circle.

Rolling the area smooth.

                                       Contractor using a paving machine to lay the asphalt. Staff firming up

                                        sides and smoothing out imperfections.

Steamy hot.

                   

Finished product after rolling from 2 tee to 1 green.

From 2 tee onward and up!

Asphalt on the high side of 1 will need some back bill and sod.

Area near the upside but on the low side with the same issue. Soil and sod to smooth out.

 This will prevent damage to equipment and reduce hazardous situations for carts and our members operating them. 

Cart Paths and Fairways

Over the next few days, there are a couple of large scale projects taking place on the grounds of Glen Echo CC.

Sunday evening we began to aerate our fairways. Skip and I came in once the last tee times went off and started pulling cores and then busting up the cores with a Flail mower that has spinning blades and chains and pulverizes the plugs. Today we will begin to drag the fairways with metal drags which breaks up any plugs that made it past the grinding. It will also help work the soil back through the zoysia canopy. We blow the remaining thatch and residue into the rough where it can be chewed up by the rough mower. Earth to earth and dust to dust. The fairways are then mowed. We anticipate this taking more than one day to complete all of our fairways. We normally have 3-4 fairways to complete usually on Tuesday and or Wednesday depending upon the weather conditions and anticipated play. 

Asphalt work will begin in earnest on Tuesday with the front clubhouse circle getting an overlay, Grinding along the edges of the crosswalks in the Pearson Plaza and near the portico will be completed and then a layer of asphalt will be laid in the circle area.We will begin asphalt on the course on Wednesday. The first work will be from the bottom of 3 hill all the way into the first tee and also the path that goes to the range.

Large dump trucks will be taken by our staff out into the field to assist in navigating through play. We will stage them in the parking lot and they will be brought out from there. They will also be brought back in once empty. Once the first section is complete, they will proceed to the second section which will be from the lowest point on hole 3 going forward through 4 tee to where it ties into the path behind 7 green. Those trucks will be staged  in the main entrance area, The new overlay will be 2" thick and we have a total linear footage of about 5,700' at an average width of about 8'.  

We anticipate this work to be completed by Friday. The asphalt will be able to be driven upon the next day. Depending upon weather, we will begin the process of back filling dirt in along the path and sodding fescue to help make a smooth transition with the new grade. We will do sections at a time to give us the best chance at growing the turf in properly since we are still into summer heat. I would not anticipate all the sodding to be completed before winter is upon us in December. Some areas might not need any back fill which will be helpful.

 

 

The sealing and striping of the parking lot is scheduled for Monday August 9th. Once the delays in the parking lot moved closer to our open window for the cart path overlay, the two projects were switched around so the sealing would not be damaged by the large asphalt trucks. This work should take 2-3 days next week.

We appreciate  your understanding during this time.Check you emails for updates and or social media for both the club and my personal accounts.

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