Day 2 Echofest

The sun rising on a beautiful day 2 of rhe Echofest. All staff from every area of the club has bwen here long before sunrise in preparation for today's activities.

Still time to sign up for the Balloon Race Buffet on the upper Veranda

As I post this, we are less than 2 days from the start of the Bunker Restoration Projects beginning!!

Joe Wachter
Sent from my LG phone

Taking It Up a Notch, drainage pipe has arrived!!!

I know its Echofest time but the adrenaline and excitement just went up a notch with the arrival of the drainage pipe for the bunker restoration project starting 2 1/2 days from now!
Joe Wachter
Sent from my LG phone

Tree Management program

Stumps were ground this morning by a contractor in preparation of the bunker project next week.  The holes will be filled in and spoils removed.  Three of the eight trees were severely compromised at the base and were hollow creating a potential hazard to members, guests and staff.  I am always relieved when a tree that has significant injury and has a weakened structure is removed.  We also ground three additional stumps of trees that had died earlier in the summer.

The base of the silver maple tree from behind #9 green.  Becky will have new flower pots next season.  Also, the two large limbs that forked about 20' off of the ground were hollow as well.

The back tree on #18 green that was removed.  No wonder it showed serious stress over the last two years in late summer.  It was hollow at the base and a few feet up into the tree.

How this Ash from beside #16 stayed up right is surprising to me.  Only 20% of the base was solid wood.  

We Will Never Forget

It was a beautiful late summer morning just like today that our country was changed forever.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

7 DAYS UNTIL THE START OF BUNKER RESTORATION/RENOVATION

Preparations continue for the start of our bunker renovation/restoration project that is set to begin next Monday morning, September 17th.  Equipment has been reserved and put on hold from our suppliers. Large pallets of drainage pipe and fittings(approximately 6000 linear feet at this time) are being ordered and delivered this week.  

Sand will begin to be delivered either late in the week or early next week(700-800 tons to complete the project) as will pea gravel(200 tons) which will be stored in the back employee parking lot to provide easy access for distribution throughout the property.  Our staffing contractor is working to secure an additional 6 staff members to help us with completing our work.

Our sod producer has been alerted that we will be purchasing an estimated $ 15,000 in fescue and some zoysia sod.  The stump grinder will be in on Wednesday to grind away the stumps from the trees that were removed for the project and we then have to clear away the remnants.  We still have four more trees to remove before Wednesday.  I'm giving you forewarning that the two Oaks on #18 will be removed by Tuesday.    

Some late summer, early fall applications are being prepared such as slit seeding into the rough or bare areas. Soil temperatures are dropping to a point where we should spray our preventative treatment of large patch on our zoysia fairways, green surrounds and tees.  You can develop symptoms of the disease in the fall but the most severe or damaging time for the zoysia is at spring green up typically in late April or early May.  The fall application does help reduce the occurrence of the disease in the spring but does not completely stop it.   It does help to reduce the severity.  If not treated in the fall, the turf could be killed completely leaving a very weak spot of zoysia that might take a full summer to recover.  We do also spot spray in the spring when we see small outbreaks of the disease.  

Great that we have had some late summer rain to keep the lakes full and the irrigation system off.  Our water bill for this period will be close to normal this period which ends on or around September 13th.    For those of you that do so, you can now pray for the rain to stop and only occur in lighter increments over the next couple of months during our bunker project!  Less rain will slow the growth of the rough turf somewhat and will allow us to keep working everyday on the bunker project.  The rough has jumped out of the ground over the last 10 days and with illness and a rough mower mechanical issues, we have gotten a little behind with our mowing.  

Of course at the same time this week we have two tournaments on Monday/Tuesday, the Senior Ladies Two Day Championship on Wednesday/Thursday and the Echofest(Member-Member)Tournament scheduled for Friday/Saturday.  We will do everything possible to get our work completed and stay out of everyone's way even with this heavier than normal week of play.  Looks like we will have some evening mowing this week to stay up with our work.  

Upcoming Ryder Cup at Medinah CC #3

The GCSAA which is our national superintendent association produced a video with Curtis Tyrell CGCS MG Director of Golf Course Operations discussing the work that took place over the last few years in preparation for the Ryder Cup coming up at the end of the month in Chicago.  Check out the video below.

#2 Fairway widening at green and bailout area

During Kye Goalby's discussion with the Green Committee regarding the bunker restoration work last month, he also proposed a couple of other ideas regarding the course and potential changes.  One of those changes that the committee wanted to see implemented was a slight widening of the fairway of #2 and a bailout or short grass chipping area along #2 green.  Kye's recommendation of this change involved a couple of different points.

1. The fairway and entrance to the green on the right side narrows rather quickly with the slope moving to the right.  As we all know, many balls struck fairly well end up short and right of the green.
2. A large pine tree was directly adjacent to the green with limbs extending only 25' from the green.  As the tree continued to grow, it would extend even closer to the green.  A shot slightly off line would deflect off the green bank and would end up on bare ground under the tree.  Wrong tree in the wrong place directly next to a green and planted at the bottom of the green bank..  Pines, spruces etc should not be planted in or around green complexes. 

The newly expanded area is  the pointed shape.  The fairway unit mow within about 25' of the green in the front and the tee/approach mower mows to the collar and will mow the new area to the right of the green.

Those of you that have played in the last couple of days have seen the trees that were removed.  I think the new view of the hole exposes the green surround, the slope of the surround and the movement of the right side of the green.  Initially I felt the work would be completed next week but after meeting with Kye yesterday and marking the area, it is larger than I first anticipated so I believe we will delay the sod work until next spring so it will be ready for the summer next season.  

I felt it was important to give you a view from overhead and a little more description of the work planned.  

As I'm typing this, we have gotten about an 1" of rain from the first wave of storms that have just moved through.  Enough already!