more flood pictures from later in the day.

These pictures were taken aproximatley 12:30pm today compared to the pictures in the previous post that were taken around 8 a.m.

10 bridge

10 green

12 from eleven green

12 red tee

12 white tee

12 green from fourteen green area

"high water" bridge on 17 water starting to cover.

Back Nine Closed!

Due to flooding from both the wet lands along 11, 12, 13, and flow from the river shoot along 17 and 18 the back side is not accessible to carts or Course equipment. The cart paths are completely underwater and it is unsafe; especially going over bridges and areas with moving water.

Here is the bridge going to ten green.

Shot of 12 from behind 11 green

Shot of 11 from the green

Standing near 17 tee looking at the green

Cartpath on 18 from tee area

12 Flooded!

Number 12 is once again under water. for now we are playing it as a par three. Also, please use the gravel road after teeing off of 11. The cart path is unpassable on 11.
 I hope this is it, but the river is still rsing and is spillig into the waste lands right of 15 green. All we can do is wait and see!

ONCE AGAIN! (new pics)

We made it through the storms with out major damage. Last nights storms did leave us with a few limbs and some debris but nothing else, other than MAJOR bunker washing. We have a lot of work ahead, and more storms forecasted for tonight.
I will try to post some pictures later.

As you can see these bunkers have been covered in silt. this silt is what will destroy the bunkers ability to drain. not only can it contaminate thesand it can get into the drainage and clog it. It must be removed asap!

STORMS!

I'm sorry I have not updated lately but there has not been much to talk about. Tuesday night we were again hit hard by heavy rain. We were almost able to get all bunkers repaired before the rain came again Wednesday afternoon. We have been working all day trying to recover before the rain comes again today. Then we will start over again tomorrow. Course has been too wet to mow much this week (other than greens) and many other maintenance issues have been delayed. I will do everything possible to catch back up once the weather clears. Thanks.

Another Storm!

Last nights storm was even more intense than the other morning. Much more rain so the bunkeres really took a beating. Other than the bunkers we escaped with very little damage. !!! Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!

Mowing Greens

Very early in the spring we will only mow greens once a week and roll once or twice a week. As the season progresses and the turf begins to grow, even slowly, we increase the mowing frequency and lower the height of cut. For the last several weeks we have been mowing everyday. We will continue to mow everyday until mid fall.

We have two different types of mowers. Walk mower and the triplex mower. Both give a very high quality of cut, although not exactly the same.

This is Oscar using the triplex. The triplex has slightly less head pressure than the walk mowers at the point of cut. So we have to set the cutting height a little ( .01 of an inch) lower than the walk mowers to achieve the same actual height of cut.

Here is Jose with a Walk mower. We alternate the triplex and walk mowers as frequently as possible. This allows us to save a considerable amount of labor without compromising the quality of putting surface.

Strong Storm this morning

Although there was much lightning and some heavy rain the golf course did not experience any damage. I will bet that later today or tomorrow I discover a tree or two that got struck by lightning, but none are down. This was a typical thunder/rain storm, since many members do not get out on the course directly after such an event, here are a couple of pictures of what we have to deal with after a heavy rain. All of these pictures were taken within 20 minutes of the rain stopping.

Typically bunkers are our major concern. We have to clean any dirt or silt out of the greenside bunkers as quickly as we can so the silt does not contaminate the white sand. If silt gets mixed in with the bunker sand water will not be able to flow though to the drainage.

This is the fairway bunker on #1. Our fairway bunkers have not been renovated so they fill with water and do not drain. We have to pump these out. If you remember this is exactly how each and every greenside bunker was before we renovated a few years ago.

This is the front left greenside bunker on 4. As you can see there is no water, the sand is still draining quickly. This is very good considering how hard it rained. But some silt was left behind, so my crew will be skimming this out ASAP so the smaller particles of the silt do not get mixed into the sand.

This is the front right greenside bunker on 16. As you can see it is not washed and there is not any silt. This is how most of the bunkers perform after a rain. It is important for us to rake the bunkers after we clean them so that if it rains again the sand is not so compact and water will flow though the sand rather than run across it causing washouts.  

#9 nearly complete!

Weather has slowed us here but we are nearly finished now!
We have laid the sod and installed the Turf Protector on the first entrance/exit on 9 fairway.
This product will allow the turf to grow through the mesh but will distribute the weight of carts and protect the turf from wear damage and compaction. This is a product that I have never used nor have I spoken to anyone who has used it. I have confidence that it will work, although it something new to me.
The only draw back I see is playability. We will not be able to play off of the mesh, it will be permanently marked GUR.

I'm sorry.............

But it is just too wet to go 90 degrees today. I will re-evaluate after lunch but I do not have much hope for today. Hopefully tomorrow!