Drainage.

The nice thing about having a lot of rain is that it shows exactly where more drainage is necessary. There are a few areas on the course where a wet spot is only a few feet away from a catch basin and today we eliminated one of those on #18. We might have dug 20'-25' of trench to, hopefully, eliminate one of the wetter areas on the course.  All around the course there are areas where we will be able to do similar things and we'll continue to stay on it with the goal of moving as much water off the course as possible.

Before.

















During.

After.

It's been a rough few weeks with the rain (it's currently pouring as I type) but we have actually been a little lucky. A friend of mine in Sylvania sent me a picture of his course after 18" of rain this month. There is supposed to be a fairway where that river is.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend!
Ian

Rain.

In the last 24 hours 1.8" of rain fell on our already soaked golf course. The course is currently very wet and closed. Beyond just making the course very wet, this much moisture has other detrimental effects on the course.

To begin with, the longer grass remains wet the greater the disease pressure. While we do spray preventive, the longer the plant remains wet, the greater the chance of a break through despite our sprays. This time of year we end up spraying more because of the increased disease pressure and all this rain further increases pressure. Also, the longer the grass is underwater the greater the chance of death due to submersion. There are a few things that dictate how quickly grass will die once submerged; duration of submersion, temperature of water and frequency of submersion. We do have pretty good surface and sub-surface drainage here and are able to get most of the water off the playing surface pretty quickly. However, there are still some spots in fairways that lay wet for a day or two. While this isn't a problem once or twice every summer, we are already at four or five times in some of these spots this year. In these areas you'll see some yellowing out where the plant is struggling to stay alive.

Grass struggling in wet areas.

Now there are some things that we do in an attempt to dry the course as quickly as possible. First and foremost whenever we have a problem areas we run drainage through it. That's the fastest way to eliminate a problem area. Another thing that we have been doing since Mark started here is to top-dress fairways with sand. By adding sand to the soil profile, we are able to dilute the fine clay with a much coarser sand particle that helps to firm up the playing surface and move water through it quicker. This is why the fairways are usually firm and dry a few hours after it rains, but the rough has spots that stay wet for days. In recent years we have started topdressing the bad spots in the rough along with the drains we put in. The more we stay on it the better the course will handle these rain events.

Our bunkers are another issue when it rains like this and the only thing I need to say here is that the ones we have redone in the last few years handle the rain much better than the old ones. The Billy Bunker polymer we put in has held up very nicely so far and we look forward to doing more bunkers. This will not only keep the bunkers more consistent from day to day, but it will greatly reduce the labor required to get them back into playing condition after heavy rains like this.

Bunker on #6. Not renovated.

Recently renovated bunkers.

Below are some links with additional information about flooding and the impacts on turf.

OSU flood article
Tennessee flood article

Ian

Sod and paving.

This week we were able to get two big things done; sod work on #1 & #2 and the paving of the driving range cart path. The areas we sodded at 1 and 2 were areas that had been prepped for a while but because of their location were not as high of a priority as other things. However, we finally got back to them and it looks a lot better now. We even cut down a very dead tree that was toward the property line on the right of the #2. We appreciate your patience as we start wrapping things up.

#2 Before (I guess I forgot to take before and after pictures on #1. I promise it looks amazing.)

After.

The bare area inside the turn is seeded.

The path at the range is paved and now all we really have to do is wait for all the seedlings to get more established which, thanks to the recent rain, is moving along quite nicely.

Finally, the Bear is less than a week away and the course is coming together pretty nicely. Everything is greening up, green speeds are up to where we usually keep them and the course is playing well. We will use the beginning of next week to get the course into the best possible shape so that you can all enjoy the place and have a good time and, with the new outdoor bar and furniture out on the patio it looks like you'll have fun after the golf is over as well!

Ian

USGA bunker article.

Below is a link to a USGA article that talks about the different aspects of bunker maintenance and renovation. This article covers a lot of good information about things that we are currently doing on the course. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about how bunkers are constructed and maintained. 

Managing Bunkers

Ian

Heavy rain, seed and driving range path.

Last weekend we received a lot of rain at the course. In the 36 hour period that started Saturday afternoon and ended late Sunday, 2.74" of rain fell on the course. This was more rain than we wanted but we gladly took it and the course was happy to have it as well. The tees perked up and the fairways, which were also fertilized last week, perked up too. Everything is nice and green, yet the course is still pretty firm because we were so dry before the rain. The pond is also full, which we like to see.

Today we finished the grade work at #2 and seeded it. The area on top of the hill will just be seeded but the area coming up the hill from the bunker will be sodded next week. We will also sod the drain lines in the rough between the tee and approach. This area should be buttoned up pretty quickly and already looks a lot better and stays a lot drier with the new drainage.

Finally, the path at the range had the base layer paved today and the top coat will be put on in a few days. It's nice to see this getting wrapped up. The seed that was put out last week has already germinated and, with a lot of water and some fertilizer, will hopefully fill in within a few weeks . The area is still really soft so please don't drive on it if you don't have to.

Ian