You know the saying, "You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs". Well, we are definitely breaking some eggs right now as all our winter projects have gotten started, but the wet weather won't allow us to finish anything. Our average rainfall in January is upwards of 6 inches and we are already there with still a week left to go. The rain and snow has made it challenging, but things are finally starting to come together. We're almost done making messes and the team is excited to get things cleaned up and restored. I guess you could say we're ready to pour the omelet into the pan. Here's an update our winter projects.
We always have a project planned for when it snows. Weather like this is limiting, but with good planning we can always keep the crew working at peak efficiency. Last year when it snowed we expanded the parking lot at the practice hole. It was then that the Committee and the Board discussed the next snow event and put in motion the project you see here which is to replace the huge cedar trees in the guest parking lot. They had simply gotten too big for their space.
This is what it looks like today. The stumps have been pulled out and we'll be getting some new plant material for these planting strips as soon as possible. Typically, it isn't till March or April when we can get a nursery to dig up and deliver new plants. In the meantime it looks pretty good, and it's certainly a lot safer now that you can clearly see down the road when trying to pull out of the parking lot. The project on the 8th green is also starting to look a lot better. The new evergreen buffer is going in quickly. Check out this series of pictures.
Here's another series of pictures from a different angle.
You can see that we're about half way done with the planting phase. It looks fantastic and there is so much more light, air, and space to play golf over there near the greenside bunker. I knew this project was going to turn out great, but it's already exceeded my expectations. Things aren't going so well on holes 11 and 7 where we're working on an "oak release" project. Work started on New Years Day but since then little has been done given the wet weather.
Getting the trees off the property requires the use of big machines and to avoid injury to the fairways we need to wait a little longer for the right opportunity. Lastly I want to show you where we're at with the project on #9 green near the driving range tee.
Yes it's kind of a mess right now but once we get a couple of dry days this should come together quickly. The new plants have been dug out and they should easily be transplanted to this location when the opportunity arises. Thank you for your patience as we try and get these omelets cooked up to perfection.
So check this out. We've been working very hard to salvage as many plants as possible from the home site which is soon to be completely cleared for new construction. Look at these two huge Japanese maples.
There's a lot of different places we could have re-planted these trees, but we decided it was most important to keep working on the buffer between the freeway and the golf course. Specifically we planted them behind the green on #2 where we had a gap in the existing buffer and thus a clear view of the chemical storage building and freeway traffic. The next two pictures show how it looked before and now after the transplant.
For the next several months we will be working on buffer plantings. You already know we're removing the trees behind #9 green and adding an evergreen buffer. Likewise we're replacing those fir trees to the right of #8 green with a new planting to buffer the freeway. Today I want to inform you of our newest project which is to replace some more of the fir trees to the left of #4.
If you haven't already noticed there are 4 fir trees near the left fairway bunker that are marked for removal. The next two pictures show the typical existing condition of that area.
There's two big problems here. One is we have young fir trees which are planted very close to the fairway and are already causing shade problems. We need to be very careful about the number of fir trees planted along the east property line. Considering the orientation of the golf course in relation to the path of the sun, it is imperative that we minimize the planting of anything that can grow several hundred feet high. There are other tree species which can provide a good buffer while not growing so high that they cause shade problems on the golf course. The other big problem with this area on #4 is the long grass or "native" area. The grass here sometimes gets very long and people are loosing balls or spending an exorbitant amount of time looking for their ball. The committee has decided to remove this "native" area and treat it similar to our primary rough. In order to do this we need to completely renovate the area so that it is smooth enough to mow with our primary rough mowers. The first step will be to remove the fir trees which we will do sometime after the first of the year. After the stumps are ground out, we will then spray out the existing native grasses and then use a rototiller to prepare the soil for grading and new seed. Lastly we will plant new trees and or buffer plants which have been deemed suitable by our Tree Management Plan. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any comments or concerns regarding this project.
We recently marked the trees which are scheduled to be removed this coming "off season", and there has been a few questions regarding this tree next to the 7th tee. It's true that this tree wasn't slated for removal in the last version of the TMP, but it is scheduled to be removed in our latest version of the plan which was updated in August 2018. If you would like to review the most updated version of the TMP, please click HERE. One thing you'll notice about the updated version is that it is visually very different from the old version. Now, the hole-by-hole pages are in color and are overlays of an actual aerial picture. It is much easier to visualize in this format.
So why are we removing the tree on 7 tee? It's pretty simple, the tree shades 2 different putting greens (6&16), 2 different sets of teeing grounds (7&17), and a primary traffic area. It always looks messy in this area since the tree is constantly shedding debris, and the grass around the tree is always in terrible condition since you really can't grow anything under a fir tree, especially in a high traffic area. We have been very successful in the past removing cart paths and the intent is to remove the path here on 7 tee. For us to successfully manage turf in a high traffic area without a cart path, we need good growing conditions and space for traffic to spread out. This tree is really just a juvenile since it's only about 150 years old. It will eventually be twice as big, and the problems that come with it will be doubled.
I took these pictures just the other day and I think they clearly show just how unsatisfactory this area of the golf course looks given the poor turf quality and the old, broken, worn out cart path. I'm excited to get this area in a condition that is consistent with our standards.
The trees just south of the 11th tee have been down for a couple of months now and the positive results of this project have become increasingly obvious. Below is a picture taken from the 11th tee before the removal of the trees and then the next picture was taken just the other day.
Maybe even more impressive is the view from the south looking back toward the tee. Here's a before and after picture from that viewpoint. In these pictures you can really appreciate the size of the trees.
Now of course the benefits of this project are numerous. For one thing nobody is ever going to have to clean up after those trees. Falling debris is a year around occurrence with trees that size. Secondly, the freshly paved road (which is coming very soon) will enjoy decades of strength and smoothness since it wont be compromised by roots heaving up or falling branches. Thirdly, some very nice native oak trees were released by this project giving them a second chance to live a full life. I guess you could say a lot of grass plants were also released by this project since there's no question the surrounding turf will greatly benefit from the increase in sunlight. We must mention the issue of safety. This project has now given everyone the opportunity to hit their desired shot shape from the tee. That means it's a lot safer for those people on 16 green since far fewer errant tee shots will be in that vicinity. Lastly, and most likely the best benefit of this project is simply better golf. As I just mentioned now you can hit a fade or a draw from the tee which means you have a choice. Whenever you stand on a tee and have choices or decisions to make, the tee shot all of the sudden is more interesting and that is just simply better golf. Now I have to give credit where credit is due and Jeremy Pinke (our horticulturist) is certainly due credit and praise for his work on the planting which replaced those trees.
You can see that the planting effectively buffers the roadway and the new trees are a variety that will max out at a height of 30' so they will never cause problems similar to those we experienced from the big firs (i.e. shade, bad golf, road up-heaving). This planting was quite a project in of itself. First of all, the plants were donated by some neighbors with the stipulation that we cover the cost of removal and replacement. The plants had outgrown their space. Here's what they looked like before transplanting.
After most of my staff teamed up and hand dug around each of these plants, Jeremy then used a machine to load them onto our trailer.
The large plants then had to be off loaded at the golf course, and then transported to the planting area on 11 tee.
The whole process took several days, and ironically it all came together on a couple snowy days in early March. I honestly had fears that this project would start at the same time the grass would start growing. No one could have predicted that the course would be covered in snow on March 5th. The timing just couldn't have been better and it was fun watching the crew work together to get this project done. I provided the tools, but it was all coordinated by Jeremy and as always he never disappoints. The planting looks really good, but you should know we're going to add several more plants to increase the overall density. When you see Jeremy, give him an attaboy. This was a tough project and he's pretty proud of how it's turned out so far.
The project to return strategy and improve shot value to the 5th hole began with some selective tree removal. Here's what the tee shot looked like before we started.
Here's what it looks like today. You can see that there is now a clear optional route over the oak tree if you so choose to take the risk.
The weather is finally cooperating and we're making some serious progress restoring the grounds where trees were removed. We also have a good start on building the new teeing grounds.
Yes it looks like a mess right now but we've finished most of the underground work and now we can get it back to level. Click on the image below to watch a video where I explain more details about the project.
Click on the image below to watch a flyover of the golf hole while we were working on it last Friday. Keep in mind I'm an amateur drone pilot. You'll notice in this video that I paused flying for a while after passing over the green.........I pretty much thought I crashed the drone for second.
Remember that power pole near the championship tee on #5? Well now you see it and now you don't.
With the pole now moved out of the way, we are proceeding with the Master Plan project to rebuild and lengthen the teeing ground on #5. The two aerial images below shows how that teeing ground looks now, and how it will look after.
There will also be some changes in the fairway. Below are a couple of aerial images which show the before and after look of the fairway area.
When this hole was changed to a dogleg back in the early 70's, the fir trees were about 50 feet shorter than they are now. Obviously the aggressive line over the left edge of the fairway was part of the original intent so this project will restore that fun risk-reward opportunity. So yes we are fixing the 5th hole and it's going to once again be one of the best short par 4's anywhere. This project will begin in the middle of January 2019. For a full detailed description of the project, please watch this video.
