And then it was gone......

Wednesday afternoon, August 31, 2011.  The bunker behind #10 green is no more.  Final grading and cleanup was done this morning, followed by the laying of sod. 

Here Lashley, Jay, and Alex work on the final clean up and preparations prior to laying the new sod.  You can also see the pattern that has been mown into the surrounding area.





From the side you can see the newly sodded area as well are the surrounding area which will all be mown at the same height as the collars.



Looking from the front of the green you can again see the newly sodded area and the outline of the area which will all be mown at collar height.

Rear Bunker on #10

From behind #10 gren you can see the fill material beginning to replace the bunker.   (Click images for larger version)

You've heard us promise..... today, we started filling in the bunker behind #10 green.  It is currently being filled with the material that was stockpiled when Jay built the new beds by #12 tee.  This material is good for fill, but not satisfactory for surface.  To that end Alex has another stockpile of sandy/loamy material that will be used for the top ~4".  We will then stod the surface and once it is established we will begin the process of training the grass to be mown at the same height as the green collar.

In the above image the red line defines approximately the area that will be mown at the same height as the green collar.  This will give a ball that is over the green a chance to be putted or chipped with a reasonable chance of keeping it on the green.  I'll also point out that the bunker will be completely filled in - it will NOT be a grass bunker, but instead will be just a smooth area on the mounds.

It will take some time for the sod to establish and for the mowing to "train" the grass to be cut so tightly, but by next season we should have a very nice area behind 10 green.

Good news and...bad news/good news



This tree on the right side of #4 was severely damaged by winds about 5:30am on August 4th, 2011 (Click picture to see full size)

 We've got good news....this morning for the first time in a long time we received measurable precipitation, about 3" in fact, as a front passed through and the temperatures dropped from the triple digits they've been for the past several days.

The bad news, or maybe more good news, depending on how you feel about it, is that the high winds that accompanied the front blew out about half of this tree that stands at the right side of the fairway on #4 just as it crosses the creek.  If you enlarge the picture (click on it) you'll notice that the portion of the tree that is remaining upright is split in half.  Initial assessment tells us that the tree will have to be removed completely.