Frost delay this morning, Happy Halloween!

Bunkers at #6 ready to play.

Fairway topdressing today.

We have 200 tons of topdressing sand in the parking lot to apply on the fairways. This material will be applied to 1,13,14,15,3, 2 and 5 in that order until the sand runs out. You would think that 200 tons is a lot, but at 15 to 20 tons an acre it goes out fast!

Before, during and after bunker construction on the left side fairway bunker at #6.

A bunker just isn't a hole in the ground filled with sand.

View from the 6th tee during edging.

Drainage trenches installed, ready for pipe and stone.

Fabric stapled and glued on the steep banks, this will help prevent washouts and contamination.

Thank you!

Work begins on fairway bunkers on the 6th hole.

The crew from McDonald & Sons pulled in on Tuesday and started to work right away. They are in the process of demolishing the old bunkers and shaping the new ones. And just how it has happened the last three years, the day they show up to work ......it is guaranteed to rain! And it rained Tuesday through Wednesday which halted construction on Thursday.

It's October 15th, time to start on the bunkers again.

These are the right side fairway bunkers on the 6th hole. These two bunkers will be rebuilt in place with new drainage, sand and sod. We will start on 6, move to number 7 and finish up on the 8th hole.

Turf cover installed on the front of the practice tee.

With the cooler temperatures of fall upon us, we are making preparations to put the practice tee to bed for the winter. The turf on the practice tee is a hybrid Bermudagrass called "Latitude 36", and has provided excellent turf conditions during our busy summer months. The draw back of this type of turf is it's lack of recovery when the temperatures turn cool. Areas of use will have to be almost fully recovered before the onset of winter. With this said, the tee may be closed towards the end of October. This will help ensure a vibrant turf when the weather warms up next spring.  

Bunker damage from "Hill climbers".

This is the right greenside bunker on the 2nd hole, you can see some turf damage at the bottom 1\3 of the picture.

This is a close up of that same damage. As we try to figure out what has caused this, a few causes come to mind. Please pick which one you think.

1) bad construction.
 2) Poor maintenance
                                    3) Golfers using this steep bank as a shorter exit out of the bunker and this is the spot for their 1st step.

If you picked #3 as the culprit, you are correct. This is a steep bank that is a challenge to maintain let alone an area to climb out of the bunker. Even though it is the shortest point in the bunker to get back to a golf cart, It is not the correct exit point.
The proper point of exit would be back towards the fairway where the grade is at it's most level.