GUR Areas

Recently, we had to mark a couple areas as GUR(Ground Under Repair).  These areas are the approaches on 6 and 17.  In addition, the back of the tee box on 10 is very soft.  These areas are extremely soft due to a heavy infestation of earthworms.  While earthworms can be very beneficial, extremely high populations can affect play.  Methods have been applied to correct this problem on various areas of the course and results should be visible in a week.  The process is twofold and requires a week for satisfactory results.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Native Areas

As you might have noticed, over the past week the native areas were mowed down with a bushhog. I just wanted to let everyone know that these areas will not be going away, rather this is just routine maintenance. The native areas, while allowed to grow freely, still require yearly maintenance in order to achieve the best possible appearance. These areas will be mowed twice a year in order to promote new growth. The mowing schedule will be once in the Fall and once in the Spring. In addition, they will be fertilized and a pre-emergent herbicide will be applied in the Spring annually in order to reduce the weed population. I hope this explains the process completely and there isn't any confusion as to why we were cutting them down.

Preparing for winter

The decision was made to remove the intermediate cut during the winter months. The reasoning behind this decision was because the height of cuts would be almost identical between the fairway and intermediate cut in the winter. The height of cut for the fairways will be raised before the first frost in order to provide more plant material for the bermudagrass to survive dormancy. There would have only been a 1/4" difference between the fairways and intermediate cut so I decided to include the intermediate cut into the fairway. The only other option was to expand the 2" rough and I didn't think this would be fair. The scalped turf will look unsightly for a few days but will blend in with the fairway cut very soon. This area will be included when we paint the fairways on #1, 8, and 18. We will also paint the fairways on #7 and 9 but since they are par 3's, they don't have an intermediate cut. Only having two heights of cut during the winter months will provide dramatic definition to the golf course.

SHORT GAME CONSTRUCTION BEGINS!

The short game construction project began on Wednesday, August 21, 2013.  The newly designed and constructed practice facility will consist of a 4,000 sq. ft. A1/A4 creeping bentgrass green and a 1,200 sq. ft. bunker.  In addition, there will be a 7,000 sq. ft. teeing area with a bermudagrass target green located about 50 yards out.  New irrigation will also be installed in order to provide thorough water coverage for the turf.  The goal of the project is to allow members the opportunity to practice chip/bunker shots that will resemble the exact conditions on the golf course from a design/playability aspect.  Therefore, shots will now land onto a bentgrass green rather than the old bermuda green, and the bunker sand will be identical to the sand on the course.  Furthermore, the practice bunker will be constructed as a Better Billy Bunker.  The Better Billy Bunker consists of a 2" gravel layer that is sprayed with a polymer that provides superior drainage without the use of a liner.  This method of construction will eliminate washouts in the bunker due to heavy rainfall and will also eliminate silt contamination.  I'm very excited that this construction technique is being applied at Stonehenge and I think it will be something to consider down the road as far as the bunkers on the golf course.  I will continue to update the blog as progress continues.

In picture above, Trey begins leveling out the old green and shaping the newly constructed putting green.

The green has been shaped and dug out with drainage channels excavated.  The teeing area can be seen in the background.  The practice bunker is positioned in between the green and teeing area.

A base layer of gravel is placed in the drainage ditch, 4" perforated drainage pipe is installed, and additional gravel will then be added so that the entire drainage ditch is filled-in.  

Bob Cummings Retirement

It is with mixed emotions that I inform the membership that Bob Cummings will be retiring from Stonehenge Golf & Country Club effective September 1, 2013. While we all are extremely happy for Bob being able to retire and spend more time doing the things he enjoys, we also realize that he will be deeply missed and very hard to replace. A great mechanic is the lifeblood of a golf course maintenance department and Bob fits that description to a tea. Bob has been employed at Stonehenge for over 14 years and has been recognized as the Employee of the Year twice. Bob knows the equipment like the back of his hand and always has equipment up and running in no time. More importantly, Bob is just an all-around great guy and keeps things loose down at the shop. Please feel free to stop by the shop and wish Bob the best if you would like. Visitors are always welcome.

Golf Course Update

Things have been very busy out on the course, hence the delay in updating the blog.  Included are just a few projects and pictures that we have been working on over the last few weeks. 

With all of the rain and wind we have received during the Spring season, the pine tree that was on #6 about 150 yards out severely fractured and was leaning in a manner that was extremely unsafe.  The tree was cut down and removed and we will remove the stump and grass this area in the near future.

The greens have been on a weekly schedule of either spiking or needle-tining in order to vent the greens.  These practices allow the greens to breath by reducing the water tension on the surface due to all of the rain we have received.  The following picture shows Hunter mowing #17 green immediately after the green has been needle-tined.  The right half of the green has already been mowed and the left half still needs to be mowed.  As the picture indicates, mowing right after venting the greens heals the holes and eliminates any disturbance. 

We hope you all are enjoying the golf course and we look forward to seeing you all out there.

What's with all the white wire flags?

Over the past few days, I've had a few members ask me what the white wire flags are marking.  I placed these wire flags throughout different areas on the Front 9 that represent and mark the boundaries for newly designated native areas.  All of the areas marked are out of play and will help better define certain holes.  In addition, allowing a little more acreage on the golf course to grow naturally will benefit the environment and reduce the manhours needed to maintain these areas.  We are also better able to comply with the Audubon Sanctuary by reducing our pesticide, fertilizer, and water requirements.  When maintained properly and free of weeds, these areas can add a lot of character and natural beauty for the golf course. 

Please be extremely careful!

As some of you might have already heard, an abandoned mineshaft caved in behind #1 green on Thursday afternoon.  While the concrete slab caved in anywhere from 4-10 feet, there is no exact determination as to how deep the hole is entirely.  That being said, please stay as far away from this scene as possible and don't try to retrieve your ball shall it fall into this hole.  The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy has been notified of the incident and will be examining the problem at a date to be determined sometime next week.  At that time I should have more information as to the next step in this process.  Thank you all for your cooperation and patience.  Once again, please keep your distance from this scene and enjoy your round!

The Newest Addition!

Let's just say that Marvin is a happy camper.  Marvin has been working at Stonehenge for over 12 years and is invaluable in his knowledge and expertise in equipment operation.  One of his biggest jobs every summer is mowing all of the rough.  I'm happy to say that this year Marvin will be mowing the rough on a brand new Toro 4500-D.  This newest 4500-D has many features that were lacking on the older model which will result in a far superior quality of cut and a reduction in the equipment repairs department.  The new machine was delivered on Monday, May 6 and was put to good use on Thursday, May 9.  This machine mows the majority of grass on the golf course and logs many hours each season.  This year Marvin will be mowing all of the bermudagrass rough at a height of 2".  The goal is to provide a fair height of cut for playability and promote the lateral growth of the grass.  Rather than the plant use all of it's energy on top growth, mowing at a lower height will allow the plant to fill-in and grow laterally.  Finally, all of the tall fescue secondary rough areas will be mowed with a different unit at a height of 3".  The reason for this is because a 2" cut on tall fescue is too short and very stressful for this cool-season grass in the middle of summer.

Welcome!

The Stonehenge Golf & Country Club Golf Course Maintenance blog is up and running. Now let's just hope the weather cooperates and allows the bermudagrass to follow suit and begin to grow.  I will be posting to the blog every week and explaining and highlighting various maintenance practices that we as a department will be performing.  I look forward to the opportunity to communicate with the members applying this form of social media. As always, if anybody has any questions/comments please either email, comment directly on the blog site, or stop me out on the golf course.