Paving work

The mild temperatures of late February and early March were not only conducive to golf, they also allowed the Grounds staff to accomplish some projects ahead of schedule. We were able to aerate and start our winter weed control program. But the weather also allowed us to contract out some early season cart path paving work.

Our paving contractor was in quite a bind not having done any snow removal through the winter. Having a window of good weather and available time, the contractor began actively seeking paving work, which they usually don’t book until later in the spring and into summer.

We have a list of areas that we know need repair. In the past, we had saved our paving work until after Master Plan construction work has concluded in the summer and we had no initial plans of doing any paving in the spring. This year, though, we had several areas that were not going to be impacted by construction and could conceivably be done at any point. So, we had work that could be done now and would actually be less disruptive to golfers because it would be done before the golf season ramped up.

The contractor contacted us on a Wednesday, measured areas to be repaired on Friday, and began work the following Monday. It happened quickly because they wanted the work, the weather was perfect, and the impact on our membership would be minimal. With this confluence of factors, we were able to complete several high necessity areas: a long stretch on #4 that was severely crumpling along the edges, 3 separate areas on #8 that had multiple problems, a stretch on #10 that was greatly impacted by tree roots, and finally, a large area leading to and at the driving range tee. The work at the DR tee will have the most immediate impact. We extended asphalt towards the mat and removed the dirt/grass area where we could not keep grass alive and was very unattractive. We were also able to pave around the shed that is at the tee and eliminate the gravel. Finally, we paved a strip the entire length of the mat to again eliminate an area that was nearly impossible to grow grass.

There are certainly more areas that need repair and we will continue to evaluate the worst areas, however, we were lucky enough to have the window to accomplish work at this time and it all came together very quickly, and it will be good step forward for this season.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not walk around the lip of a bunker. This can cause the sod edge to slide into the sand. Instead walk through the bunker and rake your disturbance on your way back out.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org