Storm cleanup

Though we are still drier than normal overall, we did receive some rain in the last few days. Unfortunately, one of the storms also came with some intense wind. Cleanup after a storm is always a process and can’t be finished the next day.

We are not far past the anniversary of the derecho that came through the area in 2012. Some of you may remember that storm and the destruction it caused. Luckily, we are nowhere near that messy following the most recent storm, but we still have lots of cleanup to do. There are 3 main aspects that usually require the most attention following a thunderstorm: bunkers, blowing small debris, and tree/limb/stick removal.

The storms are hard on the bunkers for two reasons. First, the heavy rain washes the sand off the edges of the bunker and down into the center. This sand must be shoveled back into its correct location by hand. Second, after the sand moves out of place, the rain then starts to move the underlying soil out of place also. This soil then settles on top of the sand and can lead to contamination. We must scrape the silt off the top of the sand before repairing the bunker. Of course, small debris also collects in the bunkers which must be blown out before raking as well.

The wind that accompanies the storm will strip some leaves off trees and break some small branches out of the tree and blow them across the course. We must use blowers that we can tow behind our maintenance vehicles to blow all this debris off the tees and fairways. We use backpack blowers to clear off the greens and blow out the bunkers. The smallest sticks blow off play surfaces as well, but larger ones need to be moved by hand.

Luckily this large section of tree
fell at just the right angle to miss the
tee sign, bench, and barely graze the trash can. No damage
to any of those items.

Lastly, if the storm is severe enough, we will likely lose a few trees or at least several large limbs as well. These are branches that are too large to blow or move by hand and must be cut before they can be cleaned up. If the trees we lose are too big, or too numerous, we will get help from our tree contractor. So, we spend several days methodically working around the course cutting the larger pieces and picking up the smaller sticks by hand.

The important part to keep in mind is that through all this cleanup, most of our other maintenance tasks continue. We adjust our schedule, especially if the storm came with heavy rain and we can’t mow, and the cleanup does become the highest priority.

We try to get the course back in to playable condition as soon as possible, but it still takes several days. Fortunately, the storm last week was minor, and we should be back in shape in just a few days.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

After filling your divot with sand, either on a tee or fairway, please smooth the sand pile out so our mowers don’t cut through the sand.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Finishing Bermuda grass sod

We will finish up the Bermuda grass sod this week. It took later into the season than we wanted to get started, but the natural healing of the existing turf allowed for less sod overall.

Once the weather turned in favor of Bermuda grass growth, our existing fairway grass started to heal in many of the weaker areas around the course. While it was hard to look at some of the thin areas for so long, waiting longer can be a benefit in the long run. Turf that recovered naturally and healed in will be stronger and more resilient to stresses through the seasons compared to brand new turf that may or may not have experienced some of those same conditions.

Nevertheless, some sod was necessary. We were able to accomplish all our sodding goals with 10 pallets of sod, or 5,000 square feet. This may seem like a lot of sod but repairing 5,000 square feet out of the 1,960,200 square feet of total Bermuda grass on the property isn’t actually that much. This did not cover every square inch of weak Bermuda grass, nor were we ever going to try to cover everything. Some weak areas will be transitioned to rough next year and some weak areas are healing enough on their own and did not warrant sod. Luckily, the weather is perfect for the new sod. With a little water and a few warm days, new roots are forming in about 3 days. The sod from 1 week ago has already been mowed once and the newest batch will be cut this week.

In no time the new sod will be part of our regular maintenance routine and ready for play.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

After filling your divot with sand, either on a tee or fairway, please smooth the sand pile out so our mowers don’t cut through the sand.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Bermuda sod and emergency tree work

It was a busy week last week. We started on Bermuda grass sod and had to do some emergency tree work as well.

First, this blog entry may be posted a little later in the day than usual- we are still working through an internet outage in the Grounds department. The recent storm on Friday afternoon knocked power out to the entire property and seems to have fried a couple of components at the shop.

The damaged tree on 17

Funnily enough, the storm didn’t cause too much damage to the course- lots of debris and a few small limbs fell. However, that same morning, well before the storm, a large section of the big pine tree on the left of #17 fairway broke off and fell. After clearing the cart path to at least allow access, we inspected the remainder of the tree and saw that the wound was very deep into the center of the trunk. We felt it was warranted to have our tree contractor inspect the tree for safety and to recommend whether the entire tree needed to be removed. Our contractor strongly recommended the tree be removed for safety reasons because the missing limb had left a scar that reached well past 50 percent through the trunk and the remaining part of the tree was leaning heavily in the direction of the missing limb. Luckily for us, the tree crew had a small job that was nearly finished that same morning and they were able to make it to our property and remove the tree that same day.

Prepped sod location

We were also able to get started on Bermuda grass sod this past week. For lots of the same reasons that our Bermuda grass struggled this spring- very dry, much cooler than normal, cloudy, etc., the sod company’s Bermuda grass struggled also and it delayed delivery of material. But we received 4 pallets last week and were able to repair spots on 1 fairway and 1 approach, 2 approach, 3 approach, 9 approach, 15 approach, 16 approach, and 18 fairway. We have 4 more pallets coming this week and we should wrap up all the remaining worst areas. We will also continue to plug in small pieces in various locations across the course through the rest of the season. And, in a few very specific locations, we will be transitioning the existing Bermuda grass to rough grass in the fall, so we won’t be repairing those places at all.

New sod being installed

One spot completed

The last 3 weeks have finally been a conducive Bermuda grass environment. We will continue to strive to improve everyday and hopefully we don’t have any more random tree work to tackle.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

After filling your divot with sand, either on a tee or fairway, please smooth the sand pile out so our mowers don’t cut through the sand.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Trials and tribulations

The trials and tribulations of maintaining a golf course continue. After writing about a gas spill last week, this week we have a couple new issues to discuss, one regarding another leak and the other having to do with the irrigation system.

Thursday of last week we had several thunderstorms in our vicinity. We could have used some rain, but unfortunately all we got was lightning. Repeated nearby strikes kept our staff in after lunch for so long that we eventually just sent most of the staff home rather than continue to wait. Instead of getting rain, the close lighting did produce a power surge that went through our irrigation system. This is not the first time this has happened. Like the occurrence back in 2019, some minor damage was observed in a satellite box and the lightning arrester located in that satellite box did its job and had to be replaced. Normally that would have been the end of the story. Unfortunately, when we turned the power back on to the field, nothing turned on.

Not having any power to the satellites is one of the worst-case scenarios for the golf course. Without power, we cannot electrically operate any sprinkler. So, the only way to irrigate is to manually turn on EACH INDIVIDUAL SPRINKLER one at a time. With approximately 900 sprinklers on the property, you can see how this is not realistic. Luckily the Bermuda grass does not need much water, so we focused on running sprinklers on the greens only.

We could not restore power at all on Thursday, our irrigation specialist contractor was busy all-day Friday tending to another lightning related irrigation emergency, so we did not have power on Friday either. So, for two nights we manually turned on every sprinkler around every green- a process that alone takes 2 hours. We didn’t make it through the hot weather unscathed, but for no irrigation system, we did ok. Finally, on Saturday, after nearly 4 hours of troubleshooting, we were able to restore power. The culprit: a small jumper wire in a closet at the shop had also been damaged during the surge, the existence of which was previously unbeknownst to anyone in the Grounds department.

While we struggled with putting water out onto the course on Thursday and Friday, we also unfortunately had a hydraulic leak in several locations on the course on Friday. A hydraulic pump seal went bad and caused oil to leak across several approaches and tees. We train our staff to watch for leaks such as this, but it can be difficult to see. Every course that has hydraulic powered equipment will deal with this at one point or another, but it doesn’t make it any easier to look at. We have fixed the bad seal and will continue to work on mitigating the damage.

All in all, it was an eventful few days. We don’t like having problems, but it is inevitable, especially when dealing with Mother Nature. We will keep moving forward and working to make sure everything is as good as we can make it.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

After filling your divot with sand, either on a tee or fairway, please smooth the sand pile out so our mowers don’t cut through the sand.

 

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Gas spill

Last week there was gas spilled in #12 fairway. We don’t know exactly what happened, but it doesn’t matter at this point anyway.

In a previous post, we explained that gas and diesel kill grass. Anything from a small drop to large spills will kill whatever grass it touches within 36-48 hours. And that was exactly the case in #12 fairway, including some footprints made by whomever was at the sight when the spill occurred.

The spill 24 hours after it occurred

Repair of fuel leaks can vary greatly depending on the substance spilled, the amount spilled, the location of the spill and other factors. For example, hydraulic oil leaks can sometimes be mitigated with dish soap, copious amounts of water and a little fertilizer in the next few days after the spill. Gas and diesel are not managed with soap and water, but factors such as amount of fuel and location still play a role.  In the linked post, the gas spill was directly in front of the green in the approach. Not only is that an area that sees a lot of play, but also a lot of traffic. We immediately sodded out the worst section in that instance.

48 hours after it occurred

The situation in #12 fairway is a little different. Although the volume spilled was very large, its location makes it less of a candidate for sod. Very few shots will end up directly in the dead area, and if one did, it wouldn’t play any different than the healthy turf. And, though highly visible, it is not a section of the fairway that everyone will traverse. Lastly, the turf around the dead area is some of the healthiest and most vigorous Bermuda grass on the entire property. With some cooperative weather and some fertilizer, new grass will repair the area quickly.

We work every day to make sure the turf on the course is as close to perfect as possible. An accident like this, even though it was out of our control, is still discouraging. But we will keep working to correct any issues that arise.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

After filling your divot with sand, either on a tee or fairway, please smooth the sand pile out so our mowers don’t cut through the sand.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org