New entrance sign

If you have been out to the club this spring, you may have noticed our new entrance sign. The previous sign was old and deteriorating and an update was necessary.

Before, we had a wooden sign that was built in-house by the Grounds staff many years ago. It was a three-foot square piece of wood that was solid and heavy and lasted for a long time. The lettering was routed in, and the entire sign was hand painted. The old sign was understated and certainly not fancy, but it matched the atmosphere of Bretton Woods very well. The old sign served its purpose, but it was time for an upgrade.

Our new entrance still matches the aesthetic of our club, but with a modern, updated feel. Small stone walls line the edge of the road on each side, ending at two columns just as you pass onto our property. The new sign itself is built onto a nice stone pedestal with matching stonework. Finally, there is lighting accenting all the features.

The weather cooperated nicely earlier this spring and the construction progressed smoothly. Footings were built, followed by cinder blocks and precision stonework. Electrical and lighting were next. Lastly, we graded the area and laid new sod. Once we are past the harshest of cold nights, we will be cutting in a new flower bed and planting many new flowers to enhance the beauty of the whole area. Plants have been selected and once they are in the ground, look for a future post with more details.

Although the old sign hadn’t fallen off the posts yet, it was nearing the end. We spent many hours keeping it in as good of condition as possible, but a new sign was inevitable, and we were able to get the new sign out this spring. It will be here for a long time to come.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not climb up the steep face of the bunkers.

 

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

Traq Matz continued

We slowly continue the addition of more Traq Matz around the property. We have been please so far with our test at 17 tee and have selected a couple more locations.

In our March 4^th post, we noted that we had finished a Traq Matz installation at #2 tee  and were headed to #8 tee. The matting is now finished at #8 tee as well. Compared to the work at #17 tee, #8 tee was much easier. The area we were looking to cover with mats was a simpler shape and required much less trimming. Overall, the process went very smoothly- we finished it all in one day- and with the warmer temperatures we have had since then, the new sod has already started to grow through the openings in the mat very nicely.

#8 tee installation

After we finished our work at 8 we had a few extra rolls of matting leftover. Back when we initially did the work at 17 tee and found that it was working as well as we expected, we started a list of additional areas that could possibly benefit from the Traq Matz, like #2 and #8 tees. Further down the list, #12 tee was also included and we had enough to tackle that spot also. Though it is the smallest area that we have repaired to date, it is perennially one of the worst locations for traffic related decline of the turf, which made it a perfect candidate. With enough extra matting as well as just enough leftover sod, later in the same week, we were able to complete work at #12 tee also.

#8 tee

As we continue to see positive results, we will continue to knock other locations off our list. Slowly, we can improve many underperforming areas across the property.

#8 tee

Final touches at #8 tee

Completion of #12 tee

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not climb up the steep face of the bunkers.

 

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

March work

Although it isn’t technically spring yet, we are in “spring cleaning” mode. Waking the course up from winter is a slow process and is our focus in the month of March.

One of the first projects we start in March is to clean out the flower beds on the property. While the style of our course and grounds is not to have large, extensive flower beds, we do have several areas of evergreen and perennial shrubs scattered around. The shrubs receive any necessary pruning, the bed itself is edged and cleaned and the fresh wood chip mulch is applied. We typically do this work over the course of the entire month, often using frost delays and wet days when we can’t accomplish other jobs on the course, to work on the flower beds.

Another of our main March tasks is to recharge the irrigation system. Although the irrigation system is buried deep enough in the soil to likely survive and hard freezing, we still choose to blow all the water out of the system at the end of the fall. Because irrigation is so important to the maintenance of the golf course, it isn’t worth the risk for us to leave it full of water and potentially have a freezing issue. But, come March, and warmer temperatures and near-zero chance of freezing into the soil, we pump water back into the pipes.

We slowly crank the pumps back up and let water fill all the piping across the property. Once the system has reached full pressure and is stable, we start to methodically check every sprinkler on the property. We use our radio control to start and stop every sprinkler, making sure it is operating correctly, and as importantly, making sure it turns off correctly. The whole process of refiling with water and then testing everything takes 3-4 days.

Often, the change from air to water can cause little issues with the functionality of the sprinkler and we want to get all of those potential issues corrected before we get into the season and need to fully relay on the operability of the system. Of course, issues can and do arise during the season as well, but running through everything now, when there is no actual need for water, at least gets us ready for the season with everything in working order.

Most of the turfgrass on the course is still waking up from the winter and has very little need for attention in March. However, there is many other things on which we can focus at this time, allowing the Grounds staff to be ready for the season.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not climb up the steep face of the bunkers.

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

Upcoming work- Trees and Traq Matz

It is March. I am sure there will be some days that still remind us of January, but we are noticeably closer to spring than winter. The Grounds department had a busy off-season: drainage work, tree work, mini golf work, and lots of inside work to prepare for this upcoming season. But with the weather getting nicer, we also have lots of upcoming work.

For many years in a row now, we have made it a priority to plant new trees on the property. This year will be no different. We have already met with our supplier, and he will be scouting out good specimen trees for us to plant. Our target locations this year are: right of #5 fairway, right of #8 fairway, and left of #17 fairway. We will discuss species and more specific placement in a later post.

Our most pressing project concerns the installation of more Traq Matz. This the same product we tested at #17 tee walk-on last fall. Through the dry, busy fall golf
season the turf held up well. So, we are moving forward with two more locations: the walk-on at #2 alternate tee and the walk-on at #8 tee. The unique aspect of this rubber matting is that it is installed over the top of new sod. At first it looks as if we are covering the sod too much for the grass to survive. However, the turf settles in, and starts to grow up through the mats, creating a nice turf cover and hiding the rubber mat. Both areas struggle mightily with high foot traffic concentration. We believe these are two ideal locations for the Traq Matz. We finished up #2 alternate tee at the end of last week and we will begin work at #8 tee this week. Getting the matting down now should allow ample time for the sod underneath to establish itself and grow before the heat of summer.

Our list of projects and routine maintenance really starts to stretch at this time of year, and through the whole season. Working now to knock out a couple of projects like this allows healing time for the new grass, as well as allowing the Grounds staff to cross another item of the list.

We are no returning to weekly posts. Thank you

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not climb up the steep face of the bunkers.

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