Fall Renovation

We have begun fall renovation work on a few areas over the past few weeks.  Progress has been steady as we have performed work in between regular course maintenance.  Below are some basic pictures highlighting the work to be completed this fall as well as some in progress photos.  If we can have good weather thru October we should be able to complete the work & have some exciting enhancements to the course for 2017. 

                             15 fairway bunker renovation

                                                           15 prior to renovation

                                                  Bunker removal & reshaping 

                        6 main tee enlargement

                                        6 tee sod removal & preparing for enlargement

                                       Preparing sub grade on 6 tee using laser level

                                         Installing the tee mix using laser level

                                 Fertilizer & irrigation applied prior to seeding

                10 fairway bunker renovation

        Leveling forward tees at 4, 7, & 11

                             Completed tee

Stay tuned for more updates.

Fairway Aerification Process Complete!

There are numerous steps in the aerification of fairways and numerous reasons why we do it.  Aerification is important for plant health going into the next season by reducing compaction, providing air & pore space to the root zone, and reducing organic matter.  These are very important factors in the turf being able to withstand the heat & stress from our Chicago summers.  As Fall approaches the turfgrass plant transitions into root development thus making this process very important to next season. How do we get this work done?  Here is a step by step photo shoot of how we get from start to finish over the 2 days.

The aerification process starts at sunrise on Day 1

The cores are pulled using the Pro Core 648

Aerified Fairway

The Core Processor is used to break the cores up

The Triplex with verticut units is used to break up the cores

Drag mat is used to break up the cores and and aid in returning the soil back into the turf as a topdressing

Blowers are used to blow the tuffs of turf off the fairway.

Back pack blowers are used to blow the debris away from the irrigation heads.

Fairway is mowed to complete the cleanup.

An irrigation cycle is run to help start the recovery process.

The aerificaion process is complete on Day 2!

Heat & humidity made for a rough 2 days of physical labor but as always the crew did an incredible job so a big thanks to them.

Tee Aerification Complete!!

The first leg in the aerification schedule is in the rear view mirror.  Everything went smooth and hopefully we were able to limit any disturbance to member play.  With the turf being in good condition from our hard work this summer, the turf was able to handle the abrasiveness of this type of maintenance.  Here is a step by step photo shoot of what we did and why:

The Pro Core is used to remove the cores of turf.

Hollow tines are used to remove organic matter in the top couple of inches.  

Once the tee is clean, creeping bent grass is spread over the tee and into the holes.

The topdresser is used to disperse the sand over the entire tee surface.

The topdressing sand caps the seed in the holes and aids in improving the entire soil profile.  The sand will aid in providing pore space in the soil profile which improves overall turf health.

A drag mat is then used to move the sand equally over the entire tee surface and into the holes.  To complete the process, we mow the tee to "clean up" the turf followed by a 10 minute irrigation cycle to help push the sand into the surface.  Over the next few days the normal appearance of our tees will begin to reappear and within the next 7-10 days the evidence of our work will be all but gone.  Great job to the Assiistant Andrew & crew for their good work.