Lake..... I mean Golf Course Update

April Showers along with May showers has taken on a life of its own. Since April 29th, the golf course has received 5.75" of rain. This includes the 1.35" the course has received today and will probably end up with 2" of additional rainfall through Friday. Good news being the newly renovated bunkers have exceeded our expectations. The picture below tells the story itself.

The top photo is the newly renovated greenside bunker on #1 after 3" of rain. The bottom photo illustrates how the old bunkers perform through heavy rains. The renovations have allowed the crew to have the green side bunkers back in play immediately following heavy rain events. We completed the green side bunkers on holes 14, 15, & 16 this week. The Capillary Concrete install took place last Wednesday and Thursday. Installation of sand followed Monday-Wednesday of this week. The crew did a phenomenal job installing both the Concrete and 125 tons of sand in a few days.

Bunker Recap

All of the renovations would not be possible without a dedicated, hard working crew. We have done all of the work in house with our entire staff. I could not be prouder of the work done by our crew!!!
We have now completed a total of 36 bunkers.

•  Over 43,00 square feet of bunkers
• 300 yard's of Capillary Concrete
• 1,000+ tons of Pro Angle Sand

We will focus on compacting the newly renovated bunkers so that they all will play as desired, firm, thus avoiding fried egg lies (as much as possible).

Upon completion of the bunkers the staff will be shifting its focus back to the golf course. We will need all hands on deck through this difficult stretch of weather. Before we know it, Member Member will be upon us. Walk path improvements, fertilizer/turf protectant applications to bentgrass, and course details from tee to green will be our main focus for the next 30 days.

At the conclusion of Member Member, we will begin phase 4 of our bunker renovations to select fairway bunkers. We will update the membership when this phase begins and we look forward to continuing to improve the golf course to enhance the golfer's experience.

Irrigation During Rain?

If you live on the golf course, you may have noticed sprinkler heads running today during the rain. Yes, we were running irrigation. Why? With the excessive rains the past week, we decided to "flush" the greens profile. Additional irrigation on top of the rain allows the greens to have the old stagnant water flushed through the profile, thus ensuring a quality rootzone for the greens to continue to thrive in for the up and coming summer.

The article below explains in more detail the flushing concept.

USGA Flush

Course Pictures

I'm blessed to have the best office in the world. Below are a few images that I have taken at the course thus far in 2017. Thanks again.

April Showers Indeed

If you've been out to the course in the past few weeks, you may have noticed a theme. Unfortunately, that theme is rain, rain, and more rain. We have received our fare share of precipitation the past few weeks, in particularly the past 7 days has included over 1.75" of rain. The winds yesterday helped dry things out but we need some warmer temperatures to aid in drier conditions (coming Sunday). I just wanted to list a few updates in regards to the golf course before the weekend.

Bunker Update

All of the formal bunkers have been restored on the course. Waste Bunkers are a work in progress. We were able to restore the waste areas earlier in the week but then the heavy rains washed out some of the bunkers. We were able to rake around areas that were dry enough today.

                                                           #1 waste bunker this morning

                                                        #8 green side bunker

Entry Way Imrovements

The heavy rains last week hindered our ability to resume bunker renovations on 14 & 15. So we  took advantage of the softer conditions to begin renovating some of the drive on/drive off entry points on the course. We have cut out the areas to be replaced with sod. There will be some top soil added to these areas on Monday along with the delivery of sod on Monday. We anticipate completion of this project by Tuesday, weather permitting.

Practice Facilities

The photo above illustrates the amount of divots taken off the practice tees this year, directly in front of the mats. We have kept the range setup on the mats since the golf course opened. Why are we on the mats again? A few quick reasons. Recovery. We are not only allowing the tee to recover from 2016, but there is very little recovery this time of year when the temperatures have fluctuated like they have. We will open the grass tees when there is adequate recovery taking place. Thank you for your cooperation and please remain on the mats until further notice.

Course Accessories

The golf course restrooms and drinking fountains have been re opened and available for use. The ball washers will not be available this weekend due to the freezing temperatures at night.  We will have them put back out next week along with the cooler houses.

Course Care

The tee sheet is filling up fast for the nice weekend ahead. Please remember to repair your ballmarks, rake bunkers, and replace divots/and or replace with sand.

Thanks again and Have a Great Weekend.
 

Punxsutawney Phil Was Wrong.....

On February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and that is supposed to mean 6 more weeks of winter. Well, I would have to say he was wrong this year. A brief summary of the tasks completed the past 7 days

• Monday-- Rolled/mowed greens for their first cut of the year
• Tuesday-- Mowed fairways and approaches
• Wednesday-- OPENED THE GOLF COURSE, Mowed greens, changed cups, restored bunkers
• Thursday-- Mowed tees and collars
• Friday-- Mowed greens
• Saturday-- Snowed of course, temperatures drop 40+ degrees from Friday

The golf course has begun to green up quickly over the past week. The pictures below were taken yesterday (February 27th) by our Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Matt Sliepka and his drone.

The golf course has responded very well to the early Spring like weather. As the soil temperatures begin to rise, the plant responds with pushing new roots and shoots growth. The image below illustrates the growth pattern of Cool Season Grasses. Spring growth is an integral part of preparing for the stressful summer months. As we continue to get closer to Summer, the Agronomy staff will be busy pushing new plant growth via fertilizer, topdressing, and aerification.

GOLF COURSE UPDATE

The newly renovated bunkers made it through Winter with minimal washouts. We restored 26 greenside bunkers all in a half day's work. The picture below illustrates the front green side on #5 and how well it took on mother nature this winter.

We are extremely satisfied with state of the bunkers and look forward to completing the greenside bunkers on 14,15 & 16 this Spring. The bonus of minimal washouts in the bunkers has allowed the crew to spend more time where it's needed most, ON THE GOLF COURSE!!!

The crew took advantage of the rainy day this morning and began edging cart path's.

We have begun to cut out the Poa Annua from the putting greens. A pocket knife works great for popping out the weed. The Poa is very easy to find right now so we are taking advantage of the early Spring and cutting it out before the plant has a chance to seed. Sagamore takes great pride in it's Poa free playing surfaces, this is another step taken to ensure a pure 100% monostand of Creeping Bentgrass.

As golfers have been given bonus golf in February, remember the turf is still waking up and needs your help to prepare for the stressful Summer months. As a friendly reminder, please limit unnecessary stresses on the golf course, ie repair ball marks, replace divots, and utilize the 90 degree cart rule by staying on the path until you reach your golf ball. Thanks again. We're looking forward to another great season!!!!