Finished

And now they are done, well almost. The weather allowed for Hartman Companies to finish laying the sod on Friday. There will be a little sod and irrigation work to do in the spring but for the most part, the project is complete. The 7th green will now be a 2 tiered green withthe right portion a bit bigger and about 2 feet higher than the left side. There are now many possible pin locations that will be accessible from anywhere on the green. I can't say enough about the great workmanship that was done to enhance our beautiful golf course. These changes will greatly add value and enjoyment to all the golfers. There will be some interim playing conditions in the spring that I will discuss at a later time. When will be they be ready to play? It's all on weather permitting....................

Weather is Permitting

The long range forecast is favorable for continuing on with the project so a decision was made to finish this season.  Green 15 was completed today and the crew moved the equipment to green 7.

Temperatures are to be very mild and will not hinder the construction. Plan is to remove sod on Monday and Tuesday, move mix on Wednesday, Thursday off, sub grade and drainage on Friday, Saturday to put the mix back in place, and sod the green on Monday and Tuesday. That is the plan as of today. It looks like it will work. By pushing on, the project is complete and the new greens will get a chance to settle and be ready for the grow in next spring. I actually saw roots knitting the sod down on #12 so that is a good sign. That way, we do not have to go through another season of construction and be able to enjoy the gift Mr Frandsen has donated. I am very excited to see the expressions next season of our returning golfers. You will truly be amazed!

And 15

The work continued this week despite the cold as the were able to work the subgrade as it was not frozen. The subgrade was set and it will include a upper tier in the back right corner big enough for several pin placements. The rest of the green will follow the 1 - 2% slope back to front. The drainage will be installed today as well as the mix. Plan to sod the green and surrounds on Thursday and Friday. Weather is cooperating so far to finish this green. Will we start on #7? Stay tuned. Weather permitting..............

Work on

Work continues on despite the weather. Construction was completed with bluegrass sod on the surrounds of greens 4 and 12 and the bunker on 8. A decision was made to continue on by starting the sod removal of 15 green. The sod was covered over the weekend and should be relaid by next friday. The mix and subgrades will be able to be worked despite the cold temperatures for a few days. By weeks' end, this green should be moved to the completed catagory.

Continuing On

Work on #4 green is moving on. They are down to the subgrades of the green and bunker. I will verify today. The drainage will be installed and then the greens mix be re installed. Plan is to sod the green either Tuesday and/or Wednesday. If this works out then we will order sod for the green surrounds of #12 and 4 as well as the bunker on 8. That will completely wrap up all construction areas. A decision will then be made to continue on to # 15 or wait...........weather permitting.

Next

Green #12 is all done but a bit of sod work on the surrounds. That will take place when a few of the other areas are complete so we will order a full load and do them all at one time. They actually had to use the bentgrass sod from the target green in the driving range and a bit from #4 to complete the additional area due to the increase in size of the putting surface. I will post pictures of this to this post later today.

The green complex on #4 is stripped of sod and the excavation has started. We have to make some modification that we hadn't planned on and that involves the bunker. Due to drainage and playability concerns, the bunker will shift to the right and raise up a bit to fit into the final grades. Sand will be saved and then repositioned in the cavity. Drainage in the bunker will be installed. These improvements will allow the bunker to not wash out after a rain event. The plan is to have all the shaping done and mix installed by the weekend with sodding to happen on Monday.............weather permitting.

Subgrades

I will post pictures tomorrow on the"bottom" of the green. What you see as the putting surface starts from the sub grade. The contours of the sub grade will mirror exactly of how the playing surface will putt. After the bottom contours are set, draintile will be installed on a herringbone pattern to take away the excessive moisture from the greens mix. A uniform mixture of sand and peat will be installed over the drain tile to a depth of 12". By not placing the mix to a uniform depth will lead to wet and/or dry spots.

I inspected the sub grades of #12 on Saturday and approved the contours. We were only able to enlarge the green by about 800 sq. ft. The left bunker was eliminated due to the expansion but I am pleased to report that nearly all of the green will be able to place a pin there. Also, the spoils from the green cavity were used to fill in the back bunker. The schedule is to finish the tile yesterday, place the mix in the cavity on Monday, and the replace the sod on Tuesday. Bluegrass sod will be installed to all disturbed areas when available.

With weather permitting, a second crew will show up also on Tuesday to help with the sod laying as well as begin the sod removal of #4 green. On Wednesday, the bunker on #8 should be completed with the sand installed. If things/weather cooperate, sod removal of # 7 will start, and by Friday, sod will be laid on #4. After #7, green 15 will be worked in the same fashion. Plans indicate that all work and cleanup will be complete by Friday 11/9.