Wildlife Series: Red Tail Hawk

Red Tail Hawk

 

 

 

One of our many birds we see throughout the course is our resident Red Tail Hawks.  These birds can be seen throughout the golf course at any given time of day.  Early in the morning or late in the afternoon, you can hear their cries as they hunt.  Evan Collins, our assistant superintendent and National ClubCorp Super Star award winner, snapped this series of pictures during a late afternoon on the course.  Stunning photos of the course in is natural state.

 

 

 

 

 

Practice Facility Drainage

 

Practice Facility Drainage

 

 

 

 

We just finished a project at the Practice Facility to help dry up the walk on area next to the cart path.  This area historically stays wet, and with the addition of the new tee has taken on more water than the low area collected in the past.  We added a drain basin to catch the majority of the water next to the cart path and also installed lateral lines to catch the runoff from the slopes.  These additions should keep the area in a drier state, allowing our members to better navigate the area.  

Clubhouse Parking Lot

      Before and During

  After the application

 

 

We are in the process of re-striping the clubhouse parking lot spaces.  The painting will be completed over the course of the next few weeks since the parking lot has to be empty in order for us to perform the work.  Mondays are the best days for us to accomplish this.  

Bunker Rake Renovation

Another one of our projects this winter was to renovate our bunker rakes.  We found a high quality, shrink wrap material that is UV resistant.  This material will eliminate the problem we experienced with the bunker rakes exposing their fiberglass lining.  The Shrink Wrap is a great solution and will  keep the bunker rakes looking great for years to come.

Water Coolers

We are almost complete with our water cooler renovation.  We only have a few left on the front nine of the golf course.  Our talented staff is completely tearing down the old stands, replacing the wood, and adding the stone inserts ourselves.  We think they have turned out great!



Spring Forward

Spring Forward

 

 



Winter Weed Update:

As we move toward Spring, there are cultural practices we must perform on the golf course every Winter.  These practices set us us to have a wonderful Winter to Spring transition with our turf grass.  Every year, around the first of January, we spray the entire golf course, except greens, with a pre-emergent/ post emergent mix of chemicals.  This weed prevent/kill application has to be performed when the Bermuda grass is dormant and temperatures are close to freezing.  The application of these chemicals ensures us a weed free year going forward.  As of this post, we only have about 20 acres left to spray on the course.  The visible weeds are dying and future weeds are being held at bay.

Tree Removal Update:

We were making great progress with our dead tree removal around tee complexes until all of the rain settled in.  We basically have stalled out because of the huge mess we would make.  Our crew is continuing with other projects on the course that are less of an impact on playing conditions. 

Water Cooler Renovation:

We are in the middle of reconstructing our Water Cooler stands on the golf course.  Every year, these coolers receive a new coat of paint but this year we noticed many had rotting wood throughout the structure.  The first cooler to get a makeover will be the largest one at the putting green.   We should have it back on the course with in the next week.



December Update

December Update

 

While we are currently waiting for the winter weather to show up, I wanted to update everyone on our progress over the early part of the winter project list. 

We are pleased to announce that Clubcorp has committed to re-surfacing the greens in 2013.  Per the letter that was sent out to the membership,  we plan to close in mid-June and reopen as quickly as possible.  this improvement to the course will make Laurel Springs one of the best conditioned golf courses in our area.  We are very excited as we embark on this new era for our club.

We are currently making our way through the golf course removing dead trees that were marked this fall.  Although the project is a huge undertaking for our staff,  we hope to get this project knocked out over the course of the next few months.  Warmer weather impedes us from performing this task, so as the weather gets cooler, more progress will be seen

This week we started a project to redistribute the sand in the bunkers.  While our new way of raking the bunkers (we actually brush the bunkers now to help compact the sand) is working well,  we have found that too much sand has congregated in the lip.  Our staff is pulling sand from the lips of the bunkers to aid in the ball rolling down to the flat to decrease the chance of an unwanted lie.

Thank you for all of the positive comments I have received while riding through the course.  See you out there!

Wesley Michielsen
Golf Course Superintendent