Weather, Weeds, and Tree Work

As you all know, our staff has struggled greatly with the weather pattern we have been dealt.  Since the first of March, the golf course has flooded a total of three times, the bunkers have washed during every heavy rain event, and mowing has become virtually impossible at times.  All of this, coupled with a greens renovation, has been the utmost challenge we have faced as a crew.

Areas of the course have suffered due to the massive amounts of rain we have received, over 30 inches since March with 20 of those inches falling in the month of July.  Outer areas have become virtually untouched because of the constant scramble we are faced with to get the course back in playable condition.  Weeds have, of course, exploded over the past three weeks and we are working diligently to get them under control.  I personally have sprayed 20 acres of fairways and rough with another 20 being sprayed today. During the month of July, the areas we sprayed just washed away as rain event after rain event continued to plague us.  Our preemegent we applied in February has all but broken down and disappeared.

Our outer have become an extreme challenge for us to maintain, also.  Areas that were scheduled to be cut back and sprayed have fallen wayside to flood repair, course maintenance, and bunker repair.  If the bunkers wash it takes four men, two days, to repair them.  That equates to over 64 man hours just to repair the bunkers every 4 days.  Imagine the amount of weed eating and detail work that could be accomplished if we weren't in the bunkers every week.

The tree work that was planned to help get sunlight to the greens was scheduled as a three week project.  Instead of quickly being able to move through the course the task took an unbelievable three months.  Every area the worked in was completely destroyed to some extent.  12, 8, 10 and other areas suffered major damage from trying to get the logs out.  This repair work to these areas has severely hampered us from the other projects we had planned during the renovation i.e.: sodding of traffic areas and cleaning of outer areas. 

Below are some pictures from Wednesdays rain event.  I can't tell you how disheartening it is to see this constantly. Our staff is working diligently to get the golf course back in shape so we can have the type of grand re-opening that members, guests, and our staff anticipated when this much needed and welcome project was announced. 

If you ever have a question or comment about the course, please feel free to contact me at any point in time. 

Wesley Michielsen

Wesley.michielsen@ourclub.com
404-886-3627 cell
770-888-4928 office

Damage from tree company on number 8 attempting to remove trees

#18 bridge on Wednesday

#6 green during the rain event Wednesday

#1 creek out of its banks Wednesday

New Greens Aerification

10 days of sunny weather, with only .5" of rain, gave us the opportunity to aerify the new greens.  This aerification will not only help stimulate new growth but will also give us the opportunity to smooth the greens out with aggressive rolling.  The holes are left open in order to give the subsurface the ability to compress and become firmer while also improving our mowing capabilities.

Greens Renovation Update

    

      Now that we have started receiving sunshine during the day, the sprigs are taking off and looking great.  While during the heavy rain events, we applied a heavy amount of sand,  the sprigs are moving through the sand and establishing themselves very well.   We began mowing the new greens today and we will continue to push the greens through the next few weeks by lowering the heights, continuous rolling, and heavy fertilization.  Pike Creek Turf (MiniVerde supplier) and our team of agronomists are very pleased with the amount of growth on the greens.  We are on track to have great greens come September 1st!

First mowing at 6am this morning. 

Two weeks after sprigging. What a huge difference!

Rolling the greens after sprigging

Rain, Rain, and more Rain

During our sprigging and grow in of the new greens we have received an unprecedented amount of rain.  There are many more pics like the ones below and the repair work was extensive.  All is good now and the greens are growing in very well!

Here is a pic of number 8 green after the rains, in the early part of the month, two days after sprigging.

Preparing the greens for Fumigation

Preparing the greens for Fumigation



Preparing the greens for fumigation is an arduous process.  Rain was in the area during the first part of the week and impacted things quite a bit.  Despite the rain, we were able to keep things on schedule by working as late as possible.  All of us are pretty worn out but the end result will be well worth it.  All of us are really excited about the future of the club!

Heavy verticutting was performed to remove the thatch layer from the old surface.  This allows the Bermuda to tack into the greens at a much faster rate.  All of the old turf is not removed so that the organic matter in the green can be used to help retain moisture and keep the sprigs wet.

Spraying the Greens for our MiniVerde conversion

Spraying the greens for our MiniVerde conversion

I'm sorry it has taken so long to post these pics but we have been diligently working to prepare the greens for our conversion.  On June 10th we sprayed the greens with a combination of Roundup (kills everything) and Fusilade II (kills bermuda). After the greens were sprayed we waited a week and then started the process of removing the dead bentgrass and preparing the greens for Fumigation.

May Flooding Update

May 19th storm and flood update

The massive storm that took place on the 19th of May, deluged the golf course with trash and debris of epic proportions.  I have been the superintendent at Laurel Springs since 2003 and I have never seen the golf course flood at this level.  We have worked tirelessly over the past week and a half to not only get the course playable for normal levels of play but also for the Club Championship this weekend. 

Just to give you an idea of the extent of flooding we received, number seven green was under water by about five feet and number sixteen green saw at least two feet of water over its surface.  The water receded quickly, yet left tons of debris on the course. Fortunately, none of our infrastructure was damaged in regards to bridges so the golf course was reopened fairly quickly.

Number 16 fwy landing area

Number 7 from 150 yards out

16 green

18 fwy with two feet of silt and trash

16 fwy cleanup

18 bridge