Pancho saves the day!

Found a little friend in our irrigation pond today. Pancho pulled her out and we placed her in the woods in hopes she is found by her mother. 

New sod for #5 Tee.

I'm sure those of you who are frequent players or annual pass holders have noticed that the zoysia tees on number five have been looking very weak and were not coming out of dormancy well. One of the benefits of having zoysia is that it is a tough grass, once established, and has very good cold tolerance qualities. The problem with zoysia is that it is a slow growing turf that is hard to get established. Unfortunately the zoysia on number five tees succumb to the unfavorable growing conditions that we face where those tees are located. Since the zoysia had a hard time getting established there we decided it was time to explore other options of turf that would be more suitable for the conditions presented on these particular tees.
As you will notice in the picture above the first step in resurfacing a tee is to remove the existing plant material.

 

 

The second step in this process is to level the tee. Ideally we would like to have laser leveled the tee so that it is a perfectly even surface but due to certain constrictions we were not able to do so. So we had to improvise and use a sand pro and an equipment operator with a sharp eye.

 

 

 

 

The variety of turf that we felt best suited these growing conditions was TifGrand. TifGrand is a variety of bermuda that performs well at a low height of cut, has excellent wear tolerance, and handles the shade better than any variety of bermuda I have ever seen. This does not mean that it will grow in 100% shade. All varieties of bermuda are warm season grasses that thrive in full sun but TifGrand seems to tolerate the shade better than most. So please don't go buy a pallet of TifGrand and put it under that "Ole Live Oak" in the front yard and come hunting me down three months later when it is all dead.  

The next step is to lay or plant the sod and cut it in.

Once that sod has been laid and cut in it is best to roll it. What this does is ensure that the roots are making good contact with the soil and will shorten the establishment period.

Be sure to water the sod generously every day until you see that it has tacked down well (taken root). It is also highly advisable to fertilize the newly planted turf with a starter fertilizer. You can tell that it is a starter fertilizer because it will have higher than usual amounts of phosphorus in it. The high rate of phosphorus will promote root growth and get the turf to take root faster and stronger.

Final Product.

                                      

Seasonal Color at the Club House and Half Way House

 

This year we decided to choose a selection of flowers that are both low maintenance and resistant to deer. There are two different varieties of Lantana, the Little Lucky "Peach Glow" and Little Lucky "Red". The purple flower that we used to accent the Lantanas is Setcreasea "Purple Heart". We also used Purple Fountain Grass in a few of the beds. The Lantana and the Setcreasea both have excellent drought tolerance and can be planted in a variety of soil and climate conditions. For those of you who play out here frequently or live on property you may have notice we have a slight problem with our deer population. Deer are opportunistic herbivores, which means the will eat or at least try any type of vegetation. Both the Lantana and the Setcreasea have plant characteristics that deter the deer from feeding on them. The Lantana have pubescence (hair like structures) all throughout the foliage which would make for an unpleasant mid day snack. The Setcreasea have pubescence as well and they also have a waxy coating that make them unfavorable to eat and hard to digest.  

 

                 

                   

                       

                 

                  

Course Closed Today Due To Excessive Rain

 

 

On the morning of April 7th 2014 we received 1.25" of rainfall somewhere between late the night before and 5:00am this morning. By 9:30am we had received an additional 2". As we road the course to check if all the drains were functioning properly the trip was quickly put to a halt as we noticed something unusual about number one blue tee. Directly in front of the tee there was a three foot long by one foot wide area of turf that was buldging above the rest of the grass. We instantly thought we had an irrigation leak. After checking the irrigation pumps and seeing that there were no issues we were able to rule out the possibility of a leak. We believe that the amount of rain that we had received in such a short amount of time overwhelmed the drainge system and directed the excess water under the tee. It was literally like walking on a water bed. Hopefully there where be minimal damage to the tee once the water has subsided but we will not know until tomorrow.

#1 Blue Tee. If you will look at the water line that Rob's left foot is in this is the normal height of the tee. The rain has somehow trapped itself under the tee and raised the turf 4"-6" higher than normal.

 

#15 Greenside Bunkers after 3" of rainfall.

#14 New Bunkers held up as well.

We were not as fortunate with the front nine bunkers.
 

Cartpath Flooded on #7

Normally this is a small babbling creek in front of #2 tees. Today it is moving very swiftly and about one foot below the bridge.

Freshning Up For The 2014 Golf Season

 

Putting out new flags, flag sticks, and cups before Masters Week.

 

 

 

A Tribute To The Golden Bear.

Vertical Mowing the Greens

New look for 5

Before

 After

We took out some trees and low hanging branches on number 5. Giving a good drive to the left side of the fairway a better look at the green. 

First Big Rain Event With New Back Nine Greenside Bunkers

On the morning of March 17, 2014 I discovered that we had received a total of 1.6" of precipitation from the previous day. I thought that this would be an opportune time to check and see if the newly converted back nine greenside bunkers were living up to our expectations. As I drove around the front nine I witnessed the typical bunker washing that we normally encounter with rainfall totals such as today's. After making my way through the front nine I was beginning to grow a little pessimistic but my doubt was quickly turned around as soon as I made the turn. The pictures below show two of the front nine greenside bunkers after the rain and two of the renovated back nine greenside bunkers. I am very pleased with the how well the bunkers held up during the rain showers and I know that the crew members wielding shovels to repair them share my enthusiasm.  

 

#9 Left Greenside Bunkers (Old Bunkers with Liner)



#9 Close up of the Left Greenside Bunkers (Old Bunkers with Liner)

 

 

#10 Right Greenside Bunker (Better Billy Bunker Method)

#10 Left Greenside Bunker (Better Billy Bunker Method)

A Few Of The Bear's Best Locals

Back 9 Greenside Bunker Renovation Completed








#14 Greenside Bunker

The back 9 greenside bunker renovation has now been completed. The
bunkers were prepared for play on Friday, March 7, 2014.

# 18 Green Side Bunkers

Putting on the final touches before play arrives.
These new bunkers will play fluffy at first but over the course of several weeks they will compact and give the unfortunate victim a better lie.

                                                                                      

Irrigation Repair #1 Rough

 

Rob gives the repair his stamp of approval.

Bunker Renovation Progress

Progress Pictures on the Back Nine Greens Bunker Renovation

 



This is the two inch gravel layer after the bunker has been cored out to the drain lines and all of the old sand and liner has been removed.



After the two inch layer of gravel has been spread evenly throughout the bunker it is then treated with a polymer coating. The polymer coating binds the gravel together thus creating an extremely durable layer. This layer is permeable and allows water to quickly filtrate into the drainage system. It also helps reduce bunker maintenance after rain events. 

 

 

#18 Greens Bunkers

 

 

Snow Pics

On January 29th of 2014 we recived two inches of snowfall.

 

#18 Fairway standing at the green looking back to the tees.

#18 Green

 

 

A Snow Day out here at Bear's Best.