One of the smaller things that we make here in the maintenance shed are the tee markers and the broken tee holders that you see on the tee boxes out on the golf course. Ever since we made the switch to concrete, the tee markers have held up better than the old wooden ones. The tee markers are made with three different types of concrete to help with a faster set time and to insure durability. After a good mix of concrete is made it is poured into the mold and after a day it's ready to be removed and set to dry. When the tee markers have set for a few days and have finished hardening we then put a coat of paint to identify where they will be placed out on the golf course.
The other thing that needs addressing this time of year are the broken tee holders. The didn't make it through the season last year. A lot of the holders were broken with pieces hanging out. This winter we are making 18 brand new broken tee holders. Hopefully they will make it through the season in one piece. Below are some pictures of the two projects in action.
During the off season the maintenance crew is determined to stay busy. Another project that we have started is to build new ball crates for the driving range. These crates will be used on the driving range tee instead of the current buckets.
The crates have been designed with a dual purpose in mind. They will be just the right size to alleviate the need for a boundary board to designate the hitting stations while holding all the range balls. The crates will be spaced to the proper distance giving the golfer room to hit while giving it a cleaner look. The pictures below show the process of us putting the crates together.
These last few weeks we have begun an addition to our cart path. We have felt there was a need to modify the mulch path that cut through from #1 to #4 to concrete. This new concrete path will be for golfers to get to and from the alternate driving range tee. The new path will be 7 feet wide which will also help accommodate the maintenance crew maneuver our larger equipment around the course. There will be three phases to this process. Phase 1 was completed by removing all of the mulch from the existing path. We then painted white lines to set the boundary of the concrete path. Then we excavated the dirt out to a depth of about 8". Once the material was removed we brought in AB3 gravel and compacted it down to create a foundation for the new path in preparation for the concrete. Phase 2 will consist of forming up the sides and laying re bar along the top of the AB3. Phase 3 will then consist of pouring the concrete and smoothing it out for the final look.
It was another cold day here at Blue Hills Country Club. Although it's cold there's work that needs to be done and so the Blue Hills Crew tackled another tree project this morning. If you have been out on the golf course lately you might have noticed there was a dead spruce behind 3 green. The tree itself was very tall, close to 80 feet tall, but it was as dead as they come. The branches were slowly breaking off in the presence of bad weather and there was nothing that was going to save this tree. So, we took it upon ourselves to cut down the tree and put it through the chipper.
This week at Blue Hills, the maintenance crew kept busy by cutting down and chipping up another tree that posed a problem agronomically as well as to the golfers. This tree in particular was located directly behind the right fairway bunker on number 18. The tree was close enough to the fairway that it posed a problem to the turf, but mainly we felt like the tree created an additional hazard, or a "double jeopardy" to golfers that were to land inside the bunker. The difficulty of shot would be hard out of the bunker, but it would be even more difficult to hit the shot out of the bunker and trying to avoid the tree as well. This is the first hole that was decided in this fashion, we will be looking at other holes/trees that have a similar setup throughout the winter months.
When we get rain it is a blessing here at the golf course. When we get a lot of rain, sometimes the effects can be a hindrance. When we take a look at our creek you will see exactly what I am talking about. In the last few years we have experienced multiple short bursts of excessive rain. These storms can bring a relief for a droughty turf in the summer, but when it comes to a water feature like our creek, the effects can be overwhelmingly destructive. The large amounts of rain will cause the creek to flood significantly, and when this happens there is a high chance for erosion to occur on the creek banks. This is especially true near the waterfall features of the creek.
There is a large washout near the stepping stone bridge behind the blue tee on 18. As you will see from the videos, the flow of water has managed to find a weak spot behind the rocks and is now flowing into the bank, the water then finds its way back into the creek.
One of the projects we hope to complete this winter is to create a long wing wall that expands into the creek bank. This wall will be made from poured concrete and will extend about 15 feet into the bank and placed at a 45 degree angle. This process will be tricky because when the waterfall was first designed it was placed on top of the city sewer. The stacked landscape rock was then placed through iron rods in the center to stabilize the waterfall rock. So with this in mind we will expand onto the existing foundation of the waterfall to create the necessary wing wall. Placing a wing wall at this length should help correct the flow of water and divert it back into the main stream where it belongs. We will then back fill the washed area with topsoil and bring it back to level.
These last few years we have been really working on cleaning out the canopy of the trees on our golf course. This winter we are continuing the process by cleaning out all the dead wood that has appeared in a lot of our oak trees. We contracted out a crew to come in and climb those tall oak trees. These climbers are professionals, they are able to climb the trees without spikes on their shoes so the trees aren't damaged during the process. They will start from the top working their way down the tree removing all the dead wood that is visible. The process should take only a few weeks since they are only concentrating their efforts on the oaks. Our crew then will come in later and limb up any maple trees that need it as well. This process is necessary for the health of the tree by severing off any portion of the tree that is dead. This will help keep unwanted insects from penetrating and entering those wounded areas and damaging the tree further.
Another cold day means another day we can work on projects. While we were digging next to cart paths we decided to go ahead and install a type of french drain system next to number 1 tee. If you can recall during rain events there always seems to be a decent sized puddle next to the flower bed on number 1 tee. We decided to install a drain box and create a drainage system to help contain and remove the water that would otherwise stand on the surface of the cart path and beside it.
We felt like this is necessary because the water that would gather along the cart path would sit on the surface, and on a hot day would bake and cause a scalding effect to the turf. The standing water on the cart path was an annoyance when driving through it on a cart as well.
Good Afternoon Blue Hills Country Club, the maintenance crew here at the club have been keeping busy during this cold weather. We had a great season this year and we are continuing this trend with some work next to our cart paths. When we first poured our cart paths a few years ago, the contracted work crew began first by laying the base foundation before the concrete was poured. This foundation was expanded to the size of our old asphalt paths. When we decided that we wanted to have some paths narrower than the old ones, this foundation wasn't shrunken down to size so it was left in the ground. So after it was all poured, our crew came back through and back-filled the voids next to the newly poured path with topsoil, free of rocks and gravel. There have been a few problem areas next to some tees and greens like hole 1 tee and green as well as hole 6 green.
We decided to take the mini excavator and dig down next to these cart paths. We began digging no deeper than 6-8 inches (The depth of the base rock should be), as we dug we found we were digging up the extra base rock. This is problematic because we only originally back-filled 4-8 inches of topsoil in some places. This means the topsoil wasn't deep enough to allow good root growth for the turf to be sodded. So, the extra foundation material would heat up excessively during the summer months and cause stressed turf. This makes it hard for grass to grow and to stay healthy. In order to remedy this problem we are digging down 8 inches and making it free of asphalt and gravel. We then are dumping fresh topsoil back in the holes and leveling them out. We will finish the process by placing sod on top of the back-filled soil.
The Blue Hills Maintenance Crew has begun work on the lagoon. This project has multiple steps that are required in order to get the majority of the debris out. The first step we took in order to start the process was to create a gravel path that would allow us to get to the center of the lagoon. We are now beginning to scoop out the debris and muck that has been collecting after heavy rainstorms. This is only a temporary solution because there are two constant flowing creeks that deposit directly into the lagoon.
This week we began dormant seeding our green banks. Dormant seeding is what it sounds like, you seed during the year when the ground temperature is below 50* and the seed isn't ready to germinate. It is useful and cost effective to do this now when temperatures are cooler and the soil can keep moisture for longer which helps minimize irrigation needs.
We began this project by aerating multiple passes along each green bank, this pulles a core of soil leaving a little hole for the seed to drop into and helps make soil contact. After every hole was aerated, we came through with a rotary spreader and dispersed our tall fescue. When the seed has been thrown we go behind and drag the area with a steel drag mat. This process helps to break the plugs up and work the seed into the high traffic, thin growing areas, where it will sit until temperatures warm and the seed can germinate.
Another snow event means another day inside. We use this time to our advantage and complete projects that would be hard to do otherwise. This week we pulled the tee markers from the front 9 and brought them inside. We lay them out and inspect them for any damage. The broken tee markers will be thrown away and will be replaced with a fresh one that we have created. All the other tee markers will be cleaned off and then brushed with a fresh coat of paint to give it new life. After all the tee markers are coated thoroughly, they will be set to dry, and then we will take them back out to the course for another golf season.
As many of you have seen, there are several bird houses throughout the course for the Eastern Bluebird. This winter we have built 12 more houses and will be adding them to the property. This will improve the habitat for these birds and give them a safe place to be, while increasing there population.
It is that time of the year again. With the harsh winter weather upon us, it's time to start touching up trash cans and ball washers around the club. We have brought most of them down to the shop and have started painting them to get them looking nice again. This is the process we use for completing multiple tasks around the club and the golf course.
During the off season the maintenance crew is determined to stay busy. Another project that we have started is to build new ball crates for the driving range. These crates will be used on the driving range tee instead of the current buckets.
These last few years we have been really working on cleaning out the canopy of the trees on our golf course. This winter we are continuing the process by cleaning out all the dead wood that has appeared in a lot of our oak trees. We contracted out a crew to come in and climb those tall oak trees. These climbers are professionals, they are able to climb the trees without spikes on their shoes so the trees aren't damaged during the process. They will start from the top working their way down the tree removing all the dead wood that is visible. The process should take only a few weeks since they are only concentrating their efforts on the oaks. Our crew then will come in later and limb up any maple trees that need it as well. This process is necessary for the health of the tree by severing off any portion of the tree that is dead. This will help keep unwanted insects from penetrating and entering those wounded areas and damaging the tree further.
Good Afternoon Blue Hills Country Club, the maintenance crew here at the club have been keeping busy during this cold weather. We had a great season this year and we are continuing this trend with some work next to our cart paths. When we first poured our cart paths a few years ago, the contracted work crew began first by laying the base foundation before the concrete was poured. This foundation was expanded to the size of our old asphalt paths. When we decided that we wanted to have some paths narrower than the old ones, this foundation wasn't shrunken down to size so it was left in the ground. So after it was all poured, our crew came back through and back-filled the voids next to the newly poured path with topsoil, free of rocks and gravel. There have been a few problem areas next to some tees and greens like hole 1 tee and green as well as hole 6 green.
As many of you have seen, there are several bird houses throughout the course for the Eastern Bluebird. This winter we have built 12 more houses and will be adding them to the property. This will improve the habitat for these birds and give them a safe place to be, while increasing there population.
It is that time of the year again. With the harsh winter weather upon us, it's time to start touching up trash cans and ball washers around the club. We have brought most of them down to the shop and have started painting them to get them looking nice again. This is the process we use for completing multiple tasks around the club and the golf course.
