The most exciting aspect for many is the new sand going into the bunkers. Early in the week we sprayed the grass on the bunker floors with RoundUp to minimize future issues of grass growing up through the sand. After the bunker floors were sprayed, we began hauling sand. The sand was spread to a consistent depth of six inches across the entire bunker floor, then compacted to approximately 4 inches using a plate compactor. We compact the sand to minimize the chances of having plugged or fried egg lies. Once compacted, the sand is then redistributed as necessary to maintain the proper depth and slope. Finally, the bunkers are hand-raked to perfection. The bunkers on holes 4, 5 and 14 are complete. You are to play them as you would any bunker. The bunkers on 6 and 13 will have sand installed next week. Once sand is installed, those bunkers will also be in play.
Fernando, Phil, Cristino and Glen are shoveling sand into place in the #14 greenside bunker.
Phil is using a plate compactor to pack the bunker sand.
The finished bunker on 14.
It is important to understand that these are new bunkers. New bunkers have the potential to get soft, especially without rain. Soft bunkers are prone to plugged and fried egg lies. While bunkers are a hazard, we do hope to minimize this extra penalty of a bad lie by keeping the sand compacted. I am happy to say that the shots witnessed so far have all had good lies and were very playable. I have even witnessed some excellent recovery shots by our members!
This shot was executed nicely to about 5 feet!
Many of you have asked about whether or not any of the sod is Ground Under Repair. At this time, only the bunkers on 6 and 13 are Ground Under Repair, along with #1 tee. All other locations are in play unless marked otherwise. This includes the paspalum sod around the greens. However, if your ball comes to rest in a seam between two pieces of sod, you may take relief without penalty. The first tee is coming along nicely and will be ready to open once it can be mowed without scalping.
Jason is mowing the new paspalum sod surrounding #14 green. This sod will be mowed as a collar throughout the upcoming winter. As the temperatures increase next spring, we will look to regain lost square footage from our greens where applicable.
Another major project kicked off this week. Construction of a new privacy fence between the first tee and the shopping center has begun. This is the first step in beautifying this area. Once the fence is complete, new landscaping will be installed to enhance the first impression of our golf course.
New fence along #1 tee.
Another major project nears completion. The lake bank project on #9 is in its final stages. We are ready to grade the soil and lay sod. This work is scheduled to take place the week of October 8th.
Looking at the 9th hole from the 18th fairway.
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