Irrigation Leak #11

Yesterday there was an irrigation leak on hole number 11. This leak came from a pipe supplying irrigation water to the condos adjacent to the golf course. Condo landscapers previously made a repair in this area weeks back but evidently need to revisit their work. I assure you that once the repairs are complete, the hole will be returned to its normal condition.

Lake Bank Project Explained

In early July the Grounds Department began working on a lake bank stabilization project. It's no secret that our 40-year-old lakes have eroded severely in many locations. One of the most significant areas of erosion was along the lake shared by numbers 12 and 16. This also happens to be our largest lake. I took a great deal of time over the past year to investigate the options for stabilization as well as reclamation of what has eroded. While we've built some nice walls in the past, it was unfeasible and cost prohibitive to build walls around each lake. We could have simply hauled fill to the lakes and dumped it in to reclaim the shoreline, but this process would be extremely time consuming, hazardous to the golf course due to repetitive equipment traffic and disruptive to golfers. Simply backfilling would also tend to be a short-term fix as that soil would still be susceptible to erosion. We also looked at using rip-rap or rocks to line each lake which would help with future erosion but still had the issues of damaging the golf course through hauling and being disruptive to golfers. The most cost effective, time efficient, environmentally friendly, least disruptive to golfers and long lasting solution was the use of geotubes. 

A geotube is a large bag made from a high-strength, permeable, synthetic textile. The geotubes we are using are 300 feet long with a circumference of 14 feet. The geotubes are postitioned inside the lake at the location where the new water's edge is to be. In some instances the geotubes are right along the shoreline. In other instances they are several feet out allowing us to move the shoreline 15-20 feet. This makes the lake smaller and the fairways wider! 

Once the geotube is positioned our workers pump sediment off the bottom of the lake and into the geotube. Seems logical to use this sediment since it used to be the old lake bank until it eroded. As the geotube fills with a sediment solution, the water pushes through the permeable textile leaving only sediment inside the tube. The tube rests on the bottom of the lake and will serve as a barrier to keep loose soil from being washed away into the lake. The geotube is filled with sediment until it is slightly above the water's normal elevation. 

   Chris stands on a dredge barge selectively pumping

   sediment into the geotube while Pedro and Jack assist

   

We currently are down to the last 150 feet of Geotube needing to be filled to serve as a protective barrier along number 12. At that point, additional sediment will be pumped between the old shoreline and the geotube. 

   Jack is pumping sediment between a geotube and old shoreline

Once the void is filled between the bottom geotube and the old shoreline a second bag of cheaper material is placed on top of the first bag. Once full, this bag will be cut open and the sediment inside will be used as grading material to create a nice, smooth slope from the existing grade down to the water's edge covering the bottom geotube. At this point the slope will be sodded and project complete. The series of illustrations below help describe the remaining steps.

   

It's difficult to predict a time of completion for this project as we are experiencing a learning curve. I am happy to say that we accomplished the same amount in the last three weeks as what took us the first two months. This is due to us making adjustments as the process rolls out in order to increase efficiency. Once the bottom geotube is complete all the way to the wall on number 12 we will begin working backwards from that point towards 16. Instead of completing all of the fill and 2nd geotube prior to grading and sodding, we will systematically work in stages to complete 12 fairway and 16 fairway in order to have those areas ready for play ASAP. Until then, these areas are marked as Ground Under Repair to the water's edge. (Sorry, if your ball goes in the middle of the lake you do not get a free drop) This is for your safety. There are numerous stakes and ropes that can be tripping hazards. 

I hope this sheds some light as to what we are up to. Once complete, we should have a very nice finished product in terms of both appearance and stability. I will continue to provide updates in the coming weeks including the plans for re-grading and widening16 fairway. Stay tuned!

#3 Waste Bunker

You will notice big changes on #3 along the cartpath. We have removed the path along the right side where the tree roots have heaved the asphalt. We have also sprayed the grass under the trees with Round Up. This area will become a waste bunker capable of also handling cart traffic. It should be aesthetically pleasing and a much smoother ride! The sand mix for the bunker should arrive next week for installation. Until the work is complete, please play this area as Ground Under Repair. 

Hurricane Hermine Update

The total rainfall from Hurricane Hermine as of Friday afternoon was 14.25 inches. While there are a number of tree limbs and palm fronds lying about, no sizable trees were lost. As expected, there is standing water in many areas. Heavy rainfall washed the sand off of every bunker face which will require many man hours to repair. For the most part, the course weathered the storm pretty well and will now begin putting it back together.

The Storm Isn't Even Here Yet!

Isla has experienced a tremendous amount of rainfall since early this morning. As of 1:00 Wednesday afternoon, 7.6 inches of rain has fallen. With Tropical Storm Hermine headed this way we are forecast to receive much more rain over the next few days. Below are some early morning photos of the flood waters.

   The water on 7 is over the wall

   You might need a kayak if you want the morning paper

   This photo gives some insight into the difficulty of maintaining #8 Fairway.

   The lake on #18 almost over the wall and onto the green

   Looks like #3 can't be cart path only today (unless your cart has pontoons) 

   Heavy rains wreak havoc on bunkers

The Aftermath

While I had plans to finish verticutting fairways this week, Mother Nature had other ideas. Tropical Storm Colin brought us two days of wet, windy weather. At the end of it we had accumulated 8.75 inches of rain and 2 downed trees. There is still a fair amount of standing water but the guys worked hard to clean up most of the debris today. On the bright side, the greens loved all the rain and the holes from last week's aerification are starting to close. Delayed by the weather, we were finally able to get out and perform a verticut and mow on the greens this afternoon. They look really healthy and should be back to normal soon.

The crew continues to clean up piles of thatch left behind from the fairway verticutting. We hope to get out and complete the process as the golf course dries out. The summer annuals have also arrived this week so we can look forward to seeing new flowers over the next few days.

   Fallen palm on #16

   #10 Green after mowing

Aerification Complete... Almost

The golf course was closed four days last week so the Grounds Department could perfom the first of two core aerifications this summer. The crew put in long days working sun up to sun down in many cases. The greens were aerified in the same aggressive manner that we have successfully used the past four years, pulling A LOT of large cores. Tees, collars, approaches and walk-up areas were also aerified. The benefits of aerification are a reduction in thatch, relief from soil compaction and an increase in water/air movement in the soil profile. All of these things translate into healthier turf and ultimately better playing conditions.

The fairways underwent an aggressive vertical mowing last week. This process removes thatch while also encouraging an upright growth of the turf and reduction of grain. This is a time consuming process due to our expanded fairway acreage with approximately 15 acres still left to complete. The holes that have been completed still have a lot of the grass clippings still needing to be cleaned from the fairways. Everything has been put on hold due to the inclement weather but should resume in the next day or two. 

On the bright side, the rain should aid the recovery of the greens and fairways that have been completed! 

   Jackie pulling the first row of plugs on the Practice Green

   Large roller smoothing #12 Green

   Brand new healthy white roots are a direct result of the aerification

   1 of 2 piles of thatch removed from #9 Fairway

   Plugs spread on thin spots on #8 Fairway