100th and final post

I never imagined my 100th post being my last post, but it will be. I am leaving the club for another job outside of the golf industry. After being employed by the club for almost 13 years it was time to move on to the next chapter in my career. I would like to thank my Superintendent Greg Burleson for always being there for me over the years and supporting me on the next chapter of my career. The club has been a great place to work at and they have treated me and my family great, so for that I say thank you.

Aerifiying and Slicing Roughs

Yesterday and today we have been aerifiying and slicing the roughs on the course. These two processes will relieve some of the compaction that occurs during the winter months and also allows the bermuda to get an early jump on recovery. One machine is pulling (coring)  an actual plug about two inches in length and the other machine is slicing into the ground at around six inches.

Bunker Maintenance

April is always one of the busiest months here at the Club. Masters week brings in lots of guests and at the end of April we hold the AGA Jambroee. With all those extra rounds the course gets beat up more than normal; especially the bunkers. To keep up with all the extra play we are checking sand depths and pulling sand away from the edges that have become too deep. This is a very labor intensive job and takes close to 30 minutes per bunker depending on the size.

New Fairway Yardage Markers

Hopefully while you are out on the course during your next round you will notice the nice new fairway yardage markers. They have been installed at 150 and 200 yards from the center of the green. These new markers replaced the painted white concrete blocks that were in the fairways.

Irrigation Head Markers

All the sprinklers withinn 250 yards of the green have three yardages on them. Front, middle and back of the green. I recently checked every sprinkler to see if there were any damnaged or missing tops. I found a handful of broken or missing ones, so new tops were ordered and will be put on this week. 

Cart Path Repairs

Overtime the cart paths on the course become damaged and need replacing. Usually a section of path will break due to tree roots that become bigger over time. Today a contractor worked on replacing these bad sections. First they break up the existing path, frame the new path and then pour the concrete.

New Look at Number Three and Fifteen Greens

The recent ice storm damage caused quite a mess and changed the look of the golf course as well. Along with the loss of  a Live Oak and some Georgia Pines we unfortunately lost the massive Oak at three and fifteen greens. The rings in the tree were not counted, but the tree had to have been there well before the golf course was built in 1899. Losing this tree is bittersweet. On one hand it was a beautiful tree that came into play if you approached the fifteenth green from the left side, causing you to think how you played your second shot on the par five. On the other hand it was a nightmare to keep up with all of the leaves; we spent at least eight months out of the year blowing  these Oak leaves. Instead of replacing the tree with another it was decided to sod the area where the tree stood, allowing for more views across the golf course.

No Carts On Fairways

Over the next two to three weeks we are asking all golf carts to stay off of the fairways. We are asking you to stay on the cart path or in the rough. By having the carts stay off of the fairways it will engourage the Bermuda grass to green up sooner. Thank you for your cooperation.