Lower Patio Project

With a very talented staff and supportive membership we have been able to accomplish great things over the last few years both on the golf course and on the surrounding grounds. Recently, Assistant Superintendent Michael Brown was put in charge of a patio building project on the back club lawn. Michael's background in hardscaping lined up perfectly with the new patio build that was proposed.  After detailing the scope of the project and budget with materials and labor factored in, it was determined that by doing this project with in-house staff vs. contracting it out, the club was able to save over $20,000. Michael did an outstanding job managing the project and the final product is beautiful.  We hope members and their guests enjoy the new patio this year and for many more years to come. Below is an explanation of the process involved with building a patio of this scope, and the detail that goes into it. 

The first step after identifying the shape and size of the patio was to identify the location where it would be built. Using a stake in the center as the proposed fire pit spot, measurements were made and irrigation flags were used to outline the edges of the future patio. Seeing it set up in this fashion allowed everyone to get a feel of the size before any product was ordered.

Four different quotes were collected for our bulk patio supplies order. When the order was placed, all materials were delivered at once to minimize delivery costs.

Once the materials were on site, excavation began using our mini-excavator. To blend the patio and wall into the hill, almost three feet of soil had to be excavated on the back side where the seating wall would be placed.

Mother nature didn't always cooperate and frequent rain during excavation made for a muddy project. 

When all the excavation was complete, the patio shape was re-marked and flagged.  Small tweaks were made at this time to ensure the area was properly graded.

6-8" of stone base was added above the soil grade and compacted to provide a firm base for the patio. Doing this minimizes the risk that the patio blocks will ever move.

Construction first began with the seating wall that wraps around the back of the patio including the steps. This involved custom cutting some blocks to make the shape needed for our build.

Utilizing the wall blocks, steps were built for entering and exiting the patio. It was extremely important at this time to ensure the blocks were set at the proper grade using a laser transit and levels.

Once a level, compacted grade was established, the wall went up fairly quickly. All wall blocks are secured together using construction adhesive.

Wall blocks were placed all around the exterior of the patio to allow for less carrying of the heavy block to set them in place. 

Drainage tile was installed behind the wall to move water away from the patio. Geotextile fabric was also used against the back of the seating wall to prevent the movement of soil through the cracks.

Geotextile fabric installed along the back of the wall

2" of slag sand on top of the compacted stone is used to create a very level surface for the pavers. To get the sand level, pipes are inset and the top of the pipe is set 2 inches below the finish patio grade. A flat board is dragged between the pipes, flattening the sand at the intended grade. When this is complete, pavers can start being set into place. 

Before pavers could be laid across the whole patio, a contractor was hired to run the main gas line and electric service into place.

The patio build didn't come without it's problems! Weather changed and everything froze. This slowed down the build but in the end did not negatively impact it. 

The patio paver process moved quickly when the staff helping was trained to take over the leveling process.

The fire pit was built into the patio over top of the previously placed gas line

Step coping was set in place during the installation of LED lights

Here the patio surface has been completed. After all the patio pavers were laid in place, polymetric sand was broomed into all the joints and a plate compacter was used to work the sand in. This process locks the pavers in place. After the sand broomed in and compacted, water was sprayed on the surface to activate the glue in the sand.

LED lights highlighting the new seating wall and steps

Plumbing of the fire pit was also done by in house staff

Finished patio! Great job by all the staff! 

2014 vs. 2016

The winter of 2015/2016 was much better for turf health and we're set up to have a nice start to the golfing season this year. We do not have an official opening day set at this time but it's not far away. The grounds department staff have been busy preparing the course for opening and we're excited to welcome everyone back soon. 

Below are a few comparison photos from 2014 to now. I'm very thankful we had a nice winter and look forward to the season ahead!

3 North Green

6 North Green

Current Course Conditions

Cover removed from 7 North green on: 3/8/16

I'm very happy to say that the golf course made it through winter well and all turf surfaces are healthy.  Frost remains in the ground and covers are still in place on the North and West greens. Currently the course is very wet with more rain on the way.  At this time we do not have a date picked out for opening the courses but we will be posting it here when it's decided.  We look forward to having everyone back at the club for the 2016 season!

Aerial Lift Used For In-House Tree Pruning

Over the last few weeks the grounds staff has been very busy with in-house tree pruning.  With the use of an aerial lift capable of raising over 50 feet, trees are being pruned for tree and turf health, aesthetics, safety, and course playability.  Our main efforts have been focused on removing low hanging limbs that could impact golfers or our turf mowing equipment as well as removing any dead material that could come down in summer storms.  While there, we are also "shaping" trees by removing limbs that distract from the beauty of the overall tree. Removing low limbs from mature trees and thinning canopies also allows from increased air movement and sunlight.  Both of these things benefit turf health surrounding the trees. 

Our staff has averaged trimming 20+ trees each day and we plan to continue this work for the next two weeks depending on weather. Below are some photos of the tree work being completed. Hired out, a month of tree trimming such as this could cost over $35,000!

Assistant Chris Notestine - not scared of heights!

Assistant Michael Brown trimming a specimen tree on 5 South!

Left side of 2 West getting cleaned up

Before and After: 5 South fescue just passed the pond

An aerial lift making tree pruning safe and efficient

Turf Conditions - Winter Update

The weather has been quite mild this winter with very little snowfall and at or above normal temperatures. With roughly 1 -2 months of cold weather that can be expected, today was a nice day to examine our current turf conditions and overall health of the golf course.  I'm pleased to say that everything is looking great and currently there are no signs of problems. Both the covered and uncovered greens are looking good and we do not have heavy ice buildup anywhere on the course to be concerned about. Below are a few photos of greens which show the current conditions. Keep your fingers crossed for an early spring and a great start to the 2016 golf season!

Putting green partially covered. Exposed turf looks good.

Turf under the covers looks great

5 South green looking very healthy 

2 South green looking great for January 25th! 

Assistant Superintendent - Michael Brown

Welcome to the team, Michael!

Course Closing

The golf course will officially be CLOSED starting 12/21/15 for the winter months. 

Off-Season Hardscaping Improvements

This fall the main focus of the club has been on the clubhouse renovation currently underway. In years past we have completed major golf course construction with bunker renovations and updates during this same time period.  To fully utilize the extra time and staff availability while not completing golf course construction, our staff has been investing in positive hardscaping improvements.  Currently we are working on the South course bathroom entries.  The patio bricks being used for this project came from the old patio behind the clubhouse that had to be torn out to accommodate the changes being made.  With in-house staff completing the project and reusing the patio pavers, this project is being completed for under $1,000! For the same size project contracted out it could cost over $9,000!. In the spring we will be planting ornamental grasses around the entrances as well as incorporating some annual flowers for a pop of color.  We hope you enjoy the nice updates-

BEFORE

AFTER

Fall Agronomic Practices - The Explanations

Fall is a very important time of year for the agronomy staff.  How the golf course looks and performs next season has a lot to do with what we're currently doing right now.  Two of the most important practices taking place on the course right now are aerification and fescue mowing.  Below are a few pictures accompanied by explanations and reasoning behind them to help provide an understanding behind their importance.

Aerification...a dreaded word that nobody wants to hear in the spring and fall. Commonly Superintendents will hear "do you really have to punch right now? The greens are perfect" or "Why do you have to punch holes now, can we wait until later in the year?" or "can we use smaller holes, why so big?" These questions are perfectly understandable and there are agronomic reasons behind them. 

Do you really have to punch right now? - When deciding when to core aerify greens, tees, or fairways the decision is based on reducing the stress window. During the months of June, July, August, and September in Michigan we expect our warmest, most humid weather in addition to the heaviest amount of traffic from both maintenance practices and golfers. Heavy traffic from these things leads to compaction of the soil, limited root growth, and general turf stress.  Compaction also leads less water, oxygen, and nutrient penetration to the root zone. With these things in mind, we generally aim for a spring aerification in the middle of May and our fall aerification in September.

Fairway Core Sample

Can we use smaller holes? Why so big? - Deciding what size holes to punch and the spacing between holes depends on many factors, but the most important factor is thatch removal. "Thatch" is the layer of organic matter that builds over time on top of the soil.  This organic matter build up comes from dead roots, grass clippings, and many other areas. A large amount of thatch on any turf surface can lead to soft, spongy conditions and limits appropriate infiltration of water and nutrients to the healthy root zone. As you can imagine, the more thatch that builds up, the worse the conditions will become.  The removal of this thatch is crucial to maintaining healthy grass on the golf course. Leaving the boring math out of this explanation, we aim to affect 15% of the surface area each year on greens and approximately 7% on fairways and tees.  The size/spacing of tines and frequency of punching are all contributing factors to achieving these percentages.

Fall Fescue Mowing

Fescue mowing is an important part of our fall maintenance program. Mowing fescue areas in the fall reduces weed growth mechanically and helps to thin the dense growth that has built up throughout the year.  Fall is the best time to target weeds in the fescue and reducing the thick top growth allows for a more effective spray application of herbicides.

Weed Control

Fall is the ideal time to spray for broad leaf weeds such as dandelions and clover as the herbicide will be translocated to the roots and ultimately kill the weed. Currently plants are spending energy storing nutrients for winter in their root system vs. producing flowers. Even though you can't see the weed flowering right now, they're still there! Spring applications may suppress the weeds but will not normally kill them.