Indian Hills CC Turf Management: Project Update

The greens project has been continuously on schedule. The plan was to have the final grades done just prior to Thanksgiving, which is tomorrow. And having said that, the final grades were done right on time - finishing yesterday, just prior to.....the first major rainstorm we have had in over two months.

as of 12:23pm on Weds 11/27 2.5" of heavy rain and it appears that more is on the way.

Seems that this has been our luck this year. As happened to the 12th tee during the Member-Guest, the rain has tossed us a load more work. Having worked on all the clay out there for 5 weeks in bone dry weather, the fact that it is clay seemed to be a non-issue. Dumping 2.5" of rain on clay with no turf to help filter the water was like dumping it in a parking lot. It ran where it could, cutting into the finish grades and contaminating bunker drainage. If the turf was down we wouldn't have any issues at all, in fact the green surfaces are firm and dry, the greens are now 90% sand and sand drains.

We are now only two steps away from completing what we can this season, but the weather will play a roll in how it now goes. Very cold air is heading in tonight and it will freeze all the standing water. Fortunately, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and most folks are off from work as it should be. So we buy 24 hours of drying time. Hoping for decent weather on Friday to get repair work under way. Irrigation is scheduled to begin installation on Monday and the sod crew is scheduled to be here on weds to grass the green surfaces.

Picture time....

16 bunker work

16 from the tee. Players will now be able to often see their ball on the green. It has been lowered 6' from the original. This photo was taken as an aid to decide how much the hill on the right had to move to see the green.