Tee construction and irrigation at Hampshire Greens

One of the final winter projects that was wrapped up in March at Hampshire Greens was the construction of two new tee boxes on holes #8 and #14.  Par 3 tees get beat up with divots throughout the season, especially the bentgrass ones at this course.  The new tees will provide increased teeing area to distribute divots, as well as adding an additional challenge to our golfers playing the back tees there.

Here is an update from Golf Course Superintendent Teddy Blauvelt, who has done a great job with MCG since 2007 at this property.
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Many people ask, “What does maintenance do in the winter when it’s cold.” My answer is “projects.” Projects are labeled so because they are outside the realm of everyday golf course maintenance work. They are not completed during the golfing season for two main reasons. The first is because the scope of work would severely interfere with the golfer and their round. The second, is well, there is plenty of traditional everyday work to fill each day for the maintenance staff.

March is a busy month which includes getting these winter projects wrapped up, but also later in the month to get ready for the golfing season with routine maintenance. Some winter projects include: Bunker renovations, tee constriction, irrigation installs and upgrades, drainage projects etc… Today we will focus on two projects being completed at Hampshire Greens this winter. Tee additions, to the par three 14th and 8th holes, and an irrigation addition to the right side of 13th hole.

The tee additions, why? Both holes have limited tee space in comparison to the length of tee shot. The addition of championship tee tops will lengthen the holes, relieve traffic stress, help with divot recovery, and create an aesthetically pleasing yet challenging golf shot.

The 14th will be about 155 yds and consistently hold the black, championship tee markers.

We utilized the hillside behind the current 14th tee to simply cut and fill, then shape the new tee top.

The new 8th will be about 205 yds and will be used in rotation with the current championship tee to hold the black markers. 

We needed to add a LOT of soil to build the tee. We used soil from 2 mounds on the seventh hole to build the tee. We did this to alleviate a cart traffic problem created from these mounds on the left side of the hole. We also needed to lower the current blue tee top on the 8th in order for the new tee top to have clear sight to the green. This will also increase area of the blue tee, a win win. Almost a, “3 birds 1 stone deal!” 

Along side the right side rough of the 13th fwy we installed a third irrigation line and sprinkler heads. Currently, the sub-par irrigation system has two rows of irrigation heads. One runs down the left side intermediate/fwy. The second runs down the right/middle of the fwy. This leads to very poor irrigation coverage to the right side of the fwy, especially in the tee shot landing area. By adding a third row of heads we will create a superior playing surface on the right side fwy, relieve labor hours from hand watering, and provide a more efficient way to water.

I hope this helps answer any questions about some of what maintenance does during the "off-season."

Teddy Blauvelt

Golf Course Superintendent

Hampshire Greens Golf Course

Snowy benefits

As we anticipate another minor snow today after a bone-chilling arctic blast this week, I wanted to mention a few reasons why some snow can be GOOD for golf courses!

First of all, snow DOES NOT MEAN

• that maintenance staff are out sledding all day
• that maintenance staff are sleeping in and taking time off
• that maintenance staff are having hockey tournaments on the frozen ponds

We are busy as always, finally at a time of year where we can "cut back" to working a 40 hour week.  So in addition to being able to complete indoor projects such as refurbishing course accessories, doing equipment repairs & maintenance, painting and re-organizing shop areas for improved work flow, etc, SNOW has some really great benefits for the turfgrass system as well!

Insulation - A fresh blanket of snow will help insulate the grass from freeze injury from very cold temperatures as well as protect the turf from desiccation caused by whipping winds and low humidity that are common during the winter.   The resulting potential turf loss associated with these weather extremes is called winterkill.  A very deep freeze can also injure root systems of trees and shrubs.

Recharge ground water - as snow melts, it can provide a great way to recharge ground water in the soil so there are deep water reserves for next spring and summer.

Give the turf a break! - As much as we love all you dedicated winter golfers, the reprieve from foot traffic for the period of time there is snow cover is very beneficial.  When the turf is not actively growing, there is no way it can grow out of (recover from) traffic injury.  And while foot traffic is very much reduced this time of year, there are still plenty of days between December and February where temperatures will at least hit the 50 degree mark.  The cart traffic around the course, and foot traffic around the greens and tees, causes the turf to be really beaten down with no chance for recovery until grass starts growing more readily towards the end of March or early April.

So bring on a little snow, and we'll look forward to seeing you back out here once it melts!

*** AS A REMINDER ***

When there is snow on the ground, we do NOT permit sledding, cross-country skiing, or any other activities including walking on the courses for your SAFETY.  

Needwood bunker rebuilds

About 3 weeks ago now, Needwood broke ground on some important bunker renovations.  This work will continue as weather allows into late fall and early winter, with the goal of finishing rebuilds of the remaining bunkers on the front 9.  There are 12 bunkers left to rebuild on the main course; others have been completed (or eliminated) over the last couple of winters.

It's ironic how bunkers are a hazard, but there is an expectation for them to be well groomed, well drained, trimmed and proper.  Don't worry, if you fall into this category, you're not alone; this is something that permeates the golf industry, and probably is mostly due to conditioning of golf courses shown on TV for tournaments, where they have many dozens or sometimes hundreds of volunteers to help make things, like the hazards, perfect! 

Much data has been comprised regarding bunker maintenance, and believe it or not, there are courses out there where bunkers require as much as 50% of the entire golf course labor budget!! 

About 4 man-hours of work will get just this one small bunker playable again after being washed out by a storm. Silt has to be manually removed by shovel, new sand added, and all the sand has to be redistributed by machine and finished by hand.  This example is from Falls Road, where there are 59 bunkers.  Repeat the process every time there is a major rain event!!  And yes, this is a HAZARD.  :-)

A large portion of maintenance labor is expended while trying to put bunkers back together after a major storm.  For us, while precipitation amount trends are only very modestly increasing on an annual basis, the frequency of rain days seems to be changing, especially in the summer, where we get most of our monthly rainfall amount from 1 or 2 storms.  What does this mean for bunkers?  More washouts and vastly more intensive work to make them clean and playable again! 

While not all bunkers a ruined to the same degree as in the above picture, there is plenty of work to be done.  The above bunker was not originally constructed with a liner, which would help the water flow underneath the sand to the drain and reduce washouts.   Installing proper drainage lines and installing a roughly 1/2" thick synthetic fabric liner especially on sloped areas, is what we are undertaking at Needwood, along with adding new sand.

Similar projects are occuring at every course in our system over time, and most every off-season as necessary.  This periodic maintenance allows us to be more efficient with our resources and focus on turf-related playing conditions!

Below are some pictures of the process going on at Needwood!

Old bunker sand is pushed into a pile and then buried into a hole inside the bunker.  The excavated soil is essentially "swapped" to the surface and used for creating the new floor of the bunkers.  This eliminates having to haul as much as 20 - 30 tons of sand out of the bunker across the course, and speeds the process.

After the new bottom of the bunker is installed, drain lines are trenched.  One of the big issues with these bunkers at Needwood is that they either completely lacked drainage, or the drainage had failed over time.

With drain lines complete, this bunker is ready for pipe, gravel and liner installation.

Outlet drains are also trenched.

Pipe is installed and trenches are backfilled with pea gravel.

Ready for liner!

Liner is carefully installed in the bunker, using a LOT of sod staples (about one per foot).

Once sod staples are in place, each one gets some Liquid Nails to help hold them in place.  Without this, freeze/thaw and natural minor heaving can allow the staples to work themselves loose.

As liner is installed, thin pieces of plywood also help maintain a proper edge when adding sand later.

Final touches need to be made outside the bunker where some bunker edges are modified.  These spots will be sodded and re-established quickly.

Once the liner is trimmed up, sand is added and distributed throughout the bunker, generally to a 6" depth on bottom and a 4" depth on the sloped areas (less sand makes bunker faces a little firmer to prevent fried-egg lies)

Forward tee construction at Northwest

If you have played Northwest from the forward tees, then you know that some of the teeing areas are not level.  Since this golf course was not originally constructed with forward tees in mind, an area of rough mowed down to tee height and converted to perennial ryegrass has been the norm. .

Superintendent Chris Fernandes and his team have begun taking the most out-of-level teeing areas and building a proper tee box on holes 6, 9, and 18 so far.  And apparently it has been well received, indicated by the hugs he has received from some of our lady golfers there, who are thrilled at the new addition of these tees!

New tees were built closer to cart paths for easier accessibility and reduced turf wear.  Each area was built up with some good local topsoil, and graded to a fine level with hand rakes while using surveying equipment to ensure they are precisely correct.

Sod was stripped off the old tee box and transplanted to the new one, and the new tee boxes were well-rooted and ready for play in as little as one week!

Kudos to those guys for a great job, and some much appreciated work!

stripping sod off new tee location

staking out area to be levelled

a little hand raking after rough grade established

plate tamping the surface

Rough sod outlines the tee box; ready to be grassed!

New tee box ready to go!  This tee box was opened for play in 14 days after some quick rooting of the ryegrass and tall fescue sod.

Winter Work: Course Accessories

As we continue to take a look at the number of things that keep maintenance crews busy during the winter months, refurbishing course accessories takes a significant portion of our time.  This work is typically done when the course is covered in snow, or during frost delays that prevent us from working on other projects outside.

Little Bennett's ball washers disassembled, cleaned, sanded, and repainted

Traffic control stakes are repainted at Hampshire Greens

Amongst the items that are refurbished are ball washers, flag sticks and cups, yardage markers, tee markers, traffic control stakes, water cooler houses, tee caddies, directional signs, benches, bunker rakes, trash cans, and the list goes on!

Broken tee caddies and directional arrows are made and painted

Yardage poles are repainted

Northwest in the process of making new signs and tee markers

So when you think that those maintenance guys couldn't possibly be THAT busy during the winter, rest assured that we are working just as hard as we do during the rest of the year trying to take care of this type of work that can't be readily accomplished during the season when all these accessories are in use and needed on the course!

Winter Work: Equipment Maintenance

Superintendents often refer to their mechanics as the unsung heroes of the operation.  Each golf course has at least 30 pieces of specialized equipment that are used to maintain our properties, and these technicians ensure not only the machines are safe and functional, but also play a key role in turf health and playability, for example, by assuring that cutting units are sharp and precisely adjusted (within a thousandth of an inch on height of cut) to the specifications of the superintendent.

Pictured above is a fairway mower getting its winter service (cutting units removed for sharpening and to access hydraulic and electrical systems)

Utility carts, mowers, tractors, sprayers, aerators, seeders, and small equipment like blowers and string trimmers are repaired and maintained throughout the season as needed, but the winter offers our equipment managers some much needed time to thoroughly go through each unit and perform more intensive preventive maintenance that keeps these machines running smoothly throughout the year.

Engine replacements or rebuilds are a piece of cake for our talented mechanics

Cutting units for green, tee, and fairway mowers are checked and adjusted after every use during the season, but in the winter, these complex machines get a thorough check-up of the hydraulic system, engine, and electrical components as well.

The "guts" of a greens mower hydraulic system.  This machine is 14 years old and running great because of the expertise of our equipment manager.

 
The cutting units themselves will be ground and prepped to original factory specs and tolerances.  Bearings throughout the machines will be inspected and replaced as needed, and hydraulic hoses and fittings will be checked for wear and replaced to help ensure there are no damaging leaks next year that could kill grass.

The underbelly of a greens mower all set, clean, and ready to go!

Even big jobs like splitting a tractor to replace the clutch are performed in-house

 This is really the tip of the iceberg, but we are lucky to have such a talented group of mechanics who can quickly perform the full gamut of repairs necessary to the equipment!  Next time you see all that equipment on the course, just know that a hard-working technician is an integral part of keeping the course in good shape!
 

Time for Training!

One of the most important parts of the off-season for us is to train our staff for the upcoming season.  Today, key staff from every facility are at Rattlewood Golf Course attending an AED/CPR training class.  Each one of our facilities is equipped with an Automated External Defibrillator in the event that a golfer or an employee is suffering from cardiac arrest.

In fact, last year one of these life-saving devices was successfully used at Poolesville due to the quick and methodical action taken by superintendent Dan Hofmeister, and there were 8 other lives saved on golf courses in Maryland last year with the use of an AED.

During the 3 hour training session today, every person was certified in proper CPR and AED procedures.  MCRA remains committed to having a top notch staff at every facility!

Throughout the winter, general managers and professional staff will undergo intensive training every week on topics such as:

• Golf Instruction
• Customer Service
• Business Management
• Merchandising
• Staff training
• Food & Beverage Management
• Operational Efficiencies
• and many more!

Our superintendents will also spend a significant amount of time training in-house on topics such as:

• Environmental Programs
• Safety
• Turf Technology
• Research
• Course conditioning
• Irrigation Management
• Pest Management
• and other topics

They will also attend local and national turfgrass management conferences to stay up to date on the the latest in agronomic research, turf disease and water management, cost savings measures, regulatory and compliance education, as well as a host of other timely topics.

So, in addition to keeping up with dozens of winter projects at every facility, winter time does not constitute "down time" as many people think.  We are vigorously preparing for another great season at Montgomery County Golf!

Laytonsville #3 green drainage project

For any of you who have played Laytonsville after it has rained, you no doubt have experienced how wet and spongy #3 green is.  Superintendent Galen Evans and his great team have recently undertaken a major renovation to this green to help solve the drainage problem that existed.

As you can see from the above photo, there is a distinct layer that exists from when the green was constructed nearly 40 years ago.  This layer is the primary cause of the lack of water infiltration into the green.  You can also see throughout the profile numerous sand channels that are the result of core aeration.  In this green, however, continued aeration is just not enough to ameliorate the significant layering problem, and it was time for more drastic measures.

  After sod was stripped for the trencher, drain lines were carefully excavated, making sure spoils stayed on plywood to keep the surface of the green clean.

 2-inch drain pipe was installed after the proper slope was achieved at the bottom of the trenches....

 and the greens mix was added and tamped back into place...

Finally the pieces of sod were placed back in the exact order they were removed. Once the green is completely cleaned off of debris, it was rolled repeatedly to return the surface to its original condition for playability.


Drains were installed every 6 feet, about 18 inches deep across the green and back-filled with a mixture of 60% sand, 20% peat and 20% topsoil.  This mixture is a good recipe for allowing water to percolate down to the drain lines, and also having the ability to hold enough water and nutrients to maintain healthy turf.

Jon Lobenstine
Director of Agronomy

Getting ready for the off-season

While the golf season is winding down, our golf maintenance teams are just as busy as ever!  The off-season provides unique opportunities for us to take on projects that can't be completed when we are hard at work keeping up with daily routine mowing and course preparation tasks.  But now that turf growth has slowed considerably, there is time to begin much-needed work on rebuilding bunkers, installing drainage, upgrading irrigation system capabilities and performance, doing tree work, and developing a prioritized game plan for other winter work. 

We will continue to update this blog with examples of important winter projects that are going on that will ultimately improve your golfing experience at our facilities!

Jon Lobenstine
MCG Director of Agronomy