Grounds Construction Update

 

Its been a busy season to say the least in 2021.  I wanted to give an update on the course construction projects and what to expect moving forward with fescue. 

Short Course

There has been a lot of excitement in the air as many could see the construction of the 3 hole Short Course take shape over the last 3 months. It began as a difficult project to manage as we were constantly being hit with set backs. Equipment breakdowns and major weather issues plagued the project early on. However, as the weather cleared and we were able to get a couple of good weeks the Short Course took shape quickly. The majority of the project was done "in house" by our staff with help from Architect Tyler Rae and his team. 

The area was seeded and sodded on August 9th and 10th. Although we did have a heavy thunderstorm come through post seed, much of the seed stayed put and we were able to get a nice catch overall. We saw our first bit of bent grass seed germinate on the Greens and Fairway a week after seeding. Due to the heavy rain there will be some minor areas we will have to tweak with some extra seed and sod work.

The area consists of 4 greens- One Green dedicated as a Putting Green and the other 3 Greens as the 3 hole loop. There are 8 bunkers in the short course area- 7 Greenside bunkers and a "wishbone" fairway bunker cut into the hill side in the center of the complex. The yardages range from 65-155 yds depending on the different shots, angles and loops taken throughout the facility. 

Overall, I'm very pleased with what we are seeing in terms of seed germination. Look for the first mow on the area in the coming weeks! Its gonna be a great addition to the landscape here at Beverly CC!

Short Game/Himalayan Putting Green

Now that the Short Course has been seeded, we have shifted focus on the new Short Game/Himalayan Putting Green next to the clubhouse. Due to the setbacks we experienced on the Short Course, we were slightly behind schedule on our ground breaking date for the Short Game area. We broke ground on August 16th, however, with the good weather we have received, we are beginning to get back on schedule. You can see the area take shape as we have spent the past few weeks removing existing irrigation/drains, moving dirt and constructing the new Green complex and Himalayan Putting Green. We cut into the East parking lot helping to create 10,000sqft of new hitting turf. Overall, the new design gives the Short Game area an additional 22,000sqft of hitting space vs the old design. The fence line separating the parking lot and short game area will be reinstalled along with shrubs and cover to isolate the parking lot from the short game area as well as help protect cars from any errant shots. 

Truckloads of clay will begin being hauled into the old pool area to build up the base of the new Himalayan Putting Green.  This will bring sporadic closures to the East parking lot as we try to maneuver the large trucks into place. This green is sized at +20,000sqft which will give plenty of space for a fun unique putting course!

As with the short course project, the majority of this project is being done in house along with Tyler Rae and his team. Our focus on the grounds department will be on getting this work done as quickly as possible in hopes to have it seeded by end of September first of October. This short game will be a very unique complex for Beverly. The Himalayan Putting Green will see great use for post round fun, drinks and I'm sure a few friendly wagers!

Fescue

Part of the overall masterplan implemented in 2019 was the addition of fescue to the golf course. Fescue can be a hot topic and usually consists of many different opinions when used on a golf course. I want to discuss what the goal of our fescue will be and help the membership understand the expectations of growing the fescue properly. 

Golf Course Architect, Tyler Rae, walked the course identifying areas to seed to fescue. He mapped out roughly 15 acres of area throughout the golf course to be turned to fescue. Some of these areas were obvious, like behind #6 Green, other areas maybe not as obvious. Tyler's goal was to slowly introduce fescue strategically throughout the course but not to over run the golf course. He chose areas that gave great aesthetic value in breaking up the landscape as well as areas where it can come into play and keep golfers on their toes. Our fescue lines are very forgiving in most areas, meaning Tyler kept the majority of the fescue roughly 30yds from the fairway. This gives plenty of landing room in the rough to act as a buffer before a ball would find the fescue. The overall goal of the implementation of fescue is NOT to overwhelm the golfer, slow pace of play or to ruin the golf experience at Beverly. The goal is to add aesthetic value to the golf course, create thin, wispy, playable fescue that challenges golfers in a few spots and help enhance the golfing experience at Beverly.

What is the process and the expectations of growing fescue in on a golf course? In a two word answer- slow and ugly! To properly get the fescue right and meet our goals of thin, wispy, playable fescue- less is more. Its important to remember that it is a 3 year process to get it right. The areas will look ugly at times, even bare and muddy in spots as we slowly grow the fescue. One of the major drawbacks of fescue is the areas becoming over grown, thick and unplayable. This tends to happen when the fescue is rushed to grow and fill in. It becomes overly healthy and thickens too much too fast. We want to take it slow, use low seed rates and let mother nature do its thing with rains, etc. 

We have already started the process and have killed the areas identified by Tyler. It will take 3 applications of round-up to properly get a full kill of the turf. The 3 apps will help make sure we have killed all existing turf and anything that may have tried to reestablish quickly.

You can already see the turf dying out in the areas treated. These will be the areas that will turn to fescue. A quick rundown of the areas: Right of #1 Approach, Left #2 Fairway, Left #4 Green/Behind #6 Green, Triangle Right of #7/#8/Behind #6 Tee, Left #10, Hillside #13/#14, Left #17 Fairway

Once we are sure the turf has been killed, these areas will be scalped down using a mower and we will begin to seed the areas in the coming weeks. We will use a lower seed rate along with a custom blend of 80% Hard fescue, 20% sheep fescue. This blend will help in not giving us the heavy undergrowth that thickens and creates lost balls, etc. Again, our goal is to create thin, wispy, playable fescue. 

Here are a few examples of what our expectations will be of the fescue. These pictures are from Olympic Hills in MN. 

You can see this fescue is beautiful not only from an aesthetic standpoint but also a playability standpoint. This fescue takes time to establish and the name of the game is patience! It will be a great addition to Beverly and really enhance the already great walk around the course! 

I hope this update helps give you an idea of how busy my season has been! But these projects will have a huge impact on the Beverly experience, so it makes it all worth while! Please feel free to comment or email me any questions. I can always go into greater detail. I will continue to provide updates monthly as these projects take more shape!

Kirk

How Can Membership Help

*If viewing from your phone click “web version” at bottom to see videos. They don’t seem to show up on the phone view. 

By and large, memberships take great pride in their clubs and I get asked by many of them "How can I help?"  There are many things throughout a round membership can do to help with the playability, condition and overall showcasing of the golf course. These things include proper ball mark repair, proper divot replacement, divot patterns at the driving range tee, cart traffic patterns, and proper bunker raking. I'll discuss further in detail on each of these items and hopefully the membership will get a better idea of how each of these small things impact a golf course.

Ball Mark Repair

Our Greens are the crown jewel of the golf course and need to be as smooth and consistent as possible. Its no secret ball marks plague many greens and golf courses in general. Golf etiquette dictates its the responsibility of the golfer to fix and repair their own individual ball mark. However, there is a proper way to repair a ball mark that helps speed the recovery and cleans up the belemishes on the green. Here is a great video by the USGA on proper ball makr repair.

A key takeaway from the video is making sure you are not "popping the ball mark up" but stretching the turf together. This helps the turf heal quickly and gets rid of any bare spots that may effect ball roll. Any ball mark missed or improperly repaired will get shaved off with the greens mowers the following morning. Our staff does take time to quickly walk the Green prior to mowing each morning to look for unrepaired marks, however, we are typically mowing prior to sunrise and under time constraints, so it makes it difficult for us to repair the majority of ball marks that occur throughout a day. A properly repaired ball mark by a member goes along way in keeping the green surfaces smooth and looking good!

Divot Recovery/DRT Pattern

Understanding when to replace a divot and when to use the sand/seed to fill in the divot can will help in the time it takes the divots to recover. The ideal scenario is to replace your divot with the turf and stepping it down. When the divot stays together with soil and root structure it acts as a small piece of sod and the roots will take hold again, helping the divot heal quickly. 75% of the time this is the proper way to fill a divot at Beverly. When your divot has been disintegrated and there is no turf to put back, this is the time to fill the divot with sand. Sand is used to level the area and allow the bent grass to creep back in filling the divot. However, depending on the size of the divot, this process takes months to heal and make the divot disappear. So if there is a large divot that can be replaced, it makes a huge difference in recovery time if it is put back vs just filling with sand/seed.

One thing I find interesting, is in general, many golfers do not replace divots on a tee?? I find most golfers opt to fill in their large divots with sand. As stated above, sand is a much longer process to recovery vs replacing the divot, the same "rules" apply. So whether you're on a Tee or in the Fairway the best option is to always replace the divot when you can and only use the sand when there is no divot to replace. Here are a few videos from the USGA that discuss divot repair.

Note in the videos they mention divot patterns at the driving range and the proper pattern to use to help with quick recovery. This is extremely important to help preserve our range tee and for it to accommodate the large amount of use it sees. Here is a picture that illustrate proper divot pattern for the driving range tee.

In general it is very difficult for divots to heal and recover on the golf course due to our maintenance practices that focus on playability (fast/dry/firm) vs grow in/recovery (over water/high fertility/soft). Its especially difficult on the driving range tee due to the constant hitting and practicing. As a grounds staff, we don't have access to the driving range tee on regular basis throughout a day to be able to water and help with recovery. As a member a simple change in your hitting pattern can help in preserving our driving range tee throughout the season. Proper replacement of your divots on Tees and Fairways can he huge help in the quickness of their recovery as well. 

Bunker Raking

 

The largest percentage of our labor budget goes to the maintenance of the bunkers. They see daily raking as well as work on checking sand depths, compacting sand and mowing the faces. Every golfer has there own preference in regards to the playability of the bunkers. In general, as a maintenance staff, our goal is to create consistent bunkers throughout the course, firm enough not to give "fried egg" lies, even depths and minimal contamination to the sand. We spend countless hours trying to create these conditions and while at times, we may fall short, due to multiple reasons, overall the bunkers are beginning to play better as the season/years progress. 

One thing that can help in keeping the bunkers consistent and achieving those goals is proper bunker etiquette from the membership and caddies. Its important for the golfer to understand what we are trying to achieve and how neglect can cause the softening of spots or give a poor lie in a bunker. Here is a great video from the USGA on bunker etiquette and raking.

Note from the video the importance of smoothing out deep foot prints with the back of the rake first. This helps keep the bunker bottoms level and doesn't give the player behind you a potential poor lie. Also, entering and exiting the bunker from the low side and not walk up the face. This helps with keeping the sand face compacted so when a ball goes into the bunker it rolls to the bottom, flat part of the bunker and doesn't get hung up. A good rule of thumb is after leaving the bunker, it should look as if you were never there. These little things can go a long way in not only helping the grounds department but also keeping the bunkers playing consistent for golfers and fellow members coming in behind you. 

Cart Traffic Etiquette
 

As we get into season and cart traffic begins to pick up, its important to remind everyone of cart patterns throughout the course. Carts create major wear, tear and compaction throughout the course  which in turn creates thinness in many areas. We have rope up throughout the course to help guide carts away from high profile areas. I would ask  members operating a cart to please keep carts away from Greens, driving up into the approaches and up next to Tees. Please use cartpaths or park on cartpaths where they are avaialbe. Here is a video for a reminder of cart etiquette.

 

It is always good for a fresh reminder on small things such as these that can have a huge impact on the course. These items are simple things that can be done by the membership to help alliviate stress on the turf. So next time you are at the course, take a few extra seconds to think about the repair of your ball marks, replacement of your divot, the raking of the bunkers, and where you are driving the cart. Together we can help each other continue to make Beverly CC a premier club in the country!  

Kirk

April- Season Kicks Off

The above average temperatures and dry weather in late March to early April had the golf season kicking off in full gear on April 2nd of this year. The grass was able to get a jumpstart, get out of dormancy quickly this spring which has helped us with divot recovery and ball marks on the Greens. The turf is extremely healthy and the newly seeded 007 Greens look incredible to start the season. In just their second year, they had great Spring green up and have incredibly strong root systems. 

April is one of the busiest months for us at the Grounds Department, especially when the weather is favorable. This month at Beverly has been no different! We have been very busy not only mowing turf but working on projects throughout the early portion of the season. Our project list consists of putting a walkway through the bunker at #1 and adding a cart path to the right side of #4 green that directs you around #5 Tee.  All this work was done just in time to start our new Short Course area next to the pro shop! 

The walkway at the cross bunker at #1 was discussed during the original plans of the restoration. Architects, Tyler Rae and Ron Prichard, decided to hold off on its installation to get a feel for how traffic might work with the bunker at 1. After a season of testing, getting feedback from members, etc.. It was determined we should install the walkway through the bunker. This enabled the walking member to take a straight line off the Tee to their ball in the Fairway. While the face of the bunker is soft enough to walk up, we will continue to monitor the face/traffic pattern as there could be potential for the addition of steps in the future. We then reimplemented the dew walk paths throughout the golf course, giving a shorter height of cut for the walkers from Tee to Fairway.

The left side of 4 green has always been a tough spot due to traffic, irrigation and drainage issues. It was an area that got beat up from the cart traffic and was extremely difficult to keep carts scattered and  avoid major wear and tear to the turf. During one of Tyler Rae's site visits this past winter he evaluated the area and determined we could put a cart path in on the right side of the Green between the bunker and the fence line while rerouting carts behind #5 tee and to the right of it. It will help the Green complex at #4 be healthy  as well as help alleviate any wear and tear from carts that has plagued #5 Tee. Our focus was to not only build the cart path but also to build up the back of the bunker face to help hide the path from view when walking up towards the Green. 

As we are always looking to minimize the amount of cart paths on the golf course, this was an area that made sense to add one. This will help the traffic in the area, as well as give flexibility in the future for fescue lines on the left side of #4 Green as well create possible shelter/halfway house opportunities to the right of #5 Tee where the old pumphouse sits.  

Project Update:

Throughout the upcoming blog posts, I will be updating the membership on the progress of the recently approved Practice Facility projects as work begins. Hopefully the membership will find it interesting to see some of the "behind the scenes" things that happen to complete a project as well as get a chance to see how different features like, Greens, Tees, and Bunkers are created out of nothing but open space. 

The Short Course portion of the project has officially kicked off. We broke ground on phase 1, April 20th with the tree removal portion. In building the 3 hole short course, the first order of business was to clear the area in which we wanted to create the holes.  We obviously need to make room for the 3 hole course, however, at the same time need to be sure we continue to have a buffer between 1 fairway and the newly built short course. We also want to make sure we do not open our boundary line up to the East along Western Ave.  

Architect Tyler Rae identified the trees needed to be removed in order to create the vison of the short course. We evaluated the area, the health of the trees and made an informed decision on the removal of any tree. Throughout the area we found many of the trees to be rotted, hollowed out and not in the best health, so it made decisions on most of the trees simple. 

However, anytime we remove a healthy tree on the golf course, we want to make sure we are doing it for reasons that enhance the turf health, experience and playability of the course. During the removal of trees, with the entire area being renovated, we were not worried about any damage from our tree contractor. They were able to work quickly and efficiently in their ability to clear the area. This saves on overall cost and time.

Next dates of note for the Short Course project:  May 7th, Tyler will be making a site visit and he will be staking out the Short Course with the hopes of breaking ground with the bulldozer May 10th. Our overall timeline and goal for the Short Course is to have the area "growing in" by mid to late June. Then move to break ground on the Practice Facility/Himalayan Putting Green, post Medley on August 2nd.

It will be another busy season for us at the Grounds Department! We are excited to get things kicked off and providing a brand new experience to a golf club with such great tradition and history!

Kirk 

    

 

 

March- What do you do in the winter?

We had major snowfall throughout January and February that dropped well over 2ft of snow on the golf course. The accumulation of snowfall acts as an insulator/blanket for the turf, keeping it safe from the harsh winds and below freezing temperatures. The snow mold fungicide applications, applied back in November, will help protect the turf from any diseases while covered in snow. Overall, we experienced a normal winter with relatively mild temperatures but above average snowfall.  

March brings with it thawing and flooding due to the heavy snowfall. However, the golf course handled the melt very well. The additional drainage we have been working on over the last two seasons worked very well in draining the golf course. Over the last 10 days, we have completely melted giving me a chance to walk the golf course and asses any potential damage. I'm pleased to report, we came through the winter looking very good. Greens, Tees and Fairways were disease free and had very minimal signs of winter damage.

The weather is beginning to break and with warmer temperatures on the horizon golfers are getting antsy to get back on the course. Here is a link USGA Twitter account talking about the thawing process of the Greens and the potential damage to the root structure if the Greens are opened too early.

USGA Greens Section

It is important to be patient during this transition time and not to rush the opening of the Greens as it can have a devastating effect later in the season. We need our root systems to be as strong as possible when getting into the heat and humidity of July. The last thing we want is a setback in early spring due to a few days of mild weather. We will continue to monitor the forecast and as we get consistent warmer temperatures, both daily and over night, we will begin to look for our opening date. Our opening date has historically lined up with an early April opening, outside of a few outlier years. 

When someone asks what I do for a living and I tell them, I'm a golf course superintendent, two comments/questions typically follow: 1) "I bet you have the nicest looking home lawn in the neighborhood?" and 2) "What do you do in the winter?" I've found over the years the answers to both questions are pretty much the same of most superintendents. To question one- a tongue and cheek but partly serious- "No, I don't get paid to take care of my own lawn."  and question two "There is still a lot of work to be done throughout the winter to prepare for the following season."  This winter has been no different. While it is more relaxed around the shop with a smaller winter staff of 8. We stay quite busy around the golf course, shop and clubhouse. 

Carlos Gonzales is our equipment manager taking care of our fleet of mowers, carts, and equipment. Every winter he leads up the team in doing preventive maintenance on all mowers and carts. This includes oil changes and tune ups to all pieces of equipment as well as freshly grinding and sharpening all blades and reels.

On days we couldn't get out onto the golf course our staff power washed, cleaned and waxed each piece of equipment. The Grounds Department has over a million dollars worth of equipment. Preventive maintenance allows us to preserve its value, insure it is in quality shape and prepared for the following season. Below you can see the difference between how a piece of machinery looks after a full season of use and what it looks like after it goes through our preventive maintenance process. Almost looks brand new!

At most clubs in the North, the Grounds Department is responsible for snow removal at the clubhouse and to clear all fire lanes on campus in case of emergency. This season saw us under a lot of snow and while the club was closed for the majority of the winter, we are still responsible for clearing paths for both employees and emergency personnel.  The staff stayed quite busy on what felt like a day to day basis plowing the parking lots, shoveling the sidewalks and cleaning walk ways through the tunnel!

As stated earlier, it is a more relaxed environment through the winter and staff take the opportunity to use some well deserved vacation time. However, you can see there is plenty of work to keep us busy. Our goal is to be ready and prepared for when the weather breaks and golfers return to the coure. It is right around the corner!

Kirk