Snow!

Snow has come early to the Ipswich Country Club! Two storms have turned our golf course into a winter wonderland yet again.

#18 covered in snow. This is before the heavier snow fell.

The Bunker renovation carried on as long as it could but due to the early snow the work has halted until the spring. Forty out of forty-one bunkers have been stripped of the old liner and are ready to be lined with gravel and sprayed. The work so far has been proceeding ahead of schedule. The craftsmanship that Fleetwood has demonstrated is exemplary and we are beyond excited to see the final product in the early spring.   FLEETWOOD IS ON SCHEDULE AND WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH THEIR PROGRESS.

Fleetwood employees stripping the liner of #5 greenside bunkers after a light snow.



#5 greenside bunker nearly completely stripped of the old liner.





Tarps: Tees

Winter is coming and that means lots of preparation for the golf maintenance staff. Laying tarps down on certain areas of the golf course is one of the preparations. We began with some of our smaller tees like #5 white tee and #16 white and blue tees. The size of these tees coupled with how much play they get through out the year can take it's toll on them. We also put down tarps on the driving range tee and #14 gold. When we put tarps down on tees like this, it helps to keep them healthier during the winter. On average, the temperature of the ground with a tarp on it is around 20°F warmer than the ground without one. The warmer temperature will reduce the amount ice accumulation on the grass, it will allow the tee to begin growing earlier next spring and aid in divot recovery thereafter.

 

#14 Gold tee. Shown after fertilization and heavy topdressing.

 

#14 Gold tee with tarp.

 

Driving range tee with tarp

 

Bunker Rennovation Update: Polymer

Fleetwood has begun to spray the Better Billy Bunker polymer.

 

 

The polymer will need 24 hours in order to bind with the gravel properly and any disruption of the gravel could compromise its integrity. We have temporarily closed off some greens that have bunkers that have been recently sprayed in order to prevent any accidental damage to the new liner. We have cut temporary cups on these holes that will only be there as long as it takes for the polymer to bind properly.



Bunker Renovation Update: Gravel

Fleetwood has begun to line our bunkers with gravel.



#12 right side bunker

Each bunker will be lined with two inches of gravel. The gravel will be sprayed with the Better Billy Bunker polymer which will bind it together. This will form the new liner for our bunkers. Fleetwood currently has seven bunkers lined with gravel. The gravel needs to be completely dry before the polymer can be sprayed and because of this the completion date for the project is somewhat weather pending. Any inclement weather will slightly delay the completion of the project.



Ground Broken on the Bunker Rennovation Project

Fleetwood Services has broken ground on our bunker rennovation!

 

#12 left greenside bunker

They will begin by removing the old sand, drainage, and liner from the bunkers.

 



#12 right greenside bunker

 

They will then add and compact new fill to grade the bunker.

#12 left greenside bunker

After the bunker is graded they will dig new drainage lines.

 

#12 left greenside bunker

The new liner will consist of two inches of gravel bonded by the Better Billy Bunker Liner. We will be maintaining 4 inches of sand on the bases and two inches on the faces creating a continuous lip around the bunker edge. 



Bunker Renovation

We are very excited about our greenside bunker renovation scheduled to begin Monday November 4th.  The bunkers will be renovated using the latest in bunker liner technology.  The bunker lining system that will be installed is The Better Billy Bunker system.  For step by step information about this bunker lining process please visit this link http://billybunker.com/the-better-method/

Please browse the rest of the Billy Bunker website to see testimonials as well as a client list of other golf courses that have the Better Billy Bunker liner system.

As the renovation progresses we will provide pictures and regular updates. 

Tree Work Oct '13

We have recently began tree work on holes #3 and #4.

Tree on the right side of #3

The work will be centered around limbing certain trees that have limbs encroaching over fairways and taking down other trees that have become saftey hazards.

 

This work will continue through out the fall and winter. We will also be thinning out areas around the driving range nets in order to prevent further damage from encroaching limbs.

#14 Gold Tee Germination

 

#14 Gold Tee had begun to germinate!

 

 

We have cut the seedlings twice and plan to topdress the tee very soon.

 

 

The tee will be begin to fill in as it matures.

 



Verticutting Approaches

Last week we verticut the approaches on the golf course.

Short Game approach being verticut

 

Verticutting is the process of cutting grass with vertical blades in order to remove thatch. This type of cut also helps to stand the grass upright in order to facilitate a better cut.

 

 

Verticutting regularly will help to provide a healthier playing surface. When we remove thatch from the profile of the plant, we reduce the chances of disease infiltration. Verticutting also helps to provide a more dense and consistent playing surface.

 

 

The above picture shows how substantial the amount of thatch removed is.



#14 Gold Tee

We have recently completed reseeding the 14th Gold Tee and re-sodding the Bluegrass surrounding it.

We began by excavating the old tee surface and replacing it with fresh loam.

 

 

We used a bunker rake in order to level out the loam.

 

This picture shows the tee after being leveled and its new soil amended.

 

 

After amending the soil, we fertilized and seeded the new tee. This picture shows the Bluegrass rough sod that will surround the tee.

 

 

This picture shows the finished product. We will continue to post pictures as the seed germinates.

 

 



Bunker Edge Rebuild (continued)

 

Adding loam to damaged area on #12
 

We have finished repairing and sodding the damaged bunkers on hole #12.

 

Pushing bunker sand up to the new edge

 

 

 

The finished product

We will be continuing this work starting on hole #9 and then throughout the golf course.

 

 



Greens Aerification

12 Green moments after its morning cut.

Aerification has successfully been completed. As you can see from the above photo, our greens are healing beautifully.

 

12 green

The remaining holes are on pace to be fully healed within two weeks.



Bunker Edge Rebuild

Today we began reconstructing low edges of bunkers. These edges have deteriorated allowing sand to be pulled and washed out of bunkers.

 

We began by removing the sand that had washed out of the bunker.

 

After the sand was removed, we excavated material that had been compromised by it and replaced it with fresh loam.

We also added a piece of plywood in order to prevent the sand from washing out into the cavity before we have a chance to put new sod down.

As soon as the sod arrives these areas will look and play great.



Spring 2013!

Spring is here! Well, at least as far as the calendar is concerned. Our golf course is once again a winter wonderland. Think warm thoughts!

 

(Hole #18)

 

(Holes #8 & #9)

 

(Back of #18 green)

 



Eastern Bluebird Nesting Boxes

This winter we decided to make our golf course a better habitat for the Eastern Bluebird. In order to accomplish this we built nesting boxes that are specifically designed for the Eastern Bluebird.

 

We built a total of six nesting boxes, (The seventh shown in this picture was discarded because of a problem with the wood that was used.) and spread them throughout the golf course.

 

Each of the nesting boxes will be monitored during the course of the season to ensure that other species are not using them.

If you are interested in building your own nesting box and would like to use the plans that we did, visit this link.

Water Cooler Restoration

We have recently started getting our water coolers ready for the season. We began by replacing all of the roofs.

 

Shaping the copper to fit the roofs is a delicate but rewarding process.

 

We also replaced the hooks that hold the doors shut and finally gave the water coolers a coat of stain.

Blizzard of 2013

The Blizzard brought us 26'' of snow and 55mph winds.

 

We plowed throughout the night, rarely taking any breaks

 

We were very thankful to have a snow blower for the clean up process. It saved time and our backs

Brush Clearing And Tree Work Around 14 Gold Tee

 14 gold tee struggles every year.  The tee is surrounded by large trees which block sunlight and thick brush which hinders air movement.  The tree above needed to be completely removed to provide sunlight to the tee.

 While some trees needed to be removed, others needed to be saved from vines which can kill trees.

Driving Range and Scoreboard Improvements

The scoreboard is the place where members congregate after each round of golf during a tournament.  The old surface was pea gravel which was messy and unsightly.  This was done shortly after the driving range block installation. This was done during the summer.

For a few years the driving range bag stand area was nothing more than a crush-and-run material which had a messy and unfinished look.  The installation of the blocks is a nice upgrade.