It is officially spring but it sure doesn't feel like it! This past winter was relatively mild- definitely no complaints from the maintenance team. That is usually a good sign for the course and the season ahead. We experienced our first cold week last week; we were out cleaning the place up and finishing a few projects that we started last fall. The course is in good shape as we get things ready for the season.
The team has been busy this winter as always going through the shop. We are just about done servicing the equipment, all of the reels have been sharpened, bearings, seals, hydraulic pumps and fluids checked and repaired. Many of our accessories like ballwashers, trash cans, flagsticks to name a few have been sanded and repainted plus our new roller came in last week. The staff breakroom, bathrooms, and office area of the shop have been given a fresh coat of paint and our posting area has been revamped. Many plant protectant materials and fertilizers have been delivered and inventoried, but a few deliveries are still scheduled for this month. Numerous reports have been sent in to state and federal agencies per requirements, continuing education classes for the professional team's licenses and certifications have been attended and we all went to the New England Turfgrass Conference and Tradeshow in Providence last month. We are in the process of putting together our summer maintenance staff; we are looking for one more full time position and a few seasonal/summer staff as well. We lost Evan Rose, a key team member to Belmont Country Club this past December. Evan was made the proverbial "offer he couldn't refuse"; we wish him all the best. You may see the staff scurry out of here after Opening Day morning setup to head to New Hampshire to attend his wedding...
We have been busy working outside this winter as well. The club is continuing to work with our architect, Robert McNeil of Northeast Golf Company. Robert has been tasked with with a new master plan for the golf course; something to address the needs of the club moving forward. He has been here a few times in the last couple months and will be on site again this week. Some goals of this plan are to look at expanding our water retention capabilities, addressing safety concerns and visual as well as strategic impact with features (bunkers, mounds, teeing areas, etc.) across the property. He is also looking at agronomic and drainage issues; don't worry, looking at 7 green is on the list as well! It should be a comprehensive document that will be a great blueprint for the club moving forward. I would expect us to have something by the summer sometime.
We have done some tree work on the course this winter too; notably by the pond on 1, by the maintenance facility and most noticeably on hole 6. We looked at the original "new 6th" plan and noticed many of the smaller trees to the right of the approach area had grown so big that they blocked out the 2nd shot and changed the original intention of the hole design. Robert tagged trees for removal and the work was completed. New, lower growth will fill back in during the season once things warm up and native plants get going. Our cattail work around the ponds has also continued. These areas were sprayed per a DEP permit in October; they will be cleaned up as access is available. It will probably take a few seasons to get a real handle on these areas but a natural buffer is still intended, just not one with invasive cattails and phragmites. We've also gone through our drainage ditches and streams by hand removing leaves, stick and debris to keep them functioning well to keep the course as dry as possible all winter.
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| Sod behind 4 green |
Peter has been working hard on getting the new bathroom and water service station together between the 4th green and 5th tee. A large area was disturbed behind the 4th green to provide sewer, electric and water service to the bathrooms. We regraded the area last week and installed new sod; this area will be roped off for a while this spring until it can handle play and traffic. We will be working to tie the area in around the bathrooms over the coming weeks. As you might expect, we have a lot of things to get ready on the course in preparation to open so this won't be an area of focus but we will be working as time allows to make things as presentable as possible. They are still working on the bathrooms with plumbing, electric, roofing and all of the inside finishes to still be completed. Once they are completely done we will have to look at putting the cart path back into proper condition.
Some other cart path areas were addressed this winter; most notably the areas that tend to wash out during large storms. We purchased and installed some geo cell fabric from Vevor that seems to be working excellent thus far. A new mat is being installed on the back of the range tee so we decided to utilize some of the old mats in the lesson area. Last week we stripped the lesson tee sod, enlarged the footprint and tried to level it as much as possible. Unfortunately there is a large mass of tree roots right in the root zone but we did what we could without completely reconstructing the area. We were also able to install 4 mats in that area and seeded the top with a perennial ryegrass blend. The tee will be covered this week; we'll just have to wait for some good growing weather to get the tee back into use.
A couple weeks ago, when it was actually still warm, we pulled the greens covers off, topdressed, aerated and brushed the surfaces. We followed this up with a roll before covering them back up. We are giving them a little help in healing up before removing the covers for the season. This was particularly important because the water hadn't been turned on yet, although Mother Nature seems to be taking care of that most of this month. Our hopes are that they will be mostly healed by the time we open, giving members the greatest putting surfaces for the longest period of time before we "ruin" them again in August. I did put the pump stations together last week and slow filled the system on Friday. We will be working on going through the whole thing in the coming weeks, tweaking anything that needs tweaking and checking all electrical connections and software.
We are looking for a window to pull the covers permanently. This means we would like a few days without high winds or rain. If we see something this week we will start the process and hope to have them all uncovered by midweek next week. Once the greens are uncovered they will need to be rolled, blown and mowed before being treated for poa annua seedhead suppression and an early spring fungicide cleanup spray. As for looking to predict an opening, we are expecting to be on a normal timeline with the goal of being open sometime the week of The Masters. The weather will be the real determining factor. We will, as always work hard in the coming weeks to keep things moving forward and get you back on the course as soon as possible. We are looking forward to another great season here at Bass Rocks!
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