Before and After

Below are some before and after pictures of the bunkers.  In these pictures, the bunkers received the same amount of rain.

Golf Course Maintenance Update

Spring is just around the corner and we are looking forward to a great year.  Yesterday, we started mowing the fairways for the first time.  We dropped the mower to .450" to get a tight cut and hoping for a little scalping to help with the green up process.  Once we mow all fairways, we will increase the mowing height to .550" until we have a healthy stand of Bermuda.

While we were working on the blue nine bunkers, we were also pushing the greens with both slow and quick release fertilizers.  A majority of the greens have responded well but maybe a touch slower then the other greens.  We are working with these greens to get them ready for play by Saturday.  However, #13 and #16 are still struggling.  We will be babying these greens throughout the transition period to aid in recovery (walk mowing and hand watering).  I have also ordered sod for these greens and a few other areas that are thin.  We will begin laying sod on these greens once the Tifdwarf is available.

We have made a few adjustment to our agronomic plan for this year. The two big factor that will help with our success are walk mowing cleanups at all times and our new fertility program. A majority of our thin areas are located around the greens edges and are directly related to mechanical damage of the Triplex mowers. We will find the necessary man power to walk mow these areas on a weekly bases.  We have also started a new greens fertility program that I'm very excited about.  We have been using the new line for two month and I've seen major improvements.

Due to wet conditions, we are adding drainage on #12 fairway, between the first fairway bunker and the slope on the left hand side.  Below are pictures of the work in progress.

A Race with Mother Nature

VM Golf Services is closing fast on the bunker project.  They have 1.5 bunkers left to get sand into before the rain rolls in.  We are crossing our fingers, hoping everything will fall into place and they complete this process before it rains.  If they are unable to finish #11 and #10 before the rain, we may be set back by a couple of days. Once these bunkers are filled, VM will use a vibratory plate compactor to firm up the sand.  I will then probe these bunkers to make sure all bunkers contain 4 inches of sand throughout.  If more sand is need to reach the 4 inches, VM will add the required sand and compact it to spec.  We are hoping to have the blue nine available for Saturday morning play.  

Better Billy Bunker Spraying

Forefront started the spraying process on Tuesday.  They have sprayed the following bunkers: #10 right side, #11,#12,#13 two right bunkers (edges still need spraying) and #18.  These bunker have been tested and are ready for sand.  Forefront is waiting for a deliver of the polymer and is schedule to resume spraying on Friday afternoon. Forefront should finish spraying Friday and the remaining bunkers will be ready for sand on Saturday.  This project has fallen behind of schedule, but we expect to be finished sometime next week.  Below are some photos of the spraying process.

Bunker renovation schedule

VM golf services is currently on schedule to finish the project next Sunday.  They have 11 bunker floors completed with the gravel layer.  The polymer coating has been scheduled for Tuesday and will take the entire day to complete.  Half the sand will be delivered this Monday and will be ready for installation on Wednesday morning. We are extremely excited to see the finished product.  Below is a picture of the gravel layer on #11 greenside bunker.

This new Better Billy Bunker designed will eliminate contamination during hard rains as seen in the picture below.  

Gravel Layer

We are in the second stage of the bunker project.  Below are some pictures of VM installing the gravel layer into the floor of the bunker. Once all 18 bunkers are complete Forefront Construction will spray the polymer coating.  

Existing bunker drainage

Below are pictures of the existing drains

Sundays bunker update

VM has complete stage one of the bunker project.  On Monday we will begin removing the top layer of gravel to expose the existing drainage tile. Drains will be flushed and all damaged drains will be replaced.  We will also be adding extra lines to bunkers that have drained poorly in the past.  I expect all drain work to be completed within two days.  The next step is to added the gravel blanket.  

Bunker Update

It is day four of the bunker project and VM Services has cleaned ten of the eighteen bunkers.  I expect the initial stages of this project to be completed by the end of the weekend.  On Monday, our staff will start checking the existing drain lines and determine what needs to be replaced.  Once drains are in working order, VM will begin adding 2" of gravel to the bunker floor.  This gravel will then be sprayed with a polymer to hold the gravel together. The spraying process will be preformed by a certified applicator.  Please check out http://billybunker.com/ for more details.

Blue Nine Bunker Project

I would like to officially welcome VM golf services to April Sound and I'm looking forward to working with them over the next few weeks. We are in the initial stages of the process which includes removal of the contaminated sand and expose the bunker floor.  Once the floor is exposed, they will begin inspecting the drainage tiles.  VM will make sure all drains are in working order before we start the "better billy bunker" process. Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting pictures and updates of the project and a quick summary of how this process works. Below are a few pictures of the bunker floor on number #12 green.