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.

 

#12 Fairway Bunker

We finished the fairway bunker on number 12 today.  Below is a picture of the finished project.

Weekly Review

Its been a rough week for the GCM staff and myself due to aerfication and the rain event we had on Sunday morning.  On Monday we began the aerification of the white and blue course to accommodate the Rhinestone Cowgirls and the East vs West tournaments, which are scheduled toward the end of the month. After aerifing 9 holes, we ran into some mechanical difficulties.  The cushman, used to pickup the cores folded in half.  We now were removing cores by hand.  After 14 holes, the aerifier broke down and the part needed was on back order.  We borrowed an aerfier from Kingwood and finish the aerifciation process on Thursday morning.

With the aeification debacle going on, we still had 100 bunkers that were flooded and needed major attention.  This took our staff two days and 80 man hours to get the bunkers back into play before the weekend.  Our renovation work on #12 Fairway bunker has been pushed back due to these two events.  We are scheduled to aerify the red nine on Monday and if everything goes smoothly we can will direct our attention to the fairway bunker.

Aerification Change

To accommodate the East vs West and the Rhinestone Cowgirls, we have moved aerification of the white and blue nines to June 3rd and 4th.  We will begin aerification on the white nine Monday morning and finish up the blue nine on Tuesday Morning.  The red nine will be completed on Jun 10th.

Weekly Review

It's been a challenging week to say the least.  Starting out the week, I had plans to add sand and drain lines to the first fairway bunker on number twelve.  When I woke up Wednesday morning my plans had changed.  After 3 inches of heavy rain and strong winds, our staff went into recovery mode.  We had debris scattered throughout the course and 100 bunkers that resembled the pictures below. As I type, we still have several bunkers in this condition.  We hope to have all bunkers pushed up and playable by Saturday morning and begin routine main on Sunday.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

 We have also struggled with two fairway units this week.  This morning the radiator fan come loose and punctured a huge hole in the radiator.  A new radiator was ordered this morning but its replacement want be in for 7-10 days.   The unit we are using to mow fairways this morning has issue with a hydraulic valve, powering the back two reels.  This issue will cause an uneven look when the fairways have been mowed.   This valve has been ordered an will be here sometime tomorrow.  We should have this unit in good working condition in no time.

Once we have everything back in order we will began the bunker project on #12 fairway.