Before & After

A quick look at some before and after renovation pictures.  Click on any picture to enlarge and view as a slide show.   More to come... 

The 2nd greens looking towards the 3rd blue tee.  Pure 007 Bentgrass vs the mottled Poa & Bent.  Consistent surrounds that flow to the next tee. 

The 12th green and bunker complex.  Nice movement against the green, bunker pushed closer and clean sod on the surrounds.  

11 Tee - Level and firm

Approach bunker on the 2nd hole.  Notice how the greenside bunkers are much more visible after renovation.

8th hole from the back tee.

15th tee - Square, level and firm

Greens - Bent/Poa vs 007 Bent

Renovation Update

A couple of heavy rain events slowed production of bunker shaping for a few days however we remain on schedule for substantial completion by mid November.  Bunker work continues with holes 8 and 9 the only remaining holes to shape.  Better Billy Bunker, sand and sod are following closely behind having progressed through 10, 4 and 15 near the halfway house.  Greens tees and fairways are filling in nicely and have all been mowed except for the 18th fairway.

Crisp fall days are perfect for completing the project.  Next week looks to be more of the same.

Bunker shaping on 15 green.

Despite the heavy rain events the BBB and ProAngle sand are performing as advertised.  Not a single washout!

Poa annua roots (right) from the PPG are no match for 007 Bentgrass (left) from the 13th green.

Squirrels are not helping the cause here!

We've utilized covers to help keep the soil temperatures warm and aide growth as well as keep the squirrels off.

Renovation Weeks VIII & IX

Perfect weather over the last two weeks helped us finish off the seeding off all bentgrass areas, and gave us a great start on bunker work.  A glimpse of the the bunker renovation process can be found below.

After old bunker sand is removed, rough shaping of bunkers begins with a bulldozer.  

Further shaping and edging is performed by hand and with smaller equipment.

Final shaping is approved by our architect taking into account many factors including visibility from the tee or fairway.

Drainage lines are trenched and pipe is installed.

Gravel is then placed in the floor of the bunker.

Better Billy Bunker polymer is sprayed over the gravel layer locking the gravel in place.

Bluegrass sod is installed around the perimeters before placement of the ProAngle bunker sand.

Renovation Weeks VI & VII

On and off rain the past two weeks slowed some of the earth moving and grading, but was just what the doctor ordered for the new seedlings.  Thankfully all of our greens are firmly established, and we are past the point where heavy rain will cause washouts and setbacks.  So far all aspects of the project remain on or slightly ahead of schedule.  A glimpse of the past few weeks can be found below.

Most greens have been mowed 6-7 times at this point at about 1/4" height of cut.  The 15th green is pictured above receiving a fresh cut and the 7th green is below.

Most fairways have been mowed 2-3 times at this point and are filling in nicely.  Four fairways are receiving some final grading and prep work before seeding later this week.  The 8th fairway is pictured above and below.

All tees have been seeded at this point.  Seeding of the 13th tee is pictured above.

Bentgrass germination on a fairway 5 days after seeding.

Fairway drainage repair and upgrades are pictured above and below.  Most of this work is being performed by RCC staff.

All tees received a "ring" of bluegrass before seeding.  Our contractor has installed 12 semi loads of sod to date.

Grading of the fairway expansion on the 5th hole is underway, and the new lake is complete! 

Renovation Week V

With a little cooperation from Mother Nature this week we were able to complete the seeding of all greens.  The focus now shifts to the construction and seeding of tees, as well as finishing up the fairway drainage repair and seeding.  The next 5 days look great weather wise with only slight chances of passing storms.

The new practice putting green and chipping green were finished and seeded this week.

Existing greens received their first two mowings this week, just 14 days after seeding.  Mowing regularly will help these greens fill in and mature quickly.

Fairway seeding continued.  Five more to seed in the coming weeks.

Early germination on fairways was evident after just 6 days.