Or you did and just didn't ask.
Q) What are those runway strips of missing sod at the beginning of some the fairways?
A) We are stripping some of these areas and using the sod to repair spots on the range that suffered some significant water run off damage.
The picture above shows some smaller repair work.
It's a little harder to see in the picture below but this area had some rather large repair work done to it.
These areas are re-seeded as we go and most already have some significant germination. They will be marked as G.U.R until they are back in play.
Q) When will the range open?
A) The picture above shows some good growth on the tee deck but the process is very slow. Under McBroom's recommendation we seeded the range with a Dwarf Blue Grass for a number reasons. The fact that this is more tolerate to disease and will stand up to the harsh winter better than other types of seed was a factor but Dwarf Blue Grass will also allow us the opportunity to alter the look of the range with our mowing patterns. The one big draw back of this seed, it's slow to establish. Our goal is to have the range open for Club Championships, even if it's just for the weekend. However, if the turf can handle the traffic we will keep it open for the rest of the season (albeit maybe off mats).
The range tee is now being mowed regularly, and this photo taken the first time we cut it 3 weeks ago shows sporadic weak areas, when you drive by now you will notice a significant improvement to the colour and density. Today we put the first cut inside the range which is a significant step forward towards having this area open to members.
Q) What are we doing with the huge mound of fill east of #1 tee deck?
A) It's a rather large amount of fill but the short term goal is to mound and berm this fill to create a natural looking screen. The picture above was taken from #2 fairway, you can see how this fill screens the parking lot and eventually the cart barn.
When completed in the early stage we anticipate the area to look like this picture above. As we look longer term we will be planting smaller trees on this berm to highlight the natural feel of the area.
Stay tuned next week for Answers to Questions you didn't know you had.......Clubhouse edition.
Wait, we do have a question that many have asked.........................................................
Q) Will our greens open on August 1st?
A) The Greens Committee has a meeting scheduled Monday July 28th to confirm the opening but the greens have made significant improvements and we feel very confident that we will be able to put the pins in for August 1st.
