Heading Into July Already

Its hard to believe that July is quickly approaching already. We have been so busy that the days have flown by. I don't think that perception will change anytime soon though as there is plenty to do out on the course. Before I list the "week ahead" I would like to express a thank you to my staff.  It has been a grind at times with all the sod work to date and more to follow as we work on the new path edges and repair the haul roads. However the 90th Anniversry celebrations were a welcome change to our day to day routines. The new flags (for Saturday and Sunday), the new tee markers, the bbq's, the member functions and finally the beautiful fireworks display really brought home to me the unique atmosphere at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club.  The centennial celebration will be a sight to behold I imagine.

On a side note. You haven't really experienced fireworks unless you are right down in the launch area. Wow!!

On The Course:

• Continued cart path tie in work
• Maureen will be starting work in the new beds soon. 
• Topdressing tees this week (day to be determined)
• Some spot core aeration on some approaches ( the 14th approach for example is a good starting point as witnessed by that stubborn sod patch we cannot keep alive)
• More greens repair
• Fungicide application on greens (weather conditions are prime for a few diseases to pop up)
• Install of the Turf Hound synthetic turf at the driving range on Tuesday right after the 8:30 shotgun

Note: We will be installing the turf from the west to the east. I have no idea how long it will take but as we progress towards the fence line we will be able to open sections as we go. The Golf Shop will keep you informed.

• Weed control along the east fence line of the driving range
• Netting work at the short game practice area
• More haul road work
• Dave is building a new sand/seed bottle holder for the 13th tee which leads me to...................

FAIRWAY  DIVOTS. 

Another reminder to please replace your divot and use the sand/seed for a light topdress afterwards. It did not look good out on my tour this morning. The fairway mowers chop up the turf plugs and that doesn't look good either. Thanks for your help.

All for now,

Wade 

The Week Ahead And Other Notes

Next Week

• Continued tie in work and sodding along the new asphalt paths 
• Continued cart path leveling and gravel addition
• Greens will be vented (very small holes), verticut and topdressed early Monday morning. If we cannot stay ahead of the first tee time we will finish up on Tuesday morning.
• Aeration and overseeding where required in the rough to improve some of the walk off areas and compaction from CTC work over the last 2 years.

Service Areas

• Once tie in is complete we will return to install paving stone "side out's" for the ballwashers, benches and garbage containers. 

Planting Beds

• Maureen and I have reviewed her plans for the new beds next to the 11th green and the practice green. We have also discussed her ideas for the 13th tee and the large bed at #16 tee. She now has the time to begin planting and it will look great (over time). Because we plan to put an emphasis on perennials it will take a season or 2 of growth before they really fill in. I can tell she is excited to get going judging by how animated she was while we were out there. She is also going to do a little work at the bridge on 18. Stay tuned.
• She will also be planting hops alongside the exposed fencelines near the 12th green and along the path to #13 tee. Keep an eye out for her work at the old path as well.

Yardage Markers

• I have dropped off the information at Behrends Bronze for new brass markers on #10, #13 and #18. Once they are manufactured they will be installed immediately. Keep in mind they aren't made overnight.

Turf Hound Synthetic Turf

• As of today the shipment is moving through Montana and should be delivered to the Club on Tuesday.   We will pick a slow time and install at that point.

The New Tees On 13 and 18

• They are almost ready. We should have them open for the anniversary weekend.

All for now,

Wade

The Cleanup Begins

10th HOLE OPENING

Before I discuss what lies ahead for the remainder of the LREP we are happy to announce that the 10th hole will open as the newly designed par 4 on Friday June 15th. I only ask that expectations reflect the fact that the entire hole aside from the green has really only had 5 weeks of grow in time. The fairway sod was laid in early November and the tees were completed on May 17th. You will notice a few warts here and there but we will take care of these areas in the weeks ahead.

It is very important that ALL fairway divots are replaced and the sand seed is then used as a light topdressing. Those using power carts must  use caution when warranted. For example: after a rainfall there will be some wet areas that develop and they need to be avoided. Please abide by our cart control measures. There may be times when power cart use will be restricted to rough only. Please do your part to ensure the continued improvement to the hole throughout the summer.

The fairway height of cut will be lowered slowly over the season as the turf matures and fills in. It is hoped we can be down to our normal 1/2 inch mowing height by mid August. The permanent fairway markers at 200, 150, 100 and 50 yards still have to be installed and the new brass plates for the tees are to be manufactured soon. Yardage discs for each sprinkler have been ordered as well.


PARKING LOT CLEANUP


Now that CTC has left the property and the major work is completed it seems there is a rush to clean the parking lot. I'm in a rush as well but we have to take care of some issues before we can bring in a company to sweep and wash both lots. First and foremost we have to cleanup our area north of the lower lot first. It is a mess of mud, gravel and sand. If it is not cleaned up it will be tracked by vehicles up to the main parking lots. The lower lot requires a good scraping on our part and the upper lot needs all the debris shoveled away from the curbs and out into the open for the sweepers. The cleanup company can then visit us during the night to bring our lot back to acceptable standards. Line painting and curb repairs will also be carried out after the lot is clean.

COURSE CLOCKS


The clocks from Prestwick are in and will be at the warm up green, the 6th green/7th tee and at 14 tee as by Golf Shop request. The old clock at the warm up will go to the range and I am getting brass plates made up with our coat of arms to be attached to each clock. They aren't Rolex's but they look nice.

All for now,
Wade

The End Is Near!!

I am very pleased to report that CTC is scheduled to complete their work this coming Friday. Even with the poor weather they have been able to get back to work in the afternoon. Most of their remaining tasks involve installing topsoil beside the new cartpath on #10 and some minor drainage work. We have been covering the topsopil in the lower parking lot to keep it dry.

The lake on #10 will be filled by the end of the day with a similar look to #18 as the end result. For now. The cartpath work and curbing is complete. We should be able to have the remaining sod work completed by next Monday. The new synthetic driving range turf is being shipped out to us from the USA on June 11th. We will install it as soon as possible so that you can use it and get a feel for it when we are not on the natural surface. On that note: we envision opening the Short Game Practice Area and the driving range tee in about 2 weeks. Until that time please refrain from hitting any practice shots from these areas.

The 10th hole, in its entirety, should be open by the middle of next week. There will still be work to finish the tee area off completely. Ballwasher, garbage container and bench service areas will be added in the coming weeks. They will be situated on paving stone "sideouts" next to the asphalt. You will notice painted areas on #10 as well as the other paved tees on the back 9.

The haul road repairs will begin next week. The entire stretch from the east side of #9 to the west side of #1 will be renovated and big roll sodded. The turf across #9 will be low mow fairway sod (same as the driving range tee). We will also be big roll sodding from the edge of the path at #3 tee to #18 tee and from the 17th green entrance west down the rough for approximately 30 to 50 yards.

The cart path tie in work will begin once we are finished the haul road work. We will tackle one hole at a time and do the job right  and not rush to finish it all too quickly. that way we can be assured of a quality looking result.

On a final note. We all look forward to getting back to concentrating fully on the golf course and all the small things that have piled up and are in need of our attention. My next blog will have more to do with the course itself and less to do with the LREP.

Wade

Everything Went According To Plan. Almost

My last blog outlined the work that would be ongoing these past few days including today. We installed the short cut sod on the range tee, sodded most of the short game practice area and completed the work behind the 11th green. We also did some sod work at the 13th and 18th tees. Answer Asphalt began work on Wednesday. They cored out the new cartpath, laid down the base and today paved the path. They almost made it to completion without incident. But it was Friday and we had scheduled a BBQ for our staff beginning around 1 p.m. A well deserved perk for all of us. Eric had kicked me off the organizing committee and was cooking up a storm when one of the tandem trucks snapped a water line next to the path close to the practice green.

Now these things happen so even though we were upset and frustrated with the timing we got it repaired within an hour. The main issue that affected the membership was that the broken line happened to feed the drinking fountains and the course washrooms. The line had to stay isolated and not turned back on. The repair is under the asphalt (no option to move it) so we needed to make sure it would set firm and leave no chance for leaking. I decided that we would wait until early Saturday morning to turn the line back on. We need to flush out any debris that might have entered the line. Small particles can disrupt the fountains and also the toilets in the washrooms. If you notice the closed signs still up tomorrow morning please be patient as we have to prepare the course for play as well as try and get the range open for 8 o'clock.

Time to discuss the driving range. In order to head off some confusion here is the situation. First off please keep your expectations to a minimum. The range itself was only sodded 7 days ago. We will get some temporary flags out on the target greens in the next day or two. As the weeks progress we will cut down the target greens so they have some definition. New flags and various target markers will be setup and regular mowing will commence.

The new grass tee was sodded on Wednesday. Therefore please DO NOT step on or hit from the turf. It is not ready for use.

The Turf Hound hitting system has not yet arrived from the USA. I have been reassured it will be shipped soon. Without going into it here we are being told there was production issues and that we are next to be supplied.

You will notice the temporary mats we have managed to secure are not up to your standards. This is my fault. I made the mistake of selling our old mats 2 months ago not imagining delivery of our new tees surface would take so long. Please use what we have setup. It isn't perfect but they will serve the purpose for a week or two. My apologies. Lesson learned.

A few more points before I close:

• Please stay off the new tees on 13 and 18 as they are not ready.
• We will be sodding the remaining pond edge, the old bunker on 17, some sidebanks at 13 tee, and more of the practice area on Monday.
• CTC has some finish work on both sides of the new cartpath at #10. Curbing is scheduled for Sunday and Monday. They can then finish some tie in to the cartpath and we can then finish the sod work. Finally!!
• I will be touring the work (project) with Bryan from CTC on Monday to review and discuss any touchup required before we can say we are finished.
• Ted Locke will be visiting on Wednesday for a look as well.

All for now,
Wade

P.S. Not checked for errors in grammar and structure.