7.4.25

We've made it to July and as we head into this important stretch for the regrassing project, I'm happy to see where we stand and all the work that our teams have accomplished.

Here is a breakdown of where we are at:

-Holes 10, 11, & 18 have the new greens mix, have new sod on collars, surrounds, and approaches, and bermuda grass sprigs have been distributed on the fairways

-Holes 5, 7, and 15 have new sod on collars, surrounds, and approaches; we will continue the bermuda grass sprig process on these fairways next (*no sprigs on 7)

-Driving Range Practice Tee has been completely sodded (*No sod on chipping area yet)

-Greens mix has been added to 13 green, we will sod collar, surround, and approach Saturday

We are getting good and consistent shipments of sand and grass now so over the next 10 days we should see a good portion of the course get greens mix, sod, and sprigs.

We are targeting sprigging all the putting greens on July 14th and 15th. All sod work, fairway sprig work, and sand work on the property need to be done first before we can focus on the greens because of logistical considerations.

Here is a breakdown of the some of the work that has been going on:

Before any new grass hit the ground we made our application of pre-emerge herbicide and insecticide. These applications will help keep weeds out of the new bermuda grass areas and prevent insects from feeding on the turf. It looks a little ridiculous spraying bare soil but it's an important step in the regrassing process.

Two different fertilizers were applied to the soil to help establish and encourage growth. We use one organic and one synthetic product to ensure that the new grasses have plenty of food to uptake.

Green pieces are the synthetic slow release fertilizer. The brown pieces are the organic fertilizer.

Since we will be applying so much water to keep the new grass hydrated, we made the decision to apply growth regulators to the rough areas that border the new grass.

If you're driving the course the next few weeks, you'll notice that the roughs will have a yellow tinge to the grass. We are trying to limit growth because we won't be able to mow these areas as they will be wet from all the overhead irrigation. They will bounce back and green up after the growth regulator works it way through the plant tissue.

When we finished our pre-planting goals, we were then ready to bring out the grass to lay it on the soil. We planted the grass using several different methods. Above you can see us establishing the Driving Range Practice Tee using a sod roller.

Some areas, like #7 Green Complex, were sodded using pallets of sod pieces that we laid by hand.

Fairways were sprigged using a specialized machine that takes sod rolls and cuts the grass into tiny pieces that fall onto the ground.

Once the pieces fall onto the ground, there is a back roller / spiker that pushes the grass down which will help establish it as it begins to root.

The most critical part growing the new grasses in initially is getting enough water to the plants.

We've been conducting an extensive audit of our irrigation system making sure that our computers, satellites, and sprinkler heads are communicating and functioning correctly. If we find issues, we diagnose and make repairs before grass hits the ground.

We're constantly walking and checking the new grass areas for any inconsistencies. These team members above are shaking out clumps of sprigs into thin areas.

#18 Green after we finished sodding the collar and surround. It's nice to see the level of detail and care our contractors are taking to get this project done right.

Greg Muirhead from the Rees Jones Group joined us on July 2nd to check in on the project and to inspect some more of the work done on greens. They checked slopes and contours again on the greens that were filled in with sand to make sure we have the correct percent slope in cupping areas.

Range Tee as of 7.2.25. We are still working on grading and sloping around the chipping green so no sod has been put down yet.

Again, the goal over the next 10 days or so is to continue with these same processes as we make our away around the property. Once we get this part of the project done, we will turn our attention to sprigging greens.

I'll leave y'all with a video of our resident "shadow" hawks who have been keeping a close eye on us.

Thanks for reading and for being a member.

Willie