Leveling of Number 5 Tee

For the past few years, the blue tee has become uneven due to the fact that we topdress the divots on the tee.  Continuously topdressing divots will raise the level of the tee over time, which eventually causes an uneven tee shot.  Some of the areas of number 5 blue tee were 3 inches too high.  Below is the procedure we used to level number 5 blue tee.

This machine will cut sod and dirt at either thicknesses of.5 inch, 1 inch or 1.5 inches.

First, we cut the sod 1 inch thick















To determine the normal grade of the tee, we used a transit level.  This gives us an actual measurement so that we know how much material to take out of the high areas of the tee.

Then we cut the high areas of the tee down to be level with the normal grade of the tee.  These areas are cut at a thickness of 1.5 inches several different times until they are level with the normal grade.



 Once we found our level we cut one more inch off of the entire tee.  We did this so we could distribute sand throughout the tee.  Once we lay the sod, the sand will help the sod tack back down.  By using sand we are able to tweak or adjust the level of the tee, in any way.  Notice below that we have placed wooden stakes within the tee.  These wooden stakes have a mark that tell us whether we need to add sand to the tee or remove sand from the tee. 

Final adjustments were made using the transit level and now we have a new number 5 blue tee.

Frost Delays

I have been receiving a lot of questions regarding frost delays, over the past few weeks.  One question that continues to be asked is, "What happens if we play on a green that has frost?" A second question is, "Why has the frost delay not been lifted now that it has reached 42 degrees?"

My response to the first question mentioned above, has been, "Frost is basically frozen dew that has formed on the leaf of grass.  A grass blade is 90 percent water, therefore, it freezes when temperatures drop to or below 32 degrees.  By walking on the green when there is frost, you are damaging that green.  The only way to repair the damaged green is by plugging it or replacing it with sod."

My response to the second question mentioned above, has been, " We have a few greens that tend to be shaded longer due to the positioning of the sun during the winter months (refer back to the blog about shade issues and sun).  The parts of the green that stay in the shade longer are at least 10 degrees cooler than the part of the green that is in the sun.  Unfortunately, the greens that stay shaded longer are numbers 1, 2 and 10, which result in a longer frost delay. 

Number 1 green at 9:38 AM on February 7, 2012

Number 2 Green at 9:42 AM on February 7, 2012

Number 10 green at 9:31 AM on February 7, 2012












There may be some mornings that you walk outside and not see any frost on the ground.  This can be due to cloud cover or the wind having blown over night, which dries the dew before morning.  Let it be known that if there is no frost but the temperature is still below 32 degrees we will not let anyone play until the temperature reach above freezing. 

More root interference

We have residential irrigation around our clubhouse areas, and one afternoon I happened to see water coming out of the ground.  Once we cleaned all of the dirt out from around the pipe, we saw that the root below had pushed the coupling out which made the water flow out of the ground.  In the picture below, notice how the roots grew around the irrigation wire.

Bunker Reconstruction Continued

We have recently just finished renovating our practice bunker.  The practice bunker renovation ran a little smoother than the reconstruction of the bunker on number 18.  We did find where the inside of the bunker had not been draining, so we flushed the pipe out and the bunker is now draining.

This shows up flushing the pipe that runs the water out of the bunker and into the pine straw.

While we were working on the bunker, we decided to fix the shape of the bunker.  Over time, sand had raised the lip of the bunker a few inches which was making it more difficult to land a shot on the green.  So, we stripped the sod and shoveled a few inches off the top of the bunker.  We then reshaped the bunker and widened the left side of the bunker.  

This shows us trimming the top of the bunker down to it's original size.

Juan reshaping the bunker

The line that you see in the picture above is where we added dirt to reshape the bunker. 

The pictures above show that the pea gravel, drainage pipe and bunker liner have been applied to the practice bunker.

The pictures above show us packing and watering the sand in the practice bunker.  We repeated these steps until we achieved the appropriate sand depth.


If you would like a detailed step by step of the reconstruction of the bunker, please refer to the blog posted last Sunday.

Bunker Reconstruction

Number 18 Bunker








As many people know, we have issues with some of the bunkers here at Heritage.  Whether it is washouts, drainage, or inconsistency of the sand, we are attempting to address each of these problems.  We will be focusing our attention mainly on the green side bunkers for now.  We will be reconstructing the lower right side bunker on number 18, the practice bunker, the bunker behind number 3 green, the three bunkers in front of number 9 and the two bunkers in front of number 17.

All of our bunkers have drainage in them.  All bunkers have a specific type drainage with pea gravel and four-inch perforated pipe.  When heavy downpours come along during the Spring and Summer months, the bunkers wash and hold water.  When the bunkers wash, the water takes sand and silt down with it, which eventually clogs the drains.  While this situation happens 90% of the time, we have only recently found out that roots can interfere with drainage.

We will be installing a bunker liner called "Sand Dam Hi-Performance" and "Sand Dam MR".  It has been proven that these liners will help in filter the water and give the sand something to hold onto rather than the slick clay bottom of the bunker floor.

Sand Dam Hi-Performance

Sand Dam MR

The Sand Dam bunker liners are constructed of non-biodegradable polyester and synthetic fibers.  We will be using the Sand Dam Hi-Performance on our steepest slopes.  This liner has been field tested by civil engineers to stabilize sand on slopes as severe as 60 degrees, which can be used on all of our bunkers since the majority of them have a slope less than 50 degrees.  We will be using the Sand Dam MR on the floors of the bunker.  This liner is made from the exact same components as the Hi-Performance.  Even though this liner is only used on the floors of our bunkers, it is still effective for slopes only up to 50 degrees.

We will also be using a different type of bunker sand.  This sand is called "G-Angle Bunker Sand".  This angled sand retains a larger particle size distribution than most traditional bunker sand.  This new sand will pack tighter and remain firmer which will keep golf balls from plugging in the face of the bunker and will help keep the bunker from washing after it rains.

We have recently finished reconstructing the lower right green side bunker on number 18.  I believe everyone knows that this is a problem bunker for us.  Below are the steps that we took to reconstruct this bunker.

We had to take the old sand and pea gravel out of the bunker.  This bunker has been a problem for us for so long that the sand and pea gravel had become over saturated with water and contaminated.  Below shows our first attempt at flushing the pipe.

When we started flushing the pipe, there were no issues with the drainage in the bunker, however  the basin at the bottom of the bunker began filling up with water.  So, we had to find out where the drain pipe led the water to.  If you will look as if you were exiting the bunker, straight towards the pond on number 18 is where we located the drain pipe.

As soon as we located the drain pipe, we were certain we had found the problem.  However, we were not that lucky.

After we cut the root out we flushed the pipe once more.  The catch basin filled up with water a second time.  We then knew that the problem would be located around the tree line.  So, while we were still at the location in which the pipe drained out at, we pushed a hose up through the pipe and felt resistance from something that was blocking the flow of water.  We then pulled the hose out of the pipe and used the hose to determine how far up the pipe the blockage was located.  We then began digging with the back hoe and eventually located the pipe.

The drainage pipe had a coupling which connected the two pieces of pipe together, which in turn caused the roots to find water and clogged the pipe.  Upon cutting the pipe we found more roots inside.

After removing the second root, we fixed two couplings and fit a piece of pipe to connect to the existing pipe.  Next, we mixed up concrete and poured it over the two new couplings that we fit over the pipe.  We did this so the roots would not interfere with the drainage in the future.  Finally, we solved the drainage problem.

Next, we tackled erosion control for this bunker.

We have a drain that sits above this bunker to keep water from sitting on top of the green.

The pipe from this drain goes underneath the same bunker and connects with the bunker drainage which  runs out in the same location as the bunker drainage.  While we were digging, we found a small leak coming from the coupling on the drain pipe.  Over time, this leak caused some erosion on the bank of the bunker.  So, we fixed this pipe by replacing the coupling, adding some epoxy and a small bag of concrete.  The drain no longer leaks and erosion can now be avoided, as shown below.

Since fixing the erosion problem, we decided to make the drain bigger so that it would help in moving the water away from the green.

Before we laid the bunker liner, we wanted to ensure that the water would not get underneath the bunker liner so we folded the sod back before we laid the liner.

Once the sod was rolled back, we then placed two-inches of fresh pea gravel on the bottom of the drain lines.  We then laid our drainage pipe on top of the pea gravel and then placed two more inches of pea gravel on top of the drain pipe.

As you see above, we cut the edges of the drain at a 45 degree angle to ensure that the water will flow into the drainage basins.

Once the pea gravel was placed and our sod rolled back, it was time to start laying the bunker liner.

As you can see by these two pictures, we have already placed all of the sod and liner in the bunker. The dark brown liner is the Hi-Performance liner, while the lighter shade of liner is the MR liner.  When we went to overlap the liners, we overlapped them by four inches and in the opposite direction in which any water would run.  We used 1,000 plus staples on this bunker.  On the seams, the staples are no more than one inch apart.  Everywhere else on the liner, the staples are three to four inches apart. 


Now we are ready for the G-Angled bunker sand.  As you can see in the picture below, we did not carry the pea gravel to make it flush with the bunker floor.

We will be placing five inches of sand throughout this bunker, except where these drainage basins are located.  These areas will be receiving eight inches of sand so that it will facilitate quicker drainage.  When we started placing the sand, we did so one trailer load at a time.   Between placing each trailer load of sand, we would wet that sand and pack it down several times with a bunker machine in different directions.  We did this to ensure that balls would not plug into the face of the bunker.  We repeated this step numerous times until we achieved a five-inch sand basin and eight inches of sand on the drainage basins.  Below are a few pictures of the above described procedure.

Juan Vasquez watering the bunker

The finished reconstruction of number 18 bunker










Stay tuned for the reconstruction of the practice bunker, which we will be working on this week.

Golf Etiquette

According to Wikepedia, golf etiquette is a set of rules and practices designed to make the game of golf safer and more enjoyable for golfers and to minimize possible damage to golf equipment and courses.  This morning as I mowed greens, I noticed a lot of ball marks that had not been repaired.  When ball marks are not properly repaired they affect ball roll and leave an open canopy for weed infestation.  Below is a video showing how to properly repair ball marks.

The picture below does not depict injury to the green from a ball mark, instead it depicts what happens when someone gets mad after missing a putt and swings their putter on the green and takes a divot.  This is very disrespectful, so we ask you to practice proper golf etiquette.

Divot on Number 13 Green