Fairway Drainage & Traffic Control

 Fairway Drainage

Last week we received 1.5" of much needed rainfall here at GBGC and lets hope we get more as we move into the rainy season here on the west coast. The amount of rain in a short period time exposed some drainage patterns on the golf course that needed immediate attention, namely the very front portion of #4 fairway. There are, and will be other areas that will need surface drainage installed which is very normal for new fairways that have undergone the renovation and turf conversion ours have. 

Trenching for drainage on Monday 11/14/22. We trenched and installed 300' of surface drainage which involves trenching a 12"- 6" deep trench,  6" wide, remove the soil, add 1"-2" gravel, install 4" perforated drainage pipe tied into existing sub surface drainage system, bury with gravel 1" from top of trench, add sand to top, replace removed sod.

We dont point out enough one of the main issues with all turf at Granite Bay is we are growing grass on top of, in many cases, a decomposing rock. This photo illustrated this realty. The white area is a granite rock that we had to saw through to install the drainage. These type of conditions exist through the soil profile here at Granite Bay.

The finished product after sod replacement and some sand topdressing. Members playing the course had some fun with this drainage work as well as we dident quite finish the 300' of drainage on Monday, so we moved all tee blocks forward 100 yards onto a flat spot in the fairway on Tuesday and Wednesday  so we could finish the work and stay out of everyone's way.

Traffic Control

I know we all wish it were not so, but  reality is golf cart traffic  is hard on a golf course. Therefore is is incumbent on golf course maintenance to develop and execute a golf course traffic control plan that fits the club and protects the turf. Our goal is to elevate our current traffic control protocols in the coming months so we can further protect the course from golf cart traffic.

I would like to thank all of the members who are diligent in following the cart traffic rules we have in place such as entering and exiting through the traffic gates and staying on the cart paths when the hole is closed. During the recent seeding of the course we used signs indicating holes that were cart path only with very good success. Most members and guest abided by the restrictions and we had a successful rough seeding in part because of it. 

Restricting cart traffic on two holes for a week at a time is a traffic control measure we have contemplated doing for quite awhile. We started this past week with cart path only restrictions on #'4 & #17 using the multiple sign approach used for seeding to inform players.  Par 3's are a no cart traffic zone already, so by  adding the additional two holes, members will be able to use carts on twelve holes on the course at any given time and theoretically every par 4 & 5 hole will get a break from cart traffic for one week out of six. The plan is to restrict cart traffic on one hole on the front nine, and one hole on the back nine for a week then rotate to two more the following week. We'll see how it goes.

We are committed to the 2 hole rotating cart traffic closures using multiple signs along paths to inform members, therefore will be updating our signage in the near future.

Ropes and stakes are a big part of traffic control. Additional changes in the traffic control arena is we are gravitating toward these 12" stakes rather then the 18" previously used. 

Gates for entering and exiting the the golf hole will still be used.

Rough Seeding Continues

The seeding process of our primary rough with Tall Fescue is going well as we have completed most of the front nine this week, 9/26/22 through 9/30/22. We also conducted our bi-weekly bunker maintenance this week which takes allot of man-hours that will next week be shifted to rough seeding which will allow us to finish over 90% of all the primary rough by weeks end.

We are opening hole #'s 1, 4 & 9 today, Friday 9/30/22 to limited golf cart traffic. When I say limited, I mean;

We Need To Keep Cart Traffic on Fairway's Only, Not in the Rough.

I wrote a course update in April about carts return to the golf course describing entering and exiting through gates and not driving in the rough. I can tell by traffic patterns that the gates are used by the majority of cart's to enter and exit fairways, but I  can also tell that golf cart traffic in the rough is common place. Driving in the rough on these newly seeded holes can compromise germination and establishment, as well as potentially migrating some seed into our hybrid bermuda fairways, which we definitely dont want. Driving in the rough simply cannot happen in the month of October while this new seed establishes. 

We are all used to the gates now. It will be imperative that we use them to both enter and exit any given hole while the Tall Fescue seed in the rough germinates and starts to get established.

Overhead from springtime shows the typical pattern we need carts to take while seed in rough is germinating and establishing. Do Not Drive In The Rough.

Golf holes that will be cart path only will be lined with multiple signs.

#4 left-hand rough, which is a typical thinning stand that has been aggressively interseeded with Tall Fescue. The timing, weather,  preparation is perfect. It will need to be kept moist for germination as well as keeping cart traffic off of it. 

Look for multiple signs reminding you to not drive in the rough.

We have invested allot of sweat and treasure into this golf course to give us a chance at surviving summers, and have a product that is both  sustainable and something we can all be proud of. The 2021 renovation was the move that made this possible. These subsequent moves of establishing more durable Tall Fescue in the rough and future moves of installing supplemental  irrigation to keep the fescue thriving in the summer will bring us even closer to this goal. I truly believe...

The Best is Yet to Come! Thank You for Your Support and Patience.