2012 Course Aeration Progress

In our previous update I mentioned a change of plans and alteration of our aeration schedule due to forcasted wet weather for aeration week. At the time we altered our plans, the weather forecast was calling for a 40% chance of showers for yesterday in which we had back nine greens scheduled for aeration. We decided to aerate all regulation greens on Tuesday ahead of the forecasted showers to stay on schedule. As we all know  weather forecasts change but we still decided to stick to our altered plan and get the greens out of the way on Tuesday ahead of what was inevitably .30" rain that night.

#12 fairway with removed cores on the surface drying
in the sun.

The Granite Bay Golf Club's weather station has recorded .80" of precipitation since last Saturday making the course a little wetter then ideal for the process, particularly in the fairways. However there is allot of scheduling, equipment and man-power go into this process and with newly negotiated additional alternating closures we are aware of the burden this places on the golfing membership. We desperately want to get the job done properly and in a timely fashion so with clear weather yesterday  we decided to keep the back nine closed and proceed as planned with fairways. 

Once these cores are dried we process them with this machine
called a core processor. After this we drag the fairway with
a large drag mat then blow and vacuum up the remnants. 

So by the end of Wednesday evening we were able to complete all putting surfaces and fairways #10 through #16. Ground conditions were a little on the wet side and we had the normal amount of equipment malfunctions but we were able to muddle through and get this far actually putting us ahead of schedule. So our plan is now to get through fairways #1 through #6 today with the front nine closed, stay on schedule and close the back nine tomorrow and finish fairways #17 & #18. Additionally we will start green surrounds on the back nine tomorrow targeting #'s 10,11,12,15 & #13. Fortunately for GCM we have no scheduled events this coming Monday giving us the opportunity to finish front nine fairways #8 & #9 and to get started on surrounds on the front side as well. All of this will allow us to forgo the planned front nine  / back nine closures we had planned for April 17th & 18th as GCM will have a few surrounds to finish next week which we can do properly by utilizing front nine and back nine starts. 

Weather Forecast & Change of Aeration Plans

We have been watching the weather forecast pretty closely in preparation for our upcoming spring core aeration practices. Based on the current forecast we have decided to alter our aeration plans for next week. We had planned on alternating front nine-back nine closures starting this coming Tuesday but the weather forecast is calling for a 40% chance of rain on Wednesday. (Weather Channel 10 day forecast, Saturday 3/31/12 6:30 AM).  Based on this information we have decided to aerate all regulation putting surfaces on the course on Tuesday 4/3/12. All practice greens will be done on Monday.

We still have the alternating front nine-back nine schedule in place for the remainder of the week (see the previous blog entry) but will not be able to take advantage of it if conditions are too wet or if it is raining. The remainder of the weeks forecast is calling for the above mentioned showers on Wednesday, a break on Thursday and another 30% chance of showers on Friday. Of course this forecast can change and if the conditions are right, GCM will jump on getting the fairways done as planned. As I have stated many a time, it is imperative that conditions are dry to properly complete this process and we are not going to set ourselves back by trying to get it done when it is too wet. We will communicate changing plans through the Golf Shop morning update and this Granite Bay Golf Course Update. Thanks for your understanding.

 This is an exaggeration of  the weather that is coming our way next week
however even a little rain makes the process of extracting cores, processing
them and trying to work sand topdressing back into these holes very difficult
and more importantly counter productive to the health of the surface.

Spring 2012 Aeration

Its that time of the year again when we aerate the playing surfaces at Granite Bay. I have spoken and written a lot about thatch development and the need to mechanically  remove it on all of the playing surfaces here at Granite Bay. Core aeration removes a planned amount of this of this thatch or excessive organic matter ensuring a healthier turf grass enviroment by creating avenues for air and water to freely move within the root zone and by relieving compaction. The down side, as we all know,  is a temporary disruption of the playing surfaces.  Why we get wet in the summer was an entry in this course update from awhile back that does a good job of explaining our somewhat unique situation here at Granite Bay and why core aeration is so important for us not just on our putting surfaces, but for our fairways and green surrounds as well.

Removing aeration cores from the 8th green

New Toro ProCore aerating the
7th Green

Applying topdressing sand #3

When it comes to core aeration of greens, green surrounds (the fringe area directly around the putting surface complex) and fairways they all have one thing in common. These areas are very difficult to complete in a productive and thorough fashion during member play. That is why we have always had alternating closures to aerate greens and decided last year to expand these alternating closures to properly complete fairways and green surrounds.


The following schedule is of course all weather related. The process of core aeration requires dry weather and conditions as we have covered previously. We cannot process the cores or properly drag in topdressing with wet conditions. Currently the forecast is for a couple of dry days leading up to scheduled putting surface aeration which will work just fine. Next Thursday and Friday's forecast are currently not so good so we will just have to wait and see. The Golf Shop morning updates and this blog will update those who are interested in progress and naturally any change of plans.


Aeration Schedule

• Tuesday April 3rd - Front 9 Greens Aeration     Front 9 Closed. Back 9 Open.
• Wednesday April 4th - Back 9 Greens Aeration     Back 9 Closed. Front 9 Open.
• Thursday April 5th - Front 9 Fairway Aeration     Front 9 Closed. Back 9 Open.
• Friday April 6th - Back 9 Fairway Aeration     Back 9 Closed. Front 9 Open.

• Monday April 9th through Sunday April 10th     NO Alternating Course Closures

• Tuesday April 17th - Front 9 Greens Surround Aeration      Front 9 Closed. Back 9 Open.
• Wednesday April 18 - Back 9 Greens Surround Aeration     Back 9 Closed. Front 9 Open.

Brooming in dried topdressing sand #10 Green

Putting Surface Disease Activity

In mid February we started to notice some small areas on some of the putting surfaces here at Granite Bay that were thinning out and reminiscent of disease activity. Some diseases that effect golf course turf are relatively easy to identify and others not so easy. Thankfully we have many tools at our disposal to deal with the uncertainties that nature throws at us on occasion. One of those indispensable tools are diagnostic labs that provide positive diagnosis of  disease and root zone conditions. 

Sample sent to Dr. Phil Colbaugh from Texas A&M.
Proceeding pictures were provided by Dr. Colbaugh
in his diagnosis of Pythium Root Rot here at GB.

Our first suspicion was that the turf on the greens were a little hungry and needed some fertilizer. Typically we don't want to encourage unnecessary growth at any time of the year particularly in the winter as this has a direct certain disease susceptibility's,  further excessive organic matter development and most importantly putting quality. That being said we knew we were a little on the "lean" side so applied an application of fertility hoping it would cure the symptom's we were observing. To be on the safe side before making this fertilizer application we took a sample of  a suspicious area on a green to send to a lab for diagnostic analysis.

A magnified root showing Pythium spores embeded in the
actual root.

It is a good thing that we did because the sample came back with a positive diagnosis for Pythium Root Rot, a pathogen that starts it's infection in roots and infects other roots below the surface. Root diseases are a lot different then foliar diseases in that by the time you see symptoms the damage is already done because roots have been effected and no regeneration or re-growth is possible from those effected plants. 

These washed roots actually represent a follow-up sample
to make sure we have control of this stubborn disease.

The strategy after a positive diagnosis is to stop the disease pathogen from its continued spread and then do the cultural things required for regeneration. Stopping a root disease is somewhat tricky as fungicide applications have to be applied in high volumes of water to reach the root zone where the disease activity is active. Our applications after receiving a positive diagnosis on Monday 2/20/12 were made on Tuesday 2/21/12 and the following Monday 2/27/12 when we were closed.

At this time in early March we have control of the disease and are starting to see recovery. Recovery strategies include a slight increase in the height of cut on our greens mowers, stepped up fertility regimen, increased spiking to allow air exchange and now that we have achieved control we will add seed to the effected areas on our greens particularly on #1, #5 & #6. Although we have not decreased our greens rolling frequency, putting surface speed have decreased as a result of the above mentioned practices. 

Follow up root magnification showing Pythium
currently under control.

Core aeration is scheduled for the first week in April so we are currently  four weeks away. With the current weather patterns and our recovery strategy we could very well see complete recovery before aeration. The aggressive aeration program we initiated last year has paid off as these surfaces are not nearly as soft under foot as they were previously. However we still have a highly organic layer in our top 2" which definitely contributes to their susceptibility to these types of diseases. Bottom line is we need to continue our aggressive appraoch when it comes to core aeration which will go along way in creating healthy conditions that are not as susceptible to these type diseases and perform in the fast and firm manner which we all desire.

Driving Range Tee Line Complete

Completed Tee Line ready for play

The execution and completion of the new Driving Range Tee Line went off exactly according to plan. The motivation behind the project was an obvious need to replace the worn out artificial mats that are used for practicing when the driving range is not set up  the 23,000 square feet of grass teeing area.

Concrete forms for raising the
concrete pad.

This half acre of turf has never been able to sustain all of the driving range traffic and we have always needed to utilize artificial turf mats for a third of the member use at the club.  Additionally artificial surfaces are necessary during wet weather and sustained periods of recovery of the grass tee. 

Another issue that had been slowly developing was the concrete pad in which the mats are stationed had become lower then the ever increasing grade of the driving range tee, creating a basin that collected irrigation and rainfall. This situation required a remedy and after considering several options, we decided to raise the concrete pad and install new drainage to keep the new artificial turf from sitting in water.

Contractor pouring the concrete.

Members of the Granite Bay Golf Committee did the initial legwork and steered us in the right direction for the material to replace the old mats. The plan was always to move towards a continuous Tee Line rather then just mat replacement. With that in mind, the "driving range artificial turf sub committee" traveled around the State trying out the best Tee Lines they could find which lead us to Synthetic Turf International (STI), the most recognized brand in the artificial turf industry. STI's Tee Lines are the current standard in the industry and the EZ Turf Hybrid is latest generation, most advanced artificial turf driving range hitting surface available. By design the EZ Turf Hybrid is a little soft when first installed but will firm up slightly, but not too much, so as to maintain the most realistic feel throughout the life of the Tee line. Additionally the choice of a continuous Tee Line versus replacement mats will allow for hitting rotation and a life expectancy of  well over five years for the new turf.

GCM installing new drainage, backing up newly
raised concrete pad.

If you happened to take the time to look at some of the Tee Lines from  STI you will notice some installations appeared to have the regular turf in contact with the artificial turf and in some instances that is actually the case. Others have borders of wooden or recycled plastic 2" X 4" material to provide a barrier for maintenance edging. We felt strongly about some type of border and opted for a recessed area in the new concrete pad for the new Tee Line to sit in and be surrounded with a concrete mow strip of sorts. Built into the pad was a unnoticeable front to back 1% slope to facilitate drainage along with extra expansion joint like drainage channels at the rear of the pad to provide an escape path for irrigation or rainfall. 

Synthetic Turf International of Northern California
gluing down the new artificial turf
Tee Line. 

Real turf is always a better surface to practice on, and this new Tee Line will not change our intent or schedule of having our members practice on the turf Thursday through Sunday. However we all have to admit that the new Tee Line is a substantial upgrade from even replacement of the old, worn out mats and will hopefully not make it as hard to use when GCM inevitably has to close the grass tee for extended renovation and recovery.

                                                                                   

Weather, Winter Progress & Green Speed

I find myself in the position once again to apologize to the members who enjoy the details I cover in these course updates as I have been negligent in updating  for too long. Much has been happening on the golf course as many have witnessed so I will briefly try to catch up with pictures along with sharing some details.

Strange Weather

Weather is the one variable that we all deal with and is the one factor from season to season that effect the golf course playing surfaces the most. Normal high and low temperatures, precipitation, humidity are accumulation averages over a several years that don't seem to mean that much as the here and now of our playing surfaces and how they are performing based on the weathers influence. Case in point, last winter the course experienced above average precipitation and played much  slower then the fast and firm surfaces we are experiencing this winter season. I have always believed that  the uncertainty of the weather, something we have absolutely no control over yet has the dramatic effect on the surfaces we play this great game from, is a big part of the games charm.  So we take what we get as far as the weather is concerned. What other choice is there? 

Generally speaking  these cool, dry weather patterns will always provide the best playing surfaces for Granite Bay. The logic is simple. If its cool, the turf grass is not growing and has minimal  to no irrigation requirements. If it is dry, playing surfaces firm up. The combination of minimal growth and minimal moisture produces less leaf surface and friction combined with the above mentioned firmness and we get the surfaces that most players love. GCM (golf course maintenance) loves these conditions as well because there is allot less effort involved in providing the surfaces that most players desire shifting our efforts to other tasks that beautifies the course along with making it easier to take care off during the upcoming summer, something we always have our sights on.

Although much of the winter has been cool and dry, a
recent storm in late January brought almost 4" of rain
over a few days. This is the front of #13 during a storm.

Green Speed

Of course the most noticeable surface is the putting surface. We have been experiencing green speeds in the 12 foot range almost all winter. The above mentioned weather scenarios can claim most of the credit as cooler weather slows growth rate down and lack of rain firms things up along with allowing GCM  to roll the surfaces more frequently. However I believe  much of the recent firmness of our putting surfaces has more to do with aggressive aeration that we have employed over the last year and a half then the  increased rolling and decreased rainfall. Ten percent of our greens surface are has been removed on each aeration event totaling 30% since we started aggressive aeration. All of this removed organic matter was displaced with  topdressing sand and many of you have told us that you have noticed a progressive firming of the greens as evidenced by lack of foot printing which has been our observation as well. We have also observed less disease activity, a virtual elimination of anaerobic black layer and just a healthier condition in which the turf responds to fertility and other inputs accordingly.

Jogi checking green speed on #9 with stimp meter.

What does show up very well at this time of the year on our greens is the poa annua population. The reason for this is that in colder weather, particularly frosty and frozen weather, the bentgrass on our greens slows down to almost a complete dormancy where as the poa is still growing and beginning to thrive. If it seems like the poa population is greater on our greens then it has been in the past, it is probably because it is for the most part. Unfortunately it is the nature of the beast to continue its encroachment no matter what strategies we employ to push it back. Bottom line, it is not uncommon for poa annua and bentgrass to coexist on putting surfaces that are the age of ours which is coming up on 18 years. Pure bentgrass greens are something special to putt on, particularly the new bentgrass varieties however there are some very good putting surfaces in  the world of golf that have a substantial amount of poa annua in them. What is difficult to maintain with a poa-bent or bent poa surface, depending how you look at it, is consistency.



#10 Green exhibiting a 50/50 bentgrass-poa mix.
The poa is the brighter green patches.
The bentgrass is the more grey-green.



Granite Bay's putting surface consistency from season to season & day to day admittedly has been elusive. However the progress made in organic matter reduction in the top 3" of our surfaces via core aeration in the spring and fall sets up better success when it comes to consistency because the overall health of the surface is better. Our goal for these surfaces in 2012 is to maintain consistent, smooth ball roll with speeds between 11 and 12 feet by:


 

• Continue aggressive core aeration Spring and Fall.
• Better control over poa annua seed head utilizing growth regulator applications.
• Consistent surface management strategies including brushing, vertical mowing & light topdressing.
• Continue successful walk mowing and rolling regimen
• Fertility strategy that includes acidification which will refine leaf blades (make them skinny and wiry) reducing friction and increasing ball roll without the need to lower the height of cut.

The coexistence of bentgrass and poa annua in relation to the quality of the putting surface is a topic unto itself. Short of re-surfacing, we have to work with what we have in the  here and now. The above strategies can and will produce scenarios where the bent will thrive at certain times in the season and the poa thrive in others. Bottom line if the surfaces are healthy, firm and ball roll is consistent and true, we will have achieved our goals and membership will have surfaces that are fun, challenging and can be proud of.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Because I have admittedly been negligent in updating details of GCM activities of late, I thought I would catch up with pictures and  brief associated details.

Recently cleared rocks below the upper tees on #14.
Unfortunately I don't have a real good before picture
however I think we all remember the berries and
scrub oak that completely covered these beautiful rocks.

Working on the left side of the lower bridge on #14 primarily
to facilitate out tree service contractor so they could top the
live oak that are close to blocking the hole from the upper tees.



Starting to clean the outgrowth on the right hand side
of #14 below the lower tees.




Finished view from the club tees on #14 after clearing.
The straw area is covering for fescue seed and the straw
waddle at the top of the cleared area is to prevent erosion
during rainfall. The 4" storm in late January didn't erode
the area at all.




Newly constructed nursery area to the left of #4 on the
corner of Barton and Roseville Parkway.  The area was
actually irrigated for a nursery area but had overgrown
so we cleared the overgrowth, completely re-did the irrigation,
graded the rough area along the Parkway and organized
the entire area for processing the the large amount of
green waste that is developed on a course like Granite Bay.
In the nursery area we will establish sod for our greens with
cores removed from this springs aeration, grow our own  native fescue
and use the area as a storage area for purchased sod.




The large pieces of the old concrete removed from #18
when we installed the path to the upper tee. These concrete
pieces were hauled over to the area that we made into the
nursery / recycling area and have now been used to
retain a bank.




Repairing the front lip on the large bunker in front of #1 green.
When we renovated the bunkers not that long ago we did some sod work
around the bunkers edges, but our primary focus was to replace drainage,
install liner and replace the sand. Now that the bunkers have sand
in them, as opposed to virtually none prior to renovation, we are
experiencing a accelerated buildup of sand on the front edges that
need to be fixed on some of our bunkers. When we do this work we
also "softening" the front lip of the trap with the goal of mitigating
some of those unplayable lies in the hazard.




#1 complete with new sod. Other bunkers we plan to address
in February are the two on #14 and the two on #13.





Looking down on another area that needed some clearing work
to the right and pin high to the green on #14. Its cleaner,
easier to find you ball but still a pretty tough shot.



Irrigation enhancement around the bunkers on #14.
we did replace the little pop-ups during renovation on these
bunkers 3 to 4 years ago but are not happy with their
performance. I know it seems like we were just working there
and we we're I suppose although I will tell you that everywhere
we have installed the type of sprinklers we are installing
here it has made a HUGE difference in turf quality
and our ability to maintain these areas in the summer. The vast
majority of this work was done last winter but we still have
more to do.

Forming the new raised pad for the new continuous Tee Line
of artificial turf. Raising of this pad was necessary as the pad
was low and collected water as the turf around it raised over
the years from topdressing.

Pouring the concrete.

GCM installing drainage behind newly raised
driving range tee pad.



GCM installing sod to back filled raised pad.



Newly renovated tee markers. The motivation behind renovating
our tee markers was first and foremost our tee markers were
old, stained and in dire need of replacement. After pricing new ones
we concluded that this was a "more for less" opportunity and started
playing with different epoxies, colorants, sands and have now come
up with what we think is a better, and substantially more economical
duplicate version of Granite Bay's tee marker. The red and purple
markers you currently see on the course are actually renovated
markers that we have cleaned up, colored and treated with epoxy
and replaced on the course. The next markers you will start to see
on the course will actually be ones we casted ourselves.

Along the same motivation of the tee markers we priced sign

replacement for the many signs around the clubhouse and on

the course and decided to purchase a computerized

carving machine and do them ourselves. All signs around the

clubhouse have been completed and we are currently working

on signs on the course.

The first phase of signs going out on the course. We changed
color themes to blend with the divot boxes and course water
dispenser enclosures. Additionally we have started to add
Audubon signage to the course which is an actual requirement
of belonging  to Audubon. It does not fit, nor is it our intention
to increase the presence of signs at Granite Bay, just replace
the worn our wooden signs along with proudly displaying our
Audubon Signature status.

Communication
I hope your opinion is that as a club we have come  along way as far as providing and distributing information about what going on around the club and on the golf course. This course update, the very popular daily  Golf Shop update which is distributed daily to over 300 members, the brand new Granite Bay Golf Shop blog are just some of the information and promotional pieces associated with Granite Bay. I totally get that not everyone is interested in the "grass growing, vertical mowing, cinch bug" details of golf course maintenance and I for one am sensitive to overloading peoples inbox with web links and attachments ect ect ect. Additionally it becomes a task to update course details  primarily because I wait too long and then the update itself becomes lengthy rather then short and sweet on a weekly or semi weekly basis. So I am going to adopt the strategy of Heather and Brad with their new Golf Shop update. Anyone interested in receiving notifications when this blog is updated simply add your e-mail to the "follow by e-mail" in the upper right hand corner so you can be automatically updated through your inbox.  This way whoever wants to see the information can get it, and I can update it briefly and frequently without worrying about being a pest.

Aeration Progress Fall 2011

One of the best things that can be done to sports turf such as golf course playing surfaces is core aeration because it addresses multiple issues. The process relieves soil compaction resulting from vehicle and foot traffic. It provides necessary air to the  turfgrass root zone for basic plant physiological processes and maintains soil permeability providing a release passage for the carbon dioxide gasses produced by the roots in these processes. Finally core aeration removes the excessive organic layer or thatch that turf produces which is the culprit that seals the root zone off from atmospheric air to begin with. If it seems like a vicious circle, it is. Insert Granite Bays  heavy decomposed granite soil along with high bentgrass population in the fairways and you have a even higher premium on getting this job done on a regular basis.



Recently core aerated green #12

 The  actual process of aeration is not without its complications and is capable of temporarily harming as much as it helps. This is the reason why the job has to be done in a non stressful time of the year such as Spring and Fall facilitating rapid recovery. The quicker we can get the job done, the quicker the turf will  recover and you can get back to playing on smooth surfaces.

With all of this in mind Granite Bay management, with the blessing of the Granite Bay Golf Committee, decided to expand some alternating front nine / back nine closures to help golf course maintenance get the job done to all of the playing surfaces in not only a expedient manner but producing a better quality job because we would not have to rush to remove wet cores ahead of play. Unfortunately some unexpected early season storms necessitated a change of plans although we were still able to make substantial progress and improvements over aeration seasons of the  past.

Our original plan to aerate greens was to do the front nine on Tuesday the 4th and the back nine on Wednesday the 5th. A decent rainstorm was forecasted for Tuesday night through Wednesday so we decided to close the entire course and complete greens aeration on Tuesday ahead of the storm. This ended up being a good call as the rain started to fall as we were putting the finishing touches on #18 Tuesday evening. Ultimately the recovery of the greens went well. After 21 days aeration holes were completely covered, the greens were rolling smooth albeit not as fast as we would like but most importantly  they are healthy going into the winter.

We were scheduled to aerate fairways with another alternating front nine / back nine closure immediately following greens aeration on Thursday & Friday but conditions were not dry enough to proceed. The following week we stayed on schedule despite more rain and aerated and over seeded  the hybrid bermuda tees. The week of October 17th we were scheduled for our last front nine / back nine alternating closure to aerate around the green surrounds but instead had to use these scheduled dates to complete fairways due to being rained out two weeks prior.

Just a minimal of cleanup following the core processor.

For fairway aeration we borrowed a piece of equipment called a core processor. This machine picked up and ground into a fine topdressing the extracted cores from the aeration process. We divided manpower resources creating a early morning aerating crew and a afternoon / evening cleanup crew  and core aerated all fairways in two days along with doing a much cleaner job. Fairway aeration alone would have normally taken two weeks to complete so in three weeks we completed greens, tees and fairways.  Currently we are aerating a couple of green surrounds a day and cleaning up the mess in the midst of players. It will take us a couple of weeks with everything else we have to do to complete the surrounds. Finally we will start aerating the rough after that which will take another couple of weeks.



Toro Core Processor
converting plugs into usable topdressing



Raccoon damage almost seems to coincide
with fairway aeration.

Obviously the critical task of aeration requires  much planing and preparation. However it is difficult to plan   for everything such as weather or unforeseen equipment malfunctions. Additionally the process seems to create an environment conducive to an increase in skunk and raccoon activity particularly in the fall even with preventive treatments for the insects they long for. But even with these set-backs and unforeseen problems, we have made progress in this aeration season and it is my belief that with the proper equipment and a little luck from  nature, we can aerate this entire property in 5 weeks. We'll give it a try again in the spring.



Pretty substantial hydraulic leak from aeration equipment
on the #3 green. Does not look too bad from this picture but
this area would have died.



Current view after re-sodding the oil effected area.
Temporarily mowing at a higher height of cut then
the rest of the green allowing the new sod to root.

Practice Area Progress

Establishment of the new turf in the recently renovated practice area is coming along well for most of the area.  The hybrid bermuda that we established as a base from sprigs has exceeded our expectations and has rooted and created a very stable  playing surface. It has recently been over-seeded with ryegrass to provide winter color as the hybrid will go at least partially dormant once we start to get some frost and real cold weather. Additionally the ryegrass will help define rough from the tighter mowed areas in front of the target green.

The  expansion of the target green did not establish as rapidly as the rest of the area and still has a ways to go to be close to the quality of the greens on the rest of the the course. We are currently mowing it at a higher height of cut and have re-seeded and topdressed several times since initial seeding in late August.  The cooler weather we are currently experiencing gives us better temperatures to work with and push the green towards usable establishment. Unfortunately there are too many areas on the green that are currently too thin to hold up to ball marks and foot traffic so we have to give it a few more weeks to further establish.

According to our own Craig Johns, "The Golf Committee is working on an event to celebrate the "official" opening of the remodeled Short Game Practice Area some time November that will provide some fun and interesting skills challenge competition….rumor has it that the Golf Channel is negotiating the television rights to "Big Break Granite Bay" to coincide with that….stay tuned for more information about the event."




Very recent picture of the expanded target green in the practice area.
Still not quite ready for extended use.

Next After Aeration
After we complete the aeration of the green surrounds, which will be the week November 7th, we will start pruning and clearing brush. The first area we plan to tackle is area directly in front of the Granite & Tournament tees on #14 along with the vegetation blocking the right side of the hole from the Club & Pebble tees. We plan to make a major push on this kind of work throughout the course this fall and winter  so many more details  and before and after pictures to come.

#14 view from the lower tees.
Our goal is to re-establish the original view from the tee



#14 view from upper tees.
Vegetation in front of the granite tee has been getting out
of control for awhile. We have all seen original pictures with
the bridge below actually visible. Re-establishing that view is our goal.

Tee Rotation
One last thing that you will begin to notice today is that golf course maintenance has started a tee rotation schedule corresponding with our traditional pin rotation. This rotation is in response to a long standing member request and I must apologize that it has taken this long to get something done.  The rotation does move blocks up and down on a regular basis on tees like #5, #6, #7, #14, and #18 mostly for Club and Granite  teeing locations although Tournament and Pebble will have some different shifts in teeing area as well. As an example once in the six stage  pin rotation the Club tees will be moved up to the 439 level on #18 as well as once in the rotation the Granite tees on #14 will be moved down to the 165 level. When these types of shifts occur we have signs that we will place on the tees directing members. I anticipate this being a work in progress for both the GCM staff and membership so bear with us and please provide feedback. The end result of this new rotation schedule should provide more variety for our membership along with rotating wear on our tee boxes by taking advantage of the various tee levels we have here at Granite Bay.



Example of signs we will use to direct members
when tee markes are shifted to diffrent tee levels.