Drilling Begins

Last Wednesday, Stehly Brothers Drilling Inc. started drilling for water between the driving range and the 2nd hole.  This is the start of an important process to find productive wells to supplement our water usage.  I will update the program frequently on the blog starting with the initial exploration and ending when the water meets the turf.  Between those two periods we will also look at the drilling itself, soil conditions, water quality, reservoir storage, pumping from the well, and integrating into the irrigation system.  It's a long road, but well worth the journey.

 Moving these massive trucks across a fairway doesn't take long, but damage is possible if we're not careful.  All heads and valves are carefully marked and thick mats are placed along the path.  The turf is protected from the weight of the tires as we shuffle the mats from back to front.  The crew, along with the Stehly Brothers, made this trip very fast and the one or two groups of golfers didn't seem to mind the short wait as they watched this unusual parade.

The rig set up over an old well which was never put into service.  We knew it was a possibility that this well would be unstable from years of sitting dormant.  Within an hour, this was the case and the rigs were moved to the secondary location.  Today, drilling begins between the 9th tee box and the driving range.  Check back often to get updates on our search for water.

Of course, we have other work going on while the
Stehly Brothers do their thing.  Today we are giving the new, lower pad of the driving range tee it's first cut after a long and slow grow in.  The greens will be vented with needle tines to open up the surface and we'll follow those tiny holes with a light dusting of sand.  The fairways, tees, and rough are all getting a haircut after the long holiday weekend and the tees on #12 will be seeded another dose of ryegrass to green up the surface.

Another beautiful Monday with the sun shining down on the course and through the arms of drill rig with bright possibilities.