Lake Renovation: Soil Stabilization with Lime

Assistant Superintendent, Ramiro delivering the first load.

How much time is needed to dry out 18 inches of muck at the bottom of a pond?  I'm really not sure, but it's forever and we don't have time to wait and find out exactly how long forever is.  To speed up an extremely slow drying process, the crew at Earth Sculptures Inc have been churning up the mud, blending in dry soil, and using hydrated lime to firm things up.

Here's a few photos from this dirty job.  Hydrated lime is not great for your skin or fun to breathe, hence the Tyvek suits, gloves, and particle dust masks.

World's biggest salt shaker.

Wet soil was pushed around the bank and topdressed with lime.

High tech application using shovels.

The mixing was left to the big machines.

More lake updates to come.

Feed the Soil

Just over a week ago, we tried something a little risky at Bernardo Heights.  No, we didn't try to kill all the poa on the greens or experiment with high rates of pesticides or mow the greens down to nothing.  The risk we took was based on the noses of those around us.  We applied organic fertilizer to all our fairways and some of the primary rough.  The fertilizer we used is composed of rock minerals and chicken manure blended with ammonium sulfate to provide some more nitrogen and a bit of a kickstart.

The overall amount of nitrogen is rather low, but the long term feeding is the beauty of this product.  We are not only feeding the turf, we are also feeding the microbes, the beneficial, single cell organisms in the soil.  These are the workhorses of a good soil profile that break down thatch and humus to be made into something the plant can use.

The product I used does have an "organic" smell to it, but I didn't receive one phone call or complaint from a homeowner or a member.  We applied the fertilizer late in the afternoon just after an outside tournament.  We watered it in immediately and gave it a bit more water that evening.  The next day was the second round of our Women's Golf Association Championship and nobody noticed the fertilizer because there was nothing to notice.

This product will be become a staple of our program with an application in spring and another in fall.  The price is right, the response is good, and the long-term benefits are excellent.  One small problem with this fertilizer is with my dog, Izzo.  She loves the smell and will lay on the bags while they're in the shop.  The fairways don't stink the day after the application, but Izzo sure would without a bath.

Lake Renovation: 1 week update

The folks from Earth Sculptures have been busy on the former lake and the new reservoir since they broke ground last week.  The concrete rim or coping took little time to remove from the site.  The overgrown landscaping that divided the lake from the 11th fairway also came out in a hurry.  Now the slow part is underway, mixing the sludge at the bottom of the lake with dry soil to achieve some firmer conditions.  Here are a few of the pics that Brock Wildman took last Friday:

Steady progress is being made with an eager eye toward the finish line.  The crew has prepared some locations to use the sod that will be removed from the outskirts in the next few days.  We've also been busy with a few projects of our own and many spring maintenance practices.  Tomorrow I will post some info on our recent fertilizer applications and the effects we anticipate on the course.  Thanks for reading.

Lake Renovation: Demolition Begins

The lake is pretty much drained and big equipment has been arriving at the course since last week.  Today, Earth Sculptures Inc worked to clear the vegetation between the future reservoir and the 11th fairway.  The large excavator in the photo dug a massive hole back in our waste area by I-15 to prepare a resting spot for the old concrete and to harvest good topsoil.  Soon, that machine will be carving up the concrete rim and mucking out the lake bottom.

The BHCC crew was busy as always with maintenance work, irrigation repair, and setting up a temporary green on the 17th fairway.  The green is located 85 yards short of the regulation green and will be in play during the week days as work continues.  The 11th hole will play as a par 3 from 150 yards.  Both holes will play as normal on the weekends.

There will be many updates to come as progress is made on this major project.

Facelift for the yardage markers

It sure is nice when a project turns out much easier than anticipated.  The fairway yardage markers have been on the to-do list for quite a while.  They needed to be cleaned, painted, and raised, or so we thought.  The numbers on these discs are actually a separate material, not a dye or paint.  We brought in a few trial markers and our mechanic Santiago used some driveway cleaner to remove soil, grime, and iron staining that had the markers looking pretty rough.  After an hour soak, we scoured them with a wire brush and sprayed on some high gloss sealant.   The sealant acts like Rain X, beading up any irrigation in the morning and leaving a nice sparkle to the fairway markers.  

My favorite part of the this small, quick project was looking at the bermuda roots that creeped under many of these discs.  The bermuda grass is gaining momentum and filling in nicely.  On Monday, the fairways will get their first real shot of fertilizer, giving the rest the fairway a bit of a sparkle to match our shiny markers.

High School Match Improves Course Conditions

Believe it or not, the course is better after their round.  Last Wednesday, our resident high school squad, the Rancho Bernardo Broncos played a nine hole match against the Nighthawks of Del Norte High.  Later that afternoon, I was out checking irrigation coverage and planning a few projects when I ventured upon the third tee and noticed something out of the ordinary.

Each and every divot was properly filled with sand.  This is quite unusual, especially at the end of a very busy day.  There is actually one divot that isn't filled, but that one is from my shot and I followed the young players' example and filled it after snapping this photo.

Later on, as I toured the course, I noticed a complete lack of ball marks on the greens.  The Broncos and the Nighthawks must have been fixing multiple ball marks besides their own, effectively improving course conditions during their round.

Occasionally, members will voice concern over the impact of high school team practice or events and the potential negative effects on the course.  In my experience, at multiple courses, these teams promote excellent etiquette and appreciation towards the grounds and club facilities.  I gladly welcome the teams to BHCC and hope they one day, come back as members with the same respect for the work we do.

First Step to Firm Approaches

A major goal for the year is to improve the playability, firmness, and appearance of the approaches.  This area of the course is extremely important, yet it is often neglected or simply overlooked.  Approaches often take on more water than they need because of the proximity to the greens.  Excess water sometimes runs off the front of the green and sprinklers overlap to affect non-target locations.

To improve upon our current conditions, we will be aerifying, topdressing, verticutting, and changing the fertility and chemical inputs on the approaches.  Basically, we will treat them more like greens.  This is another example of taking out the bad and putting in some good.  On Monday, we removed some organic matter, thatch, and compacted soil.  We added some sand and organic fertilizer to improve growing conditions.  We will be doing this a few times this summer along with verticutting and light topdressing.  It shouldn't be long until the approaches putt well and also handle a bump and run for those who prefer that technique.  Please bear with us while we tear things up to make things better.