Closed Week Update #4 (Thursday)

These numbered updates represent the days of the week, but I'm falling behind as the week rolls along. This post recaps our work on Thursday and I'll have Friday and the weekend coming up next.

The big event of the day was a deep tine aerification on our greens.  On Monday, we punched the greens with 3/8" tines with close spacing at a depth of 4 inches.  This is pretty aggressive and our standard aerification practice performed twice a year.  Since we remove plugs at the same depth each time, a hard layer can form just below the affected zone.



A tractor-mounted aerifier with 5/16 inch tines punched holes at 2x2 inch spacing at a depth of 8 inches.  What all that means is our greens are going to be feeling really good after so many holes in such a short amount of time.  This helps our roots, our drainage, and oxygen exchange.  Aerification makes everything better.  We followed the aerifier with a cocoa mat to drag the sand into the holes and a roller to smooth the surface.

Work on the 8th hole green-side bunkers continued as we shaped the floor of the front bunker by adding over a foot of clay.  The bunker was way too deep and narrow causing all shots to settle in the same location.  The renovated design will offer more playable space and less difficult shots which I suspect our members will prefer.

Finally, the contractors were busy installing the new valves that connect the 10 inch mainline to our 6 inch loop near the 1st tee. Also, trenches were dug along the tunnel walls and across cart paths on #'s 8 and 4.

Closed Week Update #3

On Wednesday, the project crew continued with the 10 inch main and nearly finished at the connection point near the 1st tee before darkness stopped work.  They are at it again today and working on cleaning up the trench, replacing sod, and moving machinery to work near the tunnel connections.

BHCC staff members sodded Teal Tees on #'s 14, 15, and 17 on Wednesday morning.  That only leaves two more tees, #'s 12 and 18 which will be finished up in the coming weeks.

Once the tees were finished, we moved on to the bunkers on #8.  The drain lines were exposed and tested and new contour lines drawn out.  Most of the excavation and grading will be done by hand so it's a very slow process even with 8 guys on the job.


When you're asking people to work this hard, day after day, you need to find some time to have a little fun.  For us, that means a friendly soccer game with the crew from United GLI Inc.  The game was very competitive, yet friendly, with more laughing than you'd expect.  Those who didn't play, parked carts in the shade to watch the action.  It's amazing that any of us have energy to work after playing hard for 30 minutes, but it seems to revive us and everybody grabs their shovels and heads back to the trenches.

More updates coming soon….

Closed Week Update #2

On Tuesday, the contractors continued installing the new 10 inch mainline completing about 200 yards of trench and pipe.  The pipe crossed the 18th fairway at a 45 degree angle and now turns towards the connection point near the tee on #1.

While they were busy on #18, the BHCC staff excavated the two green side bunkers on #8.  The front bunker, especially, has been the focus of many complaints, most of which say, "there is no sand in the bunker."  I continue to disagree with this comment, because a lack of sand is not the issue, the age of sand is the problem.  As sand breaks down and gets contaminated with silt and soil from edging, wind, and rain events, the combination of sand plus clay equals concrete.  Adding more sand, the typical recommendation from your average golfer is a huge waste of money.  That sand will only help until the underlying sand gets mixed with the new stuff and it only takes one rain event to do that.

The bunker on #8 had over 3 feet of sand.  We dug this out and moved it to other bunkers that could use a little extra.  Sure, it's not new, fluffy sand, but it will improve playability in our older bunkers until we can renovate them as we did on holes 5, 6 and 7 last year.  #8 is being done in-house this week, #'s 15 and 16 are planned for next year, and we will continue along the priority list from there forward.

Other activities yesterday included the seeding of the driving range tee with ryegrass, punching the par 3 tees to prep for overseeding, finishing all sanding and fertilizing of our greens, and some mulch work around the clubhouse.  Day #3 is off to a great start and I will share those notes with you in our next update.

Closed Week Update #1

This will be a very busy week at Bernardo Heights even though we will not record a single round of golf. This period will impact course conditions for years to come as we complete some important projects along with our standard fall maintenance.

 On Monday, we punched (aerified, but I'm going to say punched because spell check keeps changing it to verified and I'm tired of fixing it) all the greens, punched the driving range tee, and verticut all the areas we intend to overseed, which are few this year.

Our contractors trenched another 300 feet for a new 10 inch mainline up the left rough of #18.  Last week they installed about 400 feet of pipe in a very complicated area with many new valves, transition from our existing system, and re-configuring a 3-way mainline junction.  Tomorrow will be smooth sailing with 100 more yards up the left rough before crossing the 18th fairway and heading over to our connection near the 1st tee.

While they were busy with the 10 inch install, our talented staff handled the installation of HDPE pipe in the tunnel crossing between #'s 2 and 3.  Our mechanic, Santiago welded a side bar on our front end loader to raise the pipe above the support brackets.  We used a couple of ladders, another tractor, and a bunch of manpower to move the pipe in place while Santiago drove from one end to the other.  

Up next for our staff is bunker renovation on #8.  More on that tomorrow.

Maintenance practices move to summertime

As we switch from a base of ryegrass to a solid stand of bermuda, our maintenance schedule will shift to accommodate the plant’s needs.  Bermuda grows best in very warm conditions, the hotter the better.  Practices like aerfication and verticutting need to be performed when the grass is growing at its best to recover from damage.

You may wonder why we do all this damage in the first place.  After all, it looks fine before we tear it up so why not leave it alone?  Bermudagrass is a serious thatch builder and can form a dense mat between the leaves and soil in a very short amount of time.  This mat of thatch will restrict water movement to the point that a 1/4 inch of rain will force us into a cart-path-only situation.  Nobody wants that.  It will also restrict root growth, harbor disease-causing organisms, trap fertilizer, and cause unsightly scalping.  

This photos of #8 fairway was taken after it was verticut and mowed.  Today, the fairway is green, smooth, healthy, and free of scalp marks.

We are finished with verticutting for this season, but we’ll be back at it next summer.  The process not only removes thatch, it also reduces grain and promotes new, healthy growth.  The ugly brown lines only last for a week and there is very little change in playability.  

Aerification is also being moved to the summer months to encourage rapid healing and promote root growth.  We may do some work with solid tines during the off-season to encourage movement of rainwater which I hope comes down in biblical proportions.  Until then, I will be enjoying the heat and the effects it has on our new stand of bermudagrass.

Aquatic Weed Control

Our new irrigation pond adjacent to the 11th tee and 17th green has performed very well in its first year, handling it's primary job of storing water.  Of course, the pond is also important to aesthetics and as a hazard guarding the 17th green.  Weed control in an irrigation pond is somewhat limited because, as you may suspect, we can't treat the pond with herbicides that would eventually be applied to turf via the irrigation system.

For most of the year, we've had some subsurface weeds growing in the lake and they were getting thicker as time went on.  Lucky for us, they have started to diminish for whatever reason.  Perhaps the plant's lifecycle is coming to a close, or the soil is no longer supporting growth, or salt build up may play a role.  I'm just glad to see less plant life than more, without any expense to the club.

We do have some cattails growing around the edges and we will remove those by hand.  Just the other day, we had Huckleberry Rafael out on some floating pallets pulling the reeds with Marvin guiding the raft.  We do have a small boat for such purposes, but they were having so much fun making quick work of the problem that I just took a pic and moved along.

Through the Tunnels

This year, BHCC's major project during the annual closure is an irrigation upgrade that will connect our new water source to holes 3 through 8.  To accomplish this goal, we will be installing 4000 feet of new mainline pipe.  Our existing system was designed for five points of connection to the city supply, so the pipes are small in size and cannot deliver the necessary amount from one side to the other.

Work has already begun in the tunnel under Bernardo Heights Parkway.  Brackets are being installed every 5 ft to support an 8 inch irrigation line.  You'll be seeing more work on this project near the tunnels and in out-of-play areas before we start trenching in late September when we are closed to play.  

This year, we have been able to use well water for 2/3 of the course without needing to supplement with our potable supply.  The new upgrades will further decrease our irrigation expense. Another benefit is greater pressure control resulting in less broken pipes and improved uniformity.  Our irrigation technician is especially happy about the breakage reduction.

Check back for more updates on this project and other course news.