Project Updates

I'm starting to look forward to the time when I can write a post for this blog and it has nothing to do with the new reservoir, or the pump house, or electrical hook ups.  That time is not today because we are still very busy with finishing up this 6 month adventure.

On Monday, we started working on the electrical line that will run between a couple neighboring apartment buildings down to the new pump house.  There was a lot of hand digging near the connection point where we had to navigate around (luckily above) a gas, electric, and cable line.  The trench is finished, the conduit is in, and inspections by SDGE and the county will happen today.  I will have more info on when we can actually start irrigating with our new water source in the near future.  

Unfortunately, we had to trench through our new sod.  This was expected as one contractor had to finish up their portion and we were waiting on some red tape issues to design the electrical connection.  Not to worry, because the sod is in great shape and we know how to put it back together as you can see in the photos below.

Finally, another update on the well and the filling of the reservoir.  At 9:30, Tuesday morning, we hit the mark of 1 million gallons pumped from the well.  281,000 went to fill up #9 and the rest went to the reservoir on #11.  As of today, we are 40% full and should hit 50% by the end of the day.  It looks like we've filled more than that, but realize that the major quantity of water is near the top where each foot is close to an acre foot or 326,000 gallons of water.  We have about 4 vertical feet to go until the lake is full.

Landscaping around the lake and the new pumphouse will start as early as next week.  I have a few plant samples coming in today and a cost breakdown for the project.  The end is in sight.

If you have any questions about the project or any course conditions, don't hesitate to contact me at jalwine@bhcc.net.

It's finally a Lake Update

This was a very long time coming, but water is finally being drawn from the well and pouring into the new reservoir.  Before I left work, the well had pumped 380,000 gallons of water.  310,000 has gone to the reservoir and 70,000 was sent to the lake on #9.  OK, so more numbers.  The reservoir is at 14% of the projected volume of 2.2 million gallons.  The full amount pumped would have cost the club $2052.

We are currently running a generator to power the well pump and expect the power source to be energized on July 31st.  The well is pumping at 90%, getting 255 gallons per minute.  At 100%, we can draw 300 gallons per minute.  Filling the reservoir would take about 6 days if we pumped 24 hours per day.  With the generator, we are only pumping 12 hours today for the sake of our neighbors.  The generator is very quiet, but there is really no rush.




Monday, trenching will begin on #11 for the power connection to the pump house.  We will bang through this process as quickly as possible so the club can start to realize the savings we've all been waiting for.

A few other notes on the project:

• Landscaping on #11 has been planned and will commence after the trenching for power.
• The water coming from the well is 74 degrees, perfect for an afternoon swim.  (please refrain from swimming in the pond)
• We cleaned the waterfall on #9 today, scrubbing down the rocks, it will be back on tomorrow.
• The quality of the well water is very good and we will not be blending with potable water.
• The new sod around the lake is rooted down past 3 inches so feel free to play/walk on it.

Lake Update

Last week, contractors wrapped up the scope of their work at the site of the new reservoir.  Monday thru Thursday saw the installation of the new main line, attaching the pump house to the current irrigation system.  Installed along with this pipe, was our potable water fill line.  This source could be used in the future if the well is unavailable or if we need to blend the two sources for quality issues.  We hope to use this source on a rare occasion, but the fill line is certainly necessary.

The sod, hybrid bermuda, came in on Friday and installation was finished by 11:00 am.  The sod company wasted very little which resulted in some extra sod which we'll be installing in some thin spots.

All of the 11th hole will be fertilized and aerified to promote recovery from the sporadic watering and heavy traffic from the last few months.  Most of the bermuda that is now brown and dormant along the right rough will bounce back with some extra water and some fertilizer.

This week, the BHCC crew will install the filter flush line and the lake aeration system.  We also will prepare for landscaping around the lake and pump house and get the sod rooted into its new home.  The temporary tee on 11 and the temporary green on 17 are no longer needed, so go out and enjoy a full golf course.  We do ask that you take a drop from any new sod and limit any traffic across roped-off locations.

Lake updates and DG Walkways

Last week was very busy for the maintenance department even though the schedule was bit scattered with 4th of July celebrations.  The pump house was delivered, the rest of the liner was installed and the concrete rim was finished.  That means no more giant equipment coming up #11 and we can begin to renovate the maintenance road along the right rough.  The demolished cartpath will also be repaired, but not until we are certain that no more traffic will be passing through.

2000 feet away, at the location of our new well, the staff and the Staley Brothers worked on electrical connections for the pump.  We took this opportunity to install a fill line to the lake on #9, since there was a need for a test port.  Both the lakes on #9 and #2 are low on water, but we'd prefer to use the well water to save about $3000.

Work on this project continues today in between frequent inspections by the city and SDG&E.  Once we get final approval, hopefully by this Friday, a 15 day period needed to inform homeowners of a temporary power outage is the only thing we'll be waiting on.

Finally, in other news, we installed the first of many decomposed granite landscapes near the walk-on area of #3 gold and white tees.  This area was very difficult to keep green with sandy subsoil left over from tee construction and daily traffic.  This new look will be a little out of place until it spreads to other locations on the course.

Decomposed granite is one of my favorite building materials for it's longevity, ease of maintenance, and attractive color.  This area used a little over $100 of DG, our only real cost besides labor.  The plants we used, sego palms, fountain grasses, and fire stick were all grown at the shop from seeds and cuttings.  The cobblestone was harvested from our slopes between the rough and our neighboring houses.  We will finish off this area this week when we find a little extra time.  Some more plants and cobblestone will be added to the landscape and then we're off to the next location

Lake Update

On Monday, the wet well was installed at the site of our new pump house.  The wet well is a water-filled vault (will be water-filled soon) that is positioned under the pump house.  The motors that were delivered Tuesday will draw up water straight from the wet well underneath.  The pad for the pump house will be poured on Thursday and pump house delivery is  next Monday.

The well pump was lowered into position on Tuesday and we'll be working on the power source over the next few days. Here are some more pics from our recent events:

Summer Aerification, 1/4 inch tines

It may seem like we aerify greens just when they are starting to play their best, but the reason we do it is to keep them playing their best.  Today, we opened up the greens using some small, 1/4 inch tines.  This process was different than our spring and fall aerifications in a few ways.  For one, the holes are a little smaller meaning faster heal time.  We also dragged the plugs with a mat before picking them up to return some soil to the greens and speed the process.  Finally, we did not "cover" the greens with sand, but we will apply our regular, light topdress later in the week.

Here are a few pics of the work:

The first green nearly finished at 7:30

A very small plug with some nice roots

#16 

Dragging the plugs on #12

We expect the greens to be all healed up in about 3 days.  I'll be sure to share a photo of many white roots climbing down the channels we just made.  This process will benefit the greens for the rest of summer and is timed well for the upcoming, warm weather.  

We also had the wet well go in today.  Here is one picture for now with more to come tomorrow

Plans for the Rough

The maintenance department's priority list extends from the cup outwards.  So greens come first, followed by collars, approaches, fairways, tees, green surrounds and rough.  Just because rough is last, doesn't mean we haven't been working on it.

The rough at Bernardo Heights Country Club, like many other clubs, is a combination of many types of grasses.  Some turf types fare better than others with our soils, irrigation water, and climate conditions.  Bermuda is nearly indestructible and is the preferred grass for our roughs.  However, some areas have very little bermuda.  In these locations, we'll have to do our best with what we have.

Here is a short list of some of the problems in the rough with our intended solutions:

• Problem: Wrong turf type
• Solution:  Let the bad turf die and the good turf flourish
• Solution:  Seed, sod, and sprig what we need
• Problem: Tight soils
• Solution: Aerify  (In the middle of our second aerification in the last 3 months)
• Problem: Water quality
• Solution: Apply wetting agents to improve infiltration (2nd app just finished yesterday)
• Solution: Use organic acids to break up sodium  (2nd app is out)
• Problem:  Fertility
• Solution:  Include rough in regular fertility program (done)
• Problem:  Irrigation efficiency
• Solution: Change nozzles in sprinkler heads (fairways are finished, rough is next)
• Solution: Raise low sprinkler heads (an ongoing battle with steady progress)
• Solution:  Trim trees to allow path for irrigation (10 more trees today alone)

Notice that not a single solution involved more irrigation.  Once again, more water is not the answer.

Now for a few pictures:

 First up, a photo of the rough between the bunker and fairway on #17, much improved going into this summer.  The main reason was the two shots of fertilizer applied so far this season.  Most of our rough is not this thick or dense.  This is a good example of a blend of ryegrass and bermuda, the best of both worlds.  If the rye losses out to the heat, the bermuda should fill in easily.

 The picture to the left is an example of some problem rough.  This is mostly ryegrass and bermuda with depressions or pits where the poa annua has died.  If we have a lot of bermuda here, it will slowly fill the voids.  If there is mostly rye, then these pits are going to be a problem for a while.

Most of these areas have a bunch of thatch which comes from the annual cycle of Poa annua germination and subsequent death.  The roots left behind add to the 2-3 inch mat that already exists.  We have to remove this biomass to get grass to grow with some roots in the soil.  This will be achieved with aerification.  Once the Senior Amateur Qualifier is concluded next Monday, we get a break from tournaments and will really go after these areas.

The next two photos are different angles of the same area.  There are clumps of poa annua and ryegrass in a low bed of bermuda.  Here we will remove the cool season grasses and encourage the bermuda to fill in and grow strong.

Finally, our rough suffers from many forms of compaction, but none so common as the beloved golf cart.  I support a handicap flag program and agree that this course is fairly difficult to walk. So please, by all means, take your carts and drive where you need to go.  Just keep this in mind: if you find yourself this close to the cartpath, you might do us all a favor and walk the extra four feet.  The grass will thank you.