#18 Smile Drain Installation

This week we added a smile drain to the front left side of #18 green to address the pooling of water and to alleviate the weak turfgrass conditions that are the result of it.  We also raised and leveled the pair of irrigation sprinklers and quick coupler within close proximity to the project location.

#12 Greenside Bunker Lining

The recent redesign (2011) and resulting reduced square footage of the front-middle hazard protecting the green has hopefully saved a few strokes from one's game.  Lining bunkers with synthetic fabric to prevent contamination has been a standard practice for the past decade.  The benefits and longevity out way the negatives and cost a majority of the time, but ONLY if the liner is installed correctly and adequate sand is maintained within the hazard.   There are several pitfalls to avoid during the installation process and the most important one is to not skimp on the number of staples installed.  The staples secure the liner to the sub-floor and prevent the liner from lifting when snagged by raking or golf clubs.  In practice, I've learned that 8" is the minimum distance you want to space staples and they need to spaced no more than 4" apart on the seams and edges.  Installation of the liner should also mimic that of shingles on a roof.  The liner on Hole #12 had failed and required replacement for multiple reasons, but number one and number two on my list were lack of adequate stapling and lack of sand depth.

Only 1" of sand depth in most areas of the bunker

Removal of old liner and regrading of the sub-floor

Proper liner installation and adequate staples (1000+ staples for 450 sq ft)

Installing staples (mechanical staple guns can be used on large projects)

This is the volume of sand within the bunker to create a depth of 4"- more sand to be added

Raising Drain Basins

The "finish work" at Champions Club could be rated poor in several categories.  Although the course has only been open for seven years, the installation of the infrastructure has signs of poor quality workmanship.  One item I will focus on in this post is grade of the fairway drain basins.  Many of the 12" Nylo-plast collection basins present in the fairways present playability issues due to their "grade" within the fairway.  We have spent many man hours addressing the level of these basins this season and plan to continue to address these issues in the upcoming season.

Compaction Relief

One of the challenges with maintaing both a mountain style course and a Nicklaus Design is managing traffic and wear areas.  The design leads to the funneling of traffic to narrow corridors and limited access points.  One area we have addressed this season is the wear area at the walking access point to Hole #10 green.  The bare soil area was carved down and grass cell was installed.  The "honeycomb" style high density plastic material was pinned down and a mixture of soil and Bermuda sprigs was planted to produce the desired result.  The exact same product was later installed at the exit point of Hole #13 green to limit wear.