Progress Report

The pace is picking up these past few weeks and we are making great progress.  Our wish list is always longer than we can complete, but we are getting a lot done with our small winter team.

Tree work on hole 3 is underway and the contractor will be finished sometime next week I think.  Adam's Tree and Landscaping is a well oiled machine and I would recommend them to anyone in Fawn Lake.  As other postings and notices have indicated, we are removing roughly 70 trees that are too close to the path.  The path repairs will be made in the fall as the plan stands now.  We hope to be able to do some root pruning in areas where the trees are far enough from the path to do so safely.  In the case of hole 3 the trees are so close to the path that root pruning would make the trees unstable and dangerous.  Contrary to what you may have heard at the 19th hole, we started on 3 because we deemed that to be the biggest problem and we wanted to make a significant dent asap.  Next in line for tree work is probably holes 6 and 7.

Our guys have lots of tree work to do as well.  We've removed roughly 20 dead trees in the past two weeks.  Unfortunately, stumps from trees we cut don't get ground right away and the logs are stockpiled at our shop.

The new look won't be much different, but we can have a smoother path now. 
Concrete work is planned for the fall.

Trees that were too close to the path for root pruning to be an option were removed.  

The irrigation pumps were removed earlier this winter for repairs.  The skid and manifold that the pumps are attached to needed replacing.  This issue has been poking its head up every summer for the past few years so we are excited for the upgrade.  Last year you may remember an incident where one of the pumps broke away from the skid.  This set up was custom made and should hold together for another 25 years we hope.  Obviously it's not as exciting as a new clubhouse, but it allows us to have a living golf course.

The old set up.  This pictures was taken in 2001.  The note is from last year.

New skid and manifold under construction

New skid just arrived and will go back in the water soon.

Winter weed control in the zoysia has been ongoing whenever conditions have been suitable.  We need a bunch of things to go our way in order to complete this job.  The ground has to be dry enough for us to get the sprayer out, the wind must be calm,  the temperature must be above freezing, there can't be any rain in the near forecast, the golf course must be nearly free from golfers.  The ground has been too wet most of the time and when it isn't some other variable fails to cooperate.  This year it looks like we are going to get it done completely which will be a huge boost to spring conditions. 

In some places, poa annua is rampant in the dormant zoysia

A good pic from a few years ago shows the difference between treated and untreated.  

Ryan on the sprayer making a perimeter lap around the fairways

The clubhouse is nearing completion and we will shift our focus from the course to installing irrigation and landscaping.  We'll get some outside support for some of it, but will do the site work and planting in-house.  This is a big job that will keep us busy for at least a couple of weeks.  Hopefully we can get it done before the season cranks up much more.  Ginny and I have been busy planning things related to this project since before it broke ground.  We are both anxious to get it completed.  The clubhouse expansion is a fantastic addition to our club and we are happy to be a part of it.