Pete Dye Golf Course Restoration Pictures

See some of the highlights from this past years work on the golf course. Navigate the slides by using the arrows below.

Pete Dye Visits Ford Plantation to Continue Design



Rain, sleet or snow did not stop Mr. Dye from working during his mid-December visit a week ago at TFP. Okay… it is South Georgia, so it doesn’t sleet or snow… However, it was cold and the golf course received significant rainfall as the Hall of Fame Architect made his way around the 18 hole course. Watching Pete Dye drudge through the torrential rain, mud and muck was simply inspiring. When the visit was completed, the club was awarded with a great photograph, (captured by Dr. Bill Thompson, Restoration & Green Committee Chair) of Mr. Dye on the 14^th golf hole encompassed by a colorful rainbow. A photo for the archives… Great shot Dr. Thompson!     

Mr. Dye reviewing the work at 9 green.

The main objective of Mr. Dye’s visit was to sign off on holes 7, 8, 9 and then continue design work on holes 10-18 and #1. In addition, a major point of emphasis was given to the 18^th, where Mr. Dye spent a couple of hours.

Some of the work being conducted currently includes:

·         Bunker drainage at 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13

·         Green drainage installation at 9

·         Earthwork at #1 golf hole

·         Storm water pipe installment at #2

·         Storm water pipe installment at #3

·         Green development at golf hole 1

·         Golf course drainage at 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 18

·         Bunker construction at 11

·         Storm water pump installation at 18 tee with discharge pipes incuded

·         Irrigation pump installation at the Lake Dye pump house

·         General grading and staking is occurring on the front 9 golf holes

·         Laser leveling of tees is beginning on specific holes

MacCurrach Golf Construction Company will resume work on the course on Monday the 30^th of December. Also, the construction company will observe New Year’s Day on the 1^st and then resume work following the holiday. Enjoy the latest photos from Mr. Dye’s most recent visit below and Happy Holiday’s from the Golf Course Maintenance Department.



#8 green has been developed.

Pete Dye and Project Architect Tim Liddy discussing strategy at a green side bunker.

Tim Liddy takes notes as Dye describes the design features for the 13 green complex.

Mr. Dye and Nelson flagging the 13th tee.

Dye and Liddy reviewing the #14 green site.

The rain belting in on the team. 

Mr. Dye took time to visit the staging area and review the infrastructure. The HDPE irrigation system shown in the back.

Mr. Dye designing the 16th green complex as Tim Liddy looks on.



Chris Kleinsmith and his team from MacCurrach Golf look on as Dye and Liddy discuss the 18th. 

Finally, Mr. Dye on the 13th golf hole as a rainbow stretches out over the horizon.

Turf Team Attends GCSAA Show in Orlando, FL

Last week our turf management team attended the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Industry Show (GIS) in Orlando, Florida. Nelson, Jared, and Brooks participated in a wide variety of continuing education classes where they learned the latest research and management practices being used in the industry. 

The GCSAA Show offers many seminars ranging from turfgrass related educaion to professional development.

Along with taking multiple seminars, Nelson teamed with Dr. Eric Ervin from Virginia Tech and Troy Fink from the Country Club of Virginia to teach a one day seminar on organic matter control on putting greens. Leading this seminar was a great experience for Nelson and the three were honored by being asked to present their seminar twice at next years show.

Jared took a variety of seminars as well, but the highlight of his week was teaching a seminar on networking for assistant superintendents. This was Jared’s first time teaching a seminar at the GIS show and he has been asked to present this seminar again to superintendents in a webcast next month.

Brooks felt the most interesting part of the show was the trade show where he learned of the newest pesticides, equipment, and fertilizers among other things. Coupled with taking several educational seminars, he felt like it was a great GIS show.

Researching the newest equipment and advances in technology on the trade show floor is one of the highlights of the show.

Assistant Matt Sumpter participated with his alma-mater Purdue in the collegiate turf bowl competition. This is a four hour examination which test participants in comprehensive golf course management including, but not limited to; turfgrass ID and management, pest identification, business, and mechanical knowledge. We are happy to announce out of 85 teams, Matt’s team finished second.



Matt helped Purdue place 2nd at the 19th Annual Collegiate Turf Bowl Competition.



Superintendent and Assistant Invited to Speak at the GCSAA Show in Orlando, FL!

Nelson Caron and Jared Nemitz have been invited to speak at the Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America Golf Industry Show in Orlando, FL next week.

Nelson will be speaking in the seminar "Greens Aerification and Water Management by the Numbers" with Dr. Erik Ervin from Virginia Tech and Troy Fink from the Country Club of Virgina. Nelson will be discussing how to optimize the health and playing performance of putting greens through sound aerification, topdressing, verticutting and hand-watering techniques.

Jared will be giving a talk aimed at current students and assistant superintendents on the importance of building relationships and networking in the golf course industry. His presentation is titled, "Networking Your Way to the Top: The Importance of Building Relationships".

Although Nelson and Jared have spoken at various conferences at seminars this will be the first time they have spoken at the Golf Industry Show. They are extremely excited about this great opportunity.

GIS SHOW WEB LINK

The Ford Plantation Agronomy Blog

Welcome to The Ford Plantation Agronomy Blog Spot presented by Director of Golf Course Maintenance, Nelson Caron. Feel free to navigate the blog and get caught up on the most current golf course maintenance practices and latest course conditions.

Major Scheduled Maintenance:

May 17-21, 2010...

Front 9 Greens Core Aeration

Front 9 Greens Soil Profile Amendment Rehabilitation Project

May 24-28, 2010...

Back 9 Greens Core Aeration

May 31-June 4, 2010...

Detailed attention to growing aeration holes on greens "back-in". Also to include greens topdressing to promote a smoother surface over aeration holes.

June 7-11, 2010...

Fairway Aeration

Tim Liddy, Golf Course Architect, from Pete Dye Designs here at Ford to meet with T&H Engineering Firm

Rough Scalping and Topdressing

Above: A quick aeration video

Current Course Conditions

Greens:

The greens aeration is complete on the front nine and back nine. So we now start the healing process of the aeration holes. I expect the greens to recover with in the next 2 weeks and reestablish smooth fast putting surfaces you all are accustom to by day 17. We can expect the front 9 greens to heal faster since they were aerated before the back nine.

Rest of course: fairways, tees and rough:

The fairways, tees and rough are playing very well right now. The bermudagrass is really enjoying this warm weather. The course is playing firm and fast due to the lack of rainfall this month. Tee balls hit with the driver are rolling a long way out...

Areas of Concern:
Due to the lack of rainfall, Lake Dye (the irrigation lake) is low. Therefore, to compensate we have reduced or completely eliminated watering large areas of turfgrass to conserve water. If the turfgrass becomes endangered of going through insurmountable stress, we will irrigate as necessary to keep the grass alive. So far, there is absolutely no danger of losing too much water or turf for that matter, but we will be cautious. It is summer time here in Savannah, so evening rain storms are inevitable... we just hope to get hit a few times to fill the lakes. This is the complete opposite of the wet winter we just went through.

Upcoming Golf Events Calendar

June 25, 2010...


American Cancer Society Tournament


June 29, 2010...


GA Golf Association Golf Tournament
Recent Project Update: Front 9 Greens Soil Amendment Rehabilitation Project


Before my arrival here at Ford, major turfgrass loss on the front 9 putting greens was experienced due to the turfgrass disease known as "Fairy-ring". Fairy-ring is a very troubling turf disease and occurs all over the country, especially here in the southeast. Once golf course putting greens get infected with Fairy-ring (FR) it is difficult to rid the putting surfaces of them.

After experiencing total turf death on portions of the front 9 greens the staff in 2007 decided to resod the infected areas. Today, the FR is under control in these areas but we still suffer turf decline in the exact same spots. After further investigation, it was clear why. When the 2007 staff replaced the sod on the greens they placed a bunker sand under the sod to level it with the rest of the existing green. This caused an immediate layering issue in the soil profile... a big problem when considering a sand based green composition and water infiltration. In short, the sand that was placed under the sod for leveling was not ideal for turf growth being mowed at putting green height... therefore we experienced decline.
The solution was then a simple decision, although a difficult labor intensive one. My staff had to excavate the unwanted material (the bunker sand under the existing sod) and replace it with a proper greens profile sand mix suitable for turf growth at putting green mowing heights. This was a big project and we are finally finished. The end results are encouraging and my staff will focus on establishing and growing these areas to the high putting greens standards our members have grown to enjoy. Here are some pictures of the project:









Pictured here is a perfect example of the layering issue caused by using 2 different types of sand in the greens profile. Notice the white bunker sand in the middle of this soil core.










Pictured here is a soil core sample taken from a green that was not patched with sod. This is what it should look like. Notice the grass growing on top of nice diluted greens mix.











Here we see the men and equipment needed to remove the front of # 6 green.











Notice in this slide, the white bunker sand on the left after the old sod has been removed and the bunker sand exposed. Also notice the original desired greens mix (yellow) on the right.





















Here the men apply a new desirable mix after removing the contaminated mix. We used a certified soil laboratory in the Northeast to verify that our local sand producer could blend a sand that matched our original greens mix as close as possible.








The next step was to blend the new mix with the old not encounter any layering. We used a rotto-tiller and the result was desirable. Here we see the old and new on its way to being blended.






A great deal of skill and care is required to lay the new putting green sod.












The finish product. It will take several months for this new grass to establish. We are hopeful that these areas will no longer decline and that we can provide the membership with best putting surfaces possible.