Chipping Green Work, Even In Winter

Happy New Year! So far we have had variety of weather this winter with a blizzard that left me sleeping on the couch in the clubhouse rather than risk the ride home and a 15 below temperature on Jan 1 followed by a warm up and almost 50 degrees on Jan 12th. Now the forecast is for very cold next week but in the Badger State you never know what is going to happen next.

I would have preferred the snow stayed around but the next best thing was most of it melting and the water running away through the drainage system to reduce the chance of ice cover. I walked the course Saturday and cleaned leaves off the drains and everything looked good.

Despite winter work continues on the new chipping green. If you read my last post you know we seeded the surrounds and installed the drain lines and a layer of pea gravel at the base of the green. Our next step was to install 7 truckloads of a 70% sand and 30% peat moss mix that meets USGA specifications for greens construction. This would take the green site from a hole in the ground that confused onlookers to a nice looking green site.

The heavy December snows left us with unfrozen ground and no way to get trucks to the green without damage. To fix that problem January 4th we blew the snow off in a path to the green from the parking lot to allow the ground to freeze so the heavy dump trucks could get to the green site. After four cold nights we had three loads of mix delivered one hour apart so we could gently move the mix across the site without disturbing the 3" gravel layer at the bottom.

The first load of sand being spread across the snow covered green base.

The snow was not removed in the green base because it would have

disturbed the 3" gravel layer.

 

Three loads of mix spread as a base to protect the gravel from silt washout

from the surrounds if we had a heavy rain storm. It also will provide a

base for the trucks to drive on to deliver the remaining mix.

 

 

As luck would have it the warm spell caused the snow to melt followed by a hard freeze so we could put in four more loads to fill the green site on January 16.

 

 

The new chipping green filled with mix as viewed from the putting green.

 

The new chipping green from the mounds.



 

The mix is in and rough graded but the frozen chunks prohibited us from doing a final grade. By having the mix in now mother nature will help pack and settle it through freeze thaw processes and spring rains. In spring the green will be final graded and seeded and with any luck be open for practice sessions in late July.



 

Our final job will be to finish the sand bunker with a final grade, drainage and sand installation.

 

Enjoy your winter and remember the golf shop is open on Wednesday and Saturday from 8-2 for your golf conversation needs.