Golf Course Report

November 2018

November’s Report tends to be one of my favorites to write.  We have finally made it through the summer and all the major projects.  The heat and humidity have or will be replaced by cooler drier air (we hope).  Our seasonal residents are filtering in for their first look at the course and grounds.  Most of our preparations were completed in the days leading up to Men’s Opening Day and Ladies Opening Day.  I would like to recognize the support of all our members, especially the year rounders, for their patience and understanding as we looked to make adjustments and improvements to the course during the summer months. 

Some final touches were completed in the last couple of weeks.  Our new winter annuals were installed just prior to opening day and a fresh coat of Pine Straw was applied.  Each year we monitor the success rate of each type of annual, this year we added a few new varieties in areas that are typically hard to maintain.  We work with the growers throughout the year to find site specific issues and plants that fit our needs.  The newly applied Pine Straw will help provide definition and contrast to the golf course and surrounding grounds.  This product also provides the proper acidity levels, moisture retention and weed barrier that will allow our bedding plants to thrive.  The last bit of pruning and trimming around the course will have the property in prim and proper shape as we head into season. 

I did state earlier that “we were through all the major projects” however we have one more to complete.  The irrigation system that was installed during our last renovation has some “kinks” that need to be ironed out.  Some of you may recall that 2 years after installation our fused fittings began to fail.  Our Irrigation Contractor returned to Stonebridge to replace these joints with a mechanical coupler, the manufacturer supplied the parts and our contractor covered the cost.  These first generation couplers have not performed well, leading to 2 to 4 leaks per week.  The good news is, the manufacturer has developed an upgraded coupler that has proven to hold up in the field.  We actually have quite a few of them throughout the course and have yet to have one fail.  The plan is to replace all of the effected connections with these 2^nd generation couplers.  To accomplish this, our contractor will be supplying the labor to dig up each joint and repair it correctly, again, at no cost to Stonebridge.  Here is the catch; to be the most efficient we need to tackle this project in December.  This allows the contractor to pull all of his available teams to our property in an effort to not prolong our agony.  Their staff is adept at working around golfers and we are in agreement that they will vacate the property before January.  We are not alone; at least 4 other clubs have recently gone through this conversion.  This necessary evil will be a short inconvenience for our club but a welcome sight to our Irrigation Team.  Bob and Lorgio have done a wonderful job of maintaining our system and they are looking forward to giving their shovels a bit of rest.  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.