Spring 2016 Top 10 Course Improvements Ranked by Greenstaff

This morning during our morning meeting I congratulated the staff for their hard work getting the course looking so good for this early in the season.  As a small celebration I asked them to reflect on what they felt were the best improvements going into the May long weekend.  They came up with the following top 10 list:


10. Pine Grove Pruning and Removals Behind No. 8 Green

The red pines behind No. 8 green were limbed up last winter to enhance the view looking up No. 8 and down from No. 10.  A couple of bordering trees were removed that were structurally inconsistent with the rest of the grove that had been recently struck by lightning.  Pine straw has been placed over the base of these trees for a truly stunning look!

9. New Flag Pole

The flag pole was relocated from the area on the hillside left of No. 10 fairway to the prominent location in front of Lilliwood in the triangular garden.

8. View of Lake From No. 12 Tee

The trees screening the fence in front of No. 12 tee were removed to enhance the view of the lake from the teeing ground.  From a safety aspect you can now see whether there are golfers playing up No. 15 fairway and vice-versa to be able to yell fore!

7. Treework In Forest Between No. 7 and No. 11

Deadwooding and thinning of trees in the bush between No. 7 and No. 11 helps give the remaining trees space to grow and enhances the view, and breezes across the property.  The site-lines of the road while playing off No. 8 tee has been greatly increased as a result of this treework.

6. New Facility Maintenance Buildings

Low impact on golfers with this one, but a few storage buildings were added around the maintenance area to house equipment and supplies.  They are custom modified shipping containers which provide valuable storage for the invested dollars.

5.  Bushline Treework Right of No. 3 Approach

The bushline right of No. 3 approach was starting to crowd in the approach shots to the 3rd green.  The first row of trees were removed from roughly 100 yards out to open up the play towards the right greenside bunker.

Bushline No. 3 Approach Before

Bushline No. 3 Approach After

4. Ditchwork and Cartpath Grading No. 6 Green

One of the big little improvements the crew completed this spring was the cleanup of the cartpath washout onto the rough right of No. 6 approach.  Previous to this year, during heavy rains, the cartpath material would wash down onto the rough by the pine tree.  The cartpath was regraded to instead slope towards the bushline, and a drain was installed to catch the water.  The material dump-age around the pine tree was stripped away and topsoil and sod was replaced.

6T Path regrading and rough sodding

3. New Equipment

Without the proper tools to do the job, it's difficult to produce a superior product out on the golf course.  The Greens Committee (and Board of Directors) have been supportive over the years and this year was no exception with the addition of some of the following items:

Three of the older Toro Flex 21's were replaced with the new Greenmaster Flex 2120 walker mowers equipped with 14-blade reels containing the new harder steel in the cutting units that stay sharper for longer.

A totally electrically driven Toro Greenmaster eFlex 2100 was purchased for early morning quiet cutting around the 9th, putting green, chipping green and 18 in the early a.m.

The two 3500-D rough trim mowers were replaced which mow around greens, tees, bunkers surrounds and trees.

Our Kubota cab tractor was replaced with the Kubota 6060 with slightly more horsepower to handle running some of the heavy implements and trailers and came with a loader for more versatility.










2.  New Staff

The entire new staff this season has all been extremely dedicated, hard working, and pulling in the same direction as a team.  The addition of Cory King this season as 2nd Assistant, has given a great boost to the this year after that position was left vacant early last season.

1.  New Bunkers

The new bunkers completed last fall by Carrick Design were the number one ranked improvement for 2016.  The newly designed shapes are built in the flavour of Stanley Thompson's work, have great drainage and beautiful sand to play out of.  The floors of the bunkers were raised slightly and the approaches were widened in most cases for added playability.

Newly renovated and highly playable No. 18 approach and bunker

We hope you enjoy the improvements so far this season.  Have a great May long weekend!