Construction of 9 Fairway Bunkers

The master plan for the 9th hole consists of 3 phases. Phase 1 was completed early this spring which included the fairway expansion, bunker renovation and expansion along with all new irrigation. Phase 2 consists of adding three new fairway bunkers along the left side of the fairway behind the 3rd green and widening the fairway along the right side. Phase 3 is the construction of a large berm of varying height with two fairway bunkers replacing the area where the old silver maple was in the center of the fairway.

The Board of Governors upon recommendation from the Long Range Planning Committee has approved the construction of Phase 2 starting August 3rd. The process of this construction will be removing the two remaining white pines located behind the third green to allow for more sunlight on the 3rd green. The removal of these trees will remedy the thin turf issue on the rear of the 3rd green. Mounds will be constructed to protect players from being hit by golf balls from the 9th tee while playing the 3rd green. Three fairway bunkers will be placed 226 to 266 yards from the tee on the left of the fairway. The strategic value of these bunkers forces the lower handicap golfer to chose either driver challenging the bunker complex or 3-wood laying up of these bunkers. The 9th fairway will be widen opposite of the fairway bunkers allowing balls hit right to funnel back towards the fairway.

During the construction period which should last about 3 weeks the 9th hole will play as a Par3 during the week with tee markers placed about 110 yards from the green. Saturdays and Sundays the 9th hole will play to its regular length with all construction areas marked as Ground Under Repair. It is the goal of Board of Governors to have the renovated 9th hole open for play for the Labor Day Weekend and start of the club championships.

I urge any member with questions, comments, or concerns to contact me and I will be more than happy to explain the project in greater detail. I want to make the membership fully aware that Phase 3 is still in the discussion process with the Long Range Planning Committee and our architect Robert McNeil. The drawing above depicts two additional sand bunkers for Phase 3 although much discussion is being given to the idea of creating rolling mounds of rough similar to the 2nd hole instead of these additional sand bunkers. The project for this August is strictly Phase 2.

Course Update

Despite the rain and dreary days this week we were able to accomplish many tasks on the golf course. We verticut greens twice this week in two different directions removing a good amount of material including many long laid over blades of grass. We went aggressive this week as the window of cool weather is closing thus limiting our ability to verticut. The tees were also verticut and fertilized this week to generate some recovery from last weeks heat. The tees had not been verticut previously and the amount of material we removed was simply amazing. Our goal with all of this verticutting is a more denser and healthier turf canopy that is both aesthetically pleasing and much more playable. Monday I will be topdressing the greens with sand and working it into all the verticut channels really smoothing the greens, diluting thatch, and firming the greens.

The fairway expansions on 3 and 2 were aerated to help with all this rain as newly sodded area tend to hold water with all the thatch they come with from the sod farm. I did receive some complaints about the material that was applied to the greens on Thursday morning. I applied a granular gypsum product to the greens ahead of the rain which is an application that we apply monthly to the greens and approaches. Gypsum is a naturally mined product that provides calcium to the turf without changing the pH like lime would do. Calcium is essential is flocculating the soil(natural aeration) and displacing the sodium found in our irrigation water. The granules were sticking to the golf balls as only a small amount of rain fell instead of the predicted downpour. The gypsum will be irrigated in as to avoid any other ball roll implications.

This weekend is not only Father's Day but its also the US Open being held at Pinehurst. I had a great early Father's Day present with my daughter coming to visit at MGC on Wednesday. Bryn was very excited to learn about the stimpmeter and the ball washer. I encourage you to watch the US Open and see the major changes to the golf course. I am not sure the no rough and wire grass waste areas it will catch on like the telecasters are predicting but it sure is fun to watch.

Learning about the Stimpmeter

18th Hole at Pinehurst for US Open