Thursday, May 29, 2014

Just 7 More Days, A New Cart Rule, and What Comes Next!

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"!  Today is Thursday, May 29th and I would like to take a moment and bring everyone up to speed with current golf course conditions, as well as what to expect as we enter into summer.  2014 has been a very busy spring golf season.  We hosted two qualifying tournaments for the PGA Tour Wells Fargo Championship.  Just three weeks ago we had a very successful Member-Guest, and this past weekend we conducted our annual Member-Member Championship.  The Member-Member is one of only two member tournaments annually contested over 54 holes (Men's Club Championship).  With an even bigger event next week, my staff and I used the Member-Member to fine tune what we want to accomplish with regards to golf course conditioning.

 Although some effects of the cold winter and cool spring still linger in a few places, overall the golf course has been in remarkable condition for the events previously mentioned.  Firm and fast fairways make for a fun test of golf, and one area that has not shown any ill effects the past month is the putting surfaces.  I do believe right now the greens are the best they have ever been with regards to the combination of surface firmness, smoothness and speed, and that is what we have been striving for as we head into our final event this spring... the 54th North Carolina Amateur Championship conducted by the Carolinas Golf Association!

Hopefully by now you have seen the letter from Will Barr, Club President mentioning the historical significance of Carolina Golf Club hosting the CGA's North Carolina Amateur Championship.  I can assure you, we here in golf course maintenance are very excited for the club and the challenge before us.  In a memo I recently presented to my staff outlining our work schedule next week I wrote, "Carolina Golf Club is honored to have been selected as the host club for the 2014 North Carolina Amateur Championship.  This year's tournament will mark the 54th playing of this competition.  The tournament will consist of two days of practice rounds (June 3-4) and 72 holes of stroke play (June 5-8).  This is the single biggest event ever contested in the history of Carolina Golf Club.  Our job is to prepare and present the golf course to the competitors each day in peak condition.  Our members are very eager to showcase their golf course to the best amateur players in the state, and it is our mission to ensure our members are not disappointed.  I have absolutely no doubt we will be successful in our mission!"  

 Next week I will be blogging about our experience as we prepare the golf course for this prestigious championship.  I will not be emailing daily updates (Twitter followers will receive notification), but feel free to check out the website each day for a behind the scenes look at what goes into preparing a course for true championship golf.

 In other news, from this moment forward I respectfully request all cart traffic on the golf course be limited to the fairways.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  When weather conditions permit golf car traffic on the course (which is most of the time), please access the fairway quickly and then REMAIN ONLY in the fairway until you exit back to the path prior to reaching the green.  I am making this recommendation in an effort to grow consistent turf in the roughs.  Carolina is a popular place to play, and we do a fair number of cart rounds.  High traffic volume increases compaction leading to thin, low growing areas with poor performance and this is detrimental to overall golf course definition.  I know this will take some getting used to, and yes you may need to walk a few extra steps to reach your ball in the rough, but over time you will see a dramatic improvement in turf color and density in these areas.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

 As we close this year's spring golf season and transition into summer here are a few key notes on what to expect on the golf course before fall.  We will be aerating the putting greens June 9th and 10th.  This is a small core aeration (0.25" diameter tine size) we perform annually at this time of year.  This aeration targets the compaction from the extensive mowing and rolling associated with our busy spring season, and helps promote gas exchange in the root zone as we enter the critical hot and humid months.  We will also be installing the fans on those greens equipped with them for the remainder of the summer season.  Friendly reminder these fans are critical tools for our bentgrass greens, as they assist with air circulation in those portions of the property with compromised micro-environments and I ask you refrain from turning them off.

 June 16th and 17th marks our annual fairway aeration.  I already know what you're thinking, but this year you will be pleasantly surprised as we will be performing a solid tine aeration (no cores) and topdressing with sand (remember the old bunker sand we replaced this past winter).  Over the next two months (mid-June through mid-August) we will be making every effort to cultivate healthy bermudagrass turf on the golf course.  We will be aerating, topdressing, fertilizing, verticutting, etc. on tees, collars, approaches, fairways and roughs in order to assist the turf in fully recovering from the ill effects of last winter and ready itself for another busy fall tournament season.

 Finally, I know several of you are wondering when we will open the newly constructed range tee located at the far end of the range.  That tee will open for use on Wednesday, June 11th.  Until then...

 See you on the course,

 Matthew Wharton
Golf Course Superintendent

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Thursday, May 15, 2014

Firm Greens and a Fungus Among Us!

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"!  Today is Thursday, May 15th and the rain appears to have set in, so there is no better time than the present to blog about what's going on at Carolina Golf Club.  Earlier this morning there was a tornado warning issued for Mecklenburg County, but fortunately we were not affected.  Since my last post the month of May has brought some much needed warmer weather to our region.  Thirteen of the past fourteen days have seen high temperatures at or above normal, and for the past eleven consecutive days temperatures have been in the 80's F!  That is good news for our bermudagrass tees, fairways, and roughs!  The golf course is looking more and more each day like her old self rather than some semi-dormant piece of land that overslept and is trying to shake off some cobwebs.  Granted there is a cold front associated with this rain we are currently experiencing that will bring some chilly morning temperatures the next few days, but I do not expect to see any adverse effects on our bermudagrass playing surfaces.  That is good news with our Member-Member Championship and the North Carolina Amateur Championship right around the corner!

 Last week was our annual Member-Guest tournament and many of you had very positive things to say about the condition of the golf course.  I want to thank you on behalf of my staff for your kind words!  After the damaging winter and cold spring I was starting to worry about this year's event.  I mentioned to several members in conversation maybe the golf course had looked better in the past this time of year, but I really don't think it had ever played any better.  The fairways were firm and fast and I was paid the ultimate compliment by one of our members when he said, "Matthew the greens are so firm it is hard to find a ball mark!"  When you have bentgrass greens, that's the way they should be.

 I do want to share with you some information about our bermudagrass turf, and explain some things you may be noticing and possibly curious about.  The first is thin areas.  Currently on the far right side of the first fairway along with some areas on five, eight, fifteen and eighteen you will find turf that is suffering from winter injury.
First Fairway
Although all the golf course turf was affected by the harsh winter, these areas were more greatly compromised by their individual environments.  On the first hole this area stays in constant shade caused by the shadows from the line of trees on the south side of the fairway.  In 2010, this turf actually suffered winter kill and had to be replaced with new sod, but a closer inspection this year shows many surviving green plants.

It's Alive!

The other areas I mentioned were compromised by the extremely wet conditions experienced this winter.  Nearly 20 inches of rain fell on Carolina between December 2013 and March of this year.  Throw in another 8 inches last month and these areas spent more time under water, even with internal drainage.  Last week we verticut these damaged areas to break up the crusty layer that formed and was inhibiting bermudagrass regrowth.  We will pay these areas extra attention with fertilizer treatments and topdressing and everything will be good as new before you know it.

 Another bermudagrass topic I want to discuss is a fungal disease commonly called Spring Dead Spot (SDS).  SDS is noticeable after the bermudagrass breaks winter dormancy and is seen as mostly circular, depressed patches of straw-colored turf.  The patches may range anywhere from 6 inches to 3 feet in diameter and are slow to completely fill in and grow over with healthy turf.
Spring Dead Spot
SDS typically occurs in mature turfs (more than 5 years old) and with our golf course renovation/restoration occurring in 2008, we now find ourselves dealing with this issue.  SDS is a confounding turf disease because it is incited by three different fungal pathogens Leptosphaeria, Ophiosphaerella, and Gaeumannomyces each with their own specific environmental triggers, thus the severity of SDS may not be consistent from one year to the next.  What we do know is although the disease symptoms appear in the spring, the fungal agents living in the soil typically infect the plants in the fall, as the plant begins to enter winter dormancy.  Last spring we noticed SDS in certain portions of the golf course and mapped those areas in order to apply fungicides last fall.  We are mapping the course again this year for the same purposes, and also to compare the severity from year-to-year.  Also, I  was recently asked by the Virginia Tech Department of Turfgrass Pathology to submit samples for some research they are conducting on the disease, so hopefully our assistance will benefit us down the road.

 Earlier I mentioned the comment about the firmness of our putting surfaces.  In order to promote good water infiltration and assist oxygen entering the root zone it's important to vent the surfaces regularly.  This past Monday we vented the putting greens with needles tines and then rolled the surfaces smooth.  The holes are so small you don't notice them but they work like magic and are critical to the long term health of our greens.
During the venting process intern James Dennett spotted this view from behind the 6th green and shared it with me.  The clouds really caught his eye, especially in black and white!



See you on the course,

 Matthew Wharton
Golf Course Superintendent
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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Let's Get Caught Up!

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"!  Today is Wednesday, April 30th and it's been way too long since my last post!  My sincerest apologies loyal readers for making you wait... now if I can just come up with something worth it.  Since our last time together I have attended The Masters, had the golf course inspected, took an exam (more on that in a future post), and hosted two qualifying tournaments for the PGA Tour... all while wondering what the heck is up with this weather!
Usually this space is reserved for the obligatory weather recap.  Some of you may wonder why I am so fixated on something I cannot control, but golf is a game played on a surface comprised of millions (perhaps billions) of living breathing grass plants, all exposed to Mother Nature's elements.  The weather helps "paint the picture" or "tell the story" as they say.  Much has already been said about the winter experienced over most of the country this year, but thus far spring hasn't been very "spring like" either.

April 2014, Charlotte Douglas International Weather Data 
The calendar depicted above comes from Weather Underground, and one of the things you should notice is the color coding for actual temperatures.  April started off quite warm but then quickly dropped below average for several days.  This pattern repeated itself all month like a roller coaster leaving turfgrass plants confused.  Also, not only did we experience large temperature swings this month, but April 2014 was the wettest month here at Carolina (with 7.97 inches rain) since August 2008 (8.59 inches, mostly courtesy of Tropical Storm Fay).  Needless to say me and my staff are ready for some good ol' Carolina blue skies and warm temperatures.  Its time for some sunscreen, a wide brimmed hat, and a green golf course!

Nice Hat!
Recently we completed hosting two qualifying tournaments for the PGA Tour's Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club.  This was the 5th consecutive year Carolina Golf Club served as the qualifying site.  156 players without status on either the PGA or Web.com tours teed it up this past Thursday for the right to advance to Monday's Event Qualifying Tournament.  Only the top 50 and ties from Thursday were paired with those tour members not already exempt into the Wells Fargo Championship field.  63 players advanced from pre-qualifying and we had 101 total tee it up Monday for only 4 spots in this week's PGA Tour event... not great odds.  As has become customary, there was a dramatic playoff for the final spot with three young men playing holes 10 and 18 in sudden death for the final entry into this year's tournament.  After 8 grueling holes, and nearly running out of daylight, Fielding Brewbaker from Salem, Virginia won with a par after his opponent's tee shot found the water leading to an unfortunate bogey.  
Sidenote: Fielding had to go through pre-qualifying last Thursday to get into Monday's Event Qualifying Tournament, and made the cut Thursday on the number!

For me and my staff, these qualifying tournaments are our "little taste of the big time" as we pull out all the stops to provide true tournament quality conditions for each event.  We want to showcase Carolina Golf Club on your behalf to these individuals playing our favorite game for a living as a true classic maintained to the highest standards.  
From the feedback I received from several members who caddied Monday, I believe we were successful once again, and have one of the better reputations on tour among qualifying sites.  I would be remiss if I didn't give a huge thank you to my staff for all their efforts this past week... wait, I did!

In other news, for those of you that may have missed it earlier, the newly constructed tees this winter are now open for your enjoyment.  Although the Carolinas PGA Section did not use the new tee on 13 (they opted to play the hole as a 470 yard par 4 for pace of play purposes), they did use the new tee on 18 this past Monday. 
Although these new tees are ready for play, the newly constructed tee at the back of the driving range is still a little ways off (it has only received one mowing as of this time).  We are working diligently to complete the grow in of what we hope will be a wonderful addition to our already outstanding practice facilities.  We will inform everyone of its status just as soon as we can.

Of course preparing the golf course for tournaments is hard work but it is also a lot of fun.  I mean, who doesn't enjoy showing off every once in a while, and no tournament says "showing off" more than Member-Guest!  Next week is the annual Carolina Member-Guest and me and my staff are ready to help you show off your golf course to your esteemed guests!  Each day the course gets better and better and I expect the golf course to be in fantastic condition when your guests arrive.  Looking forward to it!

See you on the course,

Matthew Wharton
Golf Course Superintendent
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Monday, April 7, 2014

Aeration Recovery, Bermudagrass Green-up, Biodiversity, and The Masters!

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"!  Today is Monday, April 7th and day one of Masters week! It has also been pouring rain all morning and all I see as I look across the course is standing water. Between one to two inches of rain is expected today (so much for firm and fast), so you can expect golf cars to be restricted to the paths for a few days this week.  

 It has been exactly three weeks since we aerated our putting greens and I would like to share with you my thoughts.  Despite some weather related challenges experienced during the process, overall I am pleased with the results.  After spending a good deal of time on the greens this weekend during course setup, I can say I am also a little disappointed and pleased at the same time.  I am disappointed with where the greens are after 21 days compared to my expectations, but pleased they are ahead of last year's spring recovery.  My thoughts are the greens are recovering about one week behind compared to normal.  This weekend the greens looked like greens aerated two weeks ago as opposed to three.  Granted, we did experience six mornings with low temperatures at or below freezing within the first 10 days after aeration this year (including back-to-back mornings of 24 F on March 26th and 27th).  Temperatures that low don't just slow the plant's metabolic processes, they bring things to a halt.  Thankfully temperatures since April arrived have been more conducive for bentgrass growth and recovery, heck the temperatures last week were good enough to start waking up dormant bermudagrass!

 This past week we applied Ferrous Sulfate to the dormant leaf tissue on all tees and fairways in order to darken or "stain" the bermudagrass canopy.  This is the third consecutive year we have performed this application.  The effect generated allows us to enhance the post-dormancy green-up of the bermudagrass plant. 
Essentially, what we are doing to the turf is creating a warming effect, similar to that feeling you get when you wear a black or navy golf shirt on a sunny day.  The darkened canopy draws and retains more heat from the sun which in turn helps wake up the sleepy plant from its winter hibernation.  
This year's application went very well and the golf course has continued to slowly green-up this week despite temperatures dropping back below normal over the weekend.
Last week our lake management service provider, Solitude Lake Management, was on hand to stock our three ponds with a variety of fish species. 
In general, stocking fish helps create a balanced ecosystem that is better able to maintain itself and have better overall water quality.  Some of the fish species stocked include Fathead minnows, Bluegills, Shellcrackers, Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish, and Triploid Grass Carp.  The Fathead minnows eat mosquito larvae.  The Bluegills eat aquatic insect larvae.  The Shellcrackers target mollusks and help break the cycle of parasites affecting fish health and fish populations in some ponds.  The bass and catfish add great recreational value.  The grass carp will eat many submersed aquatic weeds and are widely used in the U.S. to help reduce the amount of chemicals introduced into water bodies to control certain aquatic weed species.  Overall, having these fish species in our ponds will just help us have better ponds, and cleaner water.  Just remember...Catch and Release!

 Okay, The Masters is finally here and that can only mean one thing...it is time to reopen the driving range tee!  Close but not exactly.  We will open the grass portion of the range tee later this week but expect to be back on the artificial turf early next week until the bermudagrass begins to grow regularly. Right now the turf is greening-up as it exits winter dormancy, but it is still not quite ready to grow vigorously and recover from divots and wear. When using the range tee it is always important to use the tee in a manner that helps promote healing and recovery.  Just look at the difference this example shows!
Proper Driving Range Divot Management

We will use the range tee sparingly these next couple of weeks until long term warmer weather arrives. Until then, enjoy The Masters and I look forward to seeing you on the course!

 See you on the course,

 Matthew Wharton
Golf Course Superintendent

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Friday, March 21, 2014

Aeration Wrap-up, Tributes, New Gadget, & Next Week!

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"!  Today is Friday, March 21st and spring officially arrived yesterday...I don't know about you, but that certainly seemed like one of the longer winters I can remember.  Actually, I don't believe we have seen or felt the last of Old Man Winter, but we are not here to dwell on that now...the sun is shining high in the skies over Carolina and tomorrow is supposed to be even better...but the putting greens are aerated :(

 Yes, the putting surfaces were core aerated this week, but the secret to great bentgrass putting greens in the humid southeast is core aeration!  For you new members or those not familiar with The Greenkeeper you can CLICK HERE to discover more about why core aeration is important.  If that doesn't satisfy you, CLICK HERE to read even more.

 I would be remiss if I didn't give praise to my staff for their effort this week!  Core aeration is a laborious task by itself, throw in three days of clouds, rain, mist, fog, and even freezing drizzle and you can see where things got a little challenging.  It was so dreary this week we may have suffered from vitamin D deficiency!
First Green of the Day!
Last Green!


















You may notice in the first two images the aerator operators are bundled up just as much on the last green as they are on their first one.  Monday was a cold, damp day!  Day 2 saw us band together to begin the clean-up process since the weather wasn't very cooperative on Day 1.
Core Pushers!
We managed to get all the greens cleaned off on Tuesday, but we were unable to begin topdressing. Here's a question for you, "How do you know it has been a crazy winter?"  When the sand plant is iced over and cannot deliver topdressing for your spring aeration!  That's right, we had just a light "glistening" or "shimmering" on the trees here in Charlotte Tuesday morning due to some light freezing drizzle.  Up the road in Marston, NC (between Rockingham and Pinehurst) they experienced enough ice to shut down operations and deliveries for the day, so our topdressing sand didn't arrive until Wednesday morning.
Spread it on Thick!
Sweep it in!



















We're Done
With spring aeration behind us we now set our sights on final preparations before growing season arrives.  In the coming days/weeks we will be treating all natural/native areas for spring/summer weed control.  We will be installing new sod to the right of the cart path on number 11.  We will also spread fresh mulch in the beds around the clubhouse, parking areas, and on the golf course.

 This past Monday was St. Patrick's Day but it was also the birthday of Bobby Jones.  When I was growing up watching golf I thought Jack Nicklaus was the greatest golfer to ever play the game.  I have spent the majority of my career in the golf course maintenance industry in the Tiger Woods era, and some may argue his abilities and accomplishments.  When I read Mark Frost's book, "The Grand Slam" a few years ago I became convinced Bobby Jones is the greatest golfer to have ever played the game.  Last time I commented about our bunker project and how we were compacting the sand to prevent plugged lies.  One of your fellow members sent me an email with a link to an awesome video. CLICK HERE to enjoy a look back at a different time in our country's history and receive a lesson in proper bunker play...pay close attention around the 6:00 minute mark!

 Real quick I want to mention a new addition to The Greenkeeper.  If you look to your right at the top of the page you should notice a box containing my Twitter feed.  This is called a gadget or widget in computer lexicon.  I recently saw this feature on Adam Garr's blog page and thought it would be nice to incorporate this feature here for those of you not on Twitter, but would like to gain access to the course information I post.  Adam is the golf course superintendent of Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield, Michigan outside Detroit.  If you think we have had a bad winter you should check out Adam's blog at PHCCGREENS.BLOGSPOT.COM.

That's all for now.  I hope you get out and enjoy the nice weather today and tomorrow before things turn off cold again.  This coming Monday and Tuesday I will be in Pinehurst representing Carolina Golf Club at the USGA Green Section's SE Regional Meeting.  Check the Twitter feed for updates.

 See you on the course,

 Matthew Wharton
Golf Course Superintendent

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Course Projects, Greens Aeration, and The CGA!

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"!  Today is Thursday, March 13th and Old Man Winter is making his presence felt once more.  The cold, blustery conditions today are definitely a far cry from the 78 F and 77 F high temperatures enjoyed Tuesday and Wednesday in the Queen City.  Of course, March always has been the most erratic in this region as we transition from winter to spring.  Large temperature swings are not uncommon as March usually feels more like a roller coaster than a slow, gradual warm-up.  Enough about the weather for now, last time I promised some information about course conditions and agronomic practices, and later I will wrap up with thoughts on spring.

 In the past few weeks my staff has been busy carrying out several projects geared to improve course conditions as spring weather arrives.  First, all the bermudagrass turf was treated with pre-emergent herbicide (Ronstar Flo) for the prevention of crabgrass and goosegrass.  We do this annually to prevent these two annual, grassy weeds from invading our tees, fairways, and roughs. We will also be treating all of the natural/native areas with a combination of two pre-emergent herbicides (Gallery and Barricade) to prevent annual grassy and broad leaf weeds.  The natural/native area application is scheduled for next week.

 Another project that has recently kept us busy is compacting the newly installed bunker sand.  The sand was compacted at the time it was originally installed, and we have received over 15 inches rain dating back to December 1st, but I noticed golf balls are still encountering plugged lies in these refurbished bunkers.  It is important to note plugged lies are quite common in new sand until enough time elapses for proper settling to occur.  We are using our vibratory plate-tamp to work through the bunkers again in an effort to reduce/minimize the likelihood of plugged lies occurring.  As of today my staff has compacted the sand on holes 1-9, 14-18, and the two practice bunkers, so we are close to wrapping up this project.

 Last week I had a small crew make their way around the property trimming and removing low hanging branches from numerous hardwood trees.  This was done to promote greater sunlight penetration to the turf below.  If doing this simultaneously promotes your chance at an easier recovery should your golf ball come to rest behind one of these specimens, just consider yourself fortunate!

 The big ticket item on the upcoming agenda is of course greens aeration.  We are scheduled to aerate the putting surfaces this coming Monday and Tuesday (March 17-18).  The golf course will be closed BOTH days to permit me and my staff adequate time to perform this important agronomic task, essential to the long term health and performance of our beloved putting greens.  Right now the early forecasts for Monday are a little "iffy" so please check with the golf shop early next week for course availability should we carry over into Wednesday.  I do not see that being necessary at this time (at least not for holes 1-18), but things could change between now and then. 

 Of course before we tear them up it is time for the annual Carolina Cup!  This Saturday and Sunday kicks off our member tournament season with the first official event of 2014.  Best of luck to those two-man teams participating this year.  Have fun!

 In some other news, preparations for the 54th North Carolina Amateur Championship, to be contested at Carolina Golf Club June 5-8, are underway!  Early last week we met with Andy Priest, Director of Tournament and Internet Operations from the Carolinas Golf Association to discus many details regarding the event.

 The CGA is very excited to bring their second oldest championship to Carolina and me and my staff are honored to prepare the golf course on your behalf!  Speaking of the CGA, we also met last week with Michael Dann, Director of Handicapping and Course Rating to measure the new tees and discuss their impact to the course ratings.  Michael is working on the formulas and will be in contact with Head Professional Jeff Peck soon.

 Finally, I told you I would share my early thoughts on when spring might arrive.  After one of the coldest winters to affect the entire U.S. in decades, my sources tell me do not expect a rapid warm-up.  Having said that, spring will eventually arrive here and I am hoping we will be able to treat the golf course before the end of this month to enhance bermudagrass green-up.  For those of you in the know, you may recall we did not make our annual Iron Sulfate applications on our tees and fairways until April 1st last year (CLICK HERE), so if we are able to successfully treat the golf course before the end of March after a winter like this year's, I would say we are fortunate.  Just like you, me and my staff are ready for winter to be over, ready for spring to arrive, ready to see some green grass, and ready for some golf!

See you on the course, 

 Matthew Wharton
Golf Course Superintendent



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Friday, March 7, 2014

Construction Update and Weekend Golf!

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"!  Today is Friday, March 7th and the golf course is currently closed due to unplayable conditions.  Over two inches of rain has fallen in Charlotte since late yesterday, with more expected, and the golf course is saturated with widespread areas of standing water.  More on these conditions and their impact later.  First I want to bring everyone up to speed on our golf course renovation projects, then we'll discuss course conditions and what to expect this weekend.

 In my post from January 17th, Bunkers, Tees, Twitter, and More! I mentioned our contractor, Golf Course Services, Inc.(GCS) had wrapped up the bunker renovations and we were getting started on a few tee projects. First, a new back tee for number 13 was built.  Architect Kris Spence was on hand to locate and design the tee.
Architect Kris Spence and JD of GCS
Next, we moved to the new range tee located at the far end of the driving range.  Again, Kris designed the tee and GCS performed the construction work.  This project took a little longer than hoped due to the two snow storms experienced in late January and mid-February, but I am happy to report this project is also complete.  I posted several photos of this project on January 29th, Winter Weather, Project Updates, and The GIS! and here are a couple of the finished product.  The tee's large size does not allow for photos to accurately capture the features. This project turned out better than anticipated, and you will just have to wait and see it in person to truly value and appreciate what has been created for your enjoyment.
View of Range From New Tee
View of Short Game Area From New Tee

















We then moved on to the most notable change to the golf course, the teeing areas for numbers 14 and 18.  You may recall in that same post from January 17th I referenced a new option emerging with respect to the teeing areas of those two holes.  The original idea was to join the back tees of the two holes in a fashion similar to what currently exists on holes 6 and 8.  However, when examined in the field that day Kris developed a stronger plan that required additional discussion at the committee level and board approval.  To their credit, the Greens Committee and Kris met on a very cold day in late January to hear Kris's idea and review its merits.

To make a long story short, the new plan was approved and the design change implemented. Essentially what we have created is a new tee for number 18 significantly lengthening the golf hole. Kris explained to the committee when Ross designed the hole the pond fronting the green did not come into play off the tee, but rather was a hazard to be navigated on the approach shot into the green.  Unfortunately, with modern technology and agronomics the pond had become a reachable hazard from the tee while simultaneously being blind to the player. Lengthening this hole allowed us to restore the hole to be played as Ross originally intended.

 How did we do this?  This was accomplished by constructing a new tee in the area where the back tee for number 14 used to be located.  In order to do that, we had to relocate the back tee for number 14 to the right side of the golf car path. In the process, a few trees were removed, another relocated, and another trimmed significantly.  Also, the old golf car path was removed and a newly routed path installed providing better flow and accessibility.  
Clearing For New Tee #14
Kris Spence Aligning New Tee #14
Small White Oak Being Transplanted









Sand Cap Installed and Compacted New Tee #14


Newly Routed Cart Path Installed

New Back Tee #18
New Path Between Back Tees #'s 18 & 14 
Although the new tees for numbers 14 and 18 are complete, they along with the newly constructed tee for number 13 will remain out of play for the near future.  The sod needs time to take root and provide stability to the newly constructed areas before they will be ready to accommodate traffic.  I know there are many of you anxious to try out the golf holes from the new tees, but please exercise patience as we allow nature to take its course.

This renovation project is nearly complete as GCS has just a few loose ends to tie up.  It has been a long, cold, and wet four months (GCS started on the bunkers November 4th), but the benefits to the golf course and your member experience will be evident soon.  It has been fun working with Kris and JD on this project.  Many days reminded me of the fond times we have shared during the other projects we have all worked on together helping make Carolina what you enjoy today.  This job also reunited JD and I with Paul Yandle of The Maplewood Company.  Paul helped us relocate the small oak tree.  His company did quite a bit of tree transplanting for us during both the course restoration in 2008 and the driving range construction project in 2006.  We also brought back Charlie Trapasso of Union Paving Contractors out of Monroe.  Charlie and his company paved all the cart paths during the course restoration project in 2008.  It was almost as if we "got the band back together".

Real quick before I wrap up.  The golf course is extremely wet and the next two days are forecasted to be nice days...with very busy tee sheets.  We will be carts on paths everywhere both days.  Also, those of you who use push carts, or trolleys as they say in the U.K., need to exercise caution proceeding.  Push carts have very narrow wheel bases and actually can apply more pressure to the turf per square inch than an actual golf cart (especially the motorized varieties equipped with heavy batteries).  Under extremely soggy conditions they can be damaging to the turf, so I ask you operate them with this in mind.  Keep to the high ground when possible and avoid low lying areas.  If everyone, walkers and riders, will be mindful and respectful of the course the next two days it will pay big dividends to course conditions later this spring and summer!  Thanks in advance!

Next week I will have another update with regards to course conditions, recent and upcoming agronomic practices, and what to expect from Mother Nature this spring.  Until then...

See you on the course,

Matthew Wharton
Golf Course Superintendent
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