We finished sodding the bunkers on the 4th hole this week. You can see this batch of sod is a lot greener than the stuff we got last week. The reason is things are warming up on the east side of Washington and all through the region for that matter. The warmer temperatures and longer days are "waking up" the turf at the farm. It's very exciting to know that next week we will be basically finished with sodding all the bunker floors. That means we are quickly getting to completion of this project. There is so much going on out there right now that I just can't fit it all in this blog, but here's a quick tour of how things are shaping up.
We backfilled the bunkers on the 7th green complex and here is the one on the right side of the green. Impressive I must say.
Here is a look at this green from the left side. This trio of bunkers on #7 are simply gorgeous.
Here is a look at the now finished bunkers on #11. I tell'ya that one Boo is sitting on has been one of my favorites since the very beginning. Now that it has been backfilled, I am not disappointed....... it is still one of my favorites.
Now this beauty is a one of a kind. Rugged yet graceful. Because of its new position and grand size, I'm sure it will be one of the most frequently hit into. It's not overly deep but that big fescue finger is flat enough that balls will hang up on it. At certain times of the year, the fescue areas will be nasty so I'm sure there will be shots and lies seen here that are worth talking about in the bar after. Look close here and you can see that the tee on #16 has been graded in. This week Kip did a lot of work on tees and by the end of next week he should be finished with installing the final rootzone mix.
Here's a different look at the new 16th tee. Yes.............that is a power pole................... in the tee. It's hard to tell from this picture but the pole is really not in the way and this is way cooler in person than how it looks here on the blog. If you don't believe me, get out there and check it out.
Here you see Boo is standing on the new black tee on #13. This is really a great looking tee shot but won't really be "right" until the island is removed. A lot of folks are wondering why the master plan calls for removing the island but seriously, just look at it. It does not look right. In fact it has never looked right. When I was the Assistant Superintendent in 1994, I did an evaluation of what it would cost to remove it so believe me, the idea of eliminating it is not new.
Here's a different angle looking at that new tee and here you can see how it sits in relation to 15 green and greenside bunker. The slope between this tee and the 15th green will be mowed tight so that you can play off of it back onto the green. Get ready to see some fun golf shots played here.
Lastly, check out the new 11th tee now that the subgrade has been set. The scale of this teeing ground is pretty immense. I believe once complete, it will be the single longest teeing ground on the property.. In other words, the white, blue, and black tees will all be played on this one surface and all at the same elevation. The new teeing grounds are looking great. Nick Schaan from DMK was out here again today looking things over.
Here's our two masterminds Kip and Nick sharing a laugh together. Together these two guys have done an amazing job bringing John Harbottle's vision into reality. Also, I cannot say enough about my staff. To date they have laid over 130,000 square feet of sod and we're not done yet. Even so they remain positive and motivated. BEST CREW IN THE WORLD!!
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