Life may be trying to go backwards but the Golf Course moves on

The kids, the dog, the irrigation system and the Golf Course have no idea what is going on outside of their little bubble. Because of that we are still grinding away to keep the courses in playable condition and we are happy to see people out enjoying the outdoors. Our seasonal staff of 11 people have been asked to stay home, as has most of the rest of the employees of the club. Those of us that remain are being safe and keeping things as disinfected as possible. We are lucky to have jobs outdoors where it is easy to stay separated.

As was scheduled anyway, the Sabot greens were Dryjected and aerated on Monday. The dryject machines were hand loaded with 40 tons of sand, all of which was injected into the greens profile. We then removed cores to reduce the amount of organic material in the greens. The aerator travels at a slight angle in order to miss the Dryject holes.

Taking into account the current situation, we will be aerating the Manakin greens on this coming Monday and Tuesday, the 23rd and 24th. Originally this was planned for April 24th, along with a Dryject but we feel getting the aeration out of the way now is a smart move. Manakin will be closed Monday and Tuesday next week. This is all weather dependent.

We filled the open holes on the Sabot with more sand. In total 75 tons of sand was put into the greens.

The sand was brushed in, blown clean and then rolled with the roller.

You can see the finished product here on 18 green, the greens are very playable. Ian Williams was out gps mapping the Sabot this week to prepare for our irrigation renovation in two years. We are still looking forward!

We have placed a small piece of pipe in the holes on both courses. The pipe still allows the ball to go in but since it can't go all the way down, it is easy to pick out without touching the pin. Leave the pin in, fix your ballmarks and pick up your broken tees! We are raking bunkers as much as possible each morning and will be filling all the divots towards the end of next week. The bathrooms are open but we are not putting any water coolers out.

Also planned this week was the completion of our back nine bunker project on the Sabot. The last bit of capillary concrete was installed today and we will use up the rest of the sand in the parking lot to fill the bunkers on 17 and 18. The crew is proud of their work as they should be!

We will continue to take things day by day. Even with a limited staff we will still be presenting a very playable golf course. Eliminating overtime also means that work on the weekends will be limited. Pinsheets and what is happening on each course will be posted to the golf shop door each morning. Stay healthy and stay smart!