Here come the leaves

 

With the driest October on record (can't be drier than 0" of rain) the leaves have gotten crispy up in the trees. The wind started howling yesterday and the oaks are starting to let loose. Normally it takes to the end of November to get all the leaves down but we may finished with them by Thanksgiving this year.

The dry weather and lack of bermuda growth has simplified bunker maintenance this month for sure. The Manakin crew was able to edge the bottoms of their bunkers and get that 1" lip re-established this week. Next week they dive back into bunker renovations.

November is here and that means a new Capital budget so it is project time. This winter we are aiming to complete all the Manakin bunkers with new drainage, liners and sand. On Monday we will start digging out 18 greenside bunkers and work backwards from there until it gets too cold to pour concrete. The remaining bunkers are 11, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18. Once the weather turns colder we will slow down on bunkers and get back on to the irrigation renovation on Manakin 1-4 and 14-18. This will be the bulk of our workload for the off season!

We finished up the fiscal year with some more asphalt work mainly on the Sabot this week. Our new roller has been a big benefit in getting some of these larger areas smoothed back out with hot asphalt.

We took a fair amount of broken pavement out of the past few weeks. We know most of you drive straight up the fairway but our equipment is enjoying the smoother ride around the courses. Major renovations are scheduled for FY 2028 for the paths.

The Sabot crew also took some time to put an edge along some of the paths this week. Bermudagrass and asphalt are not a great mix as the bermuda can infiltrate the pores of the asphalt and break it up as opposed to the more solid concrete. This means it is tougher to maintain a crisp edge but we like to give a shot whenever time allows.

It is still primetime fall golf out there, turn the politics off and enjoy the weather outside while you can!