December 29, 2017 – Progress Report
The Irrigation System renovation progress is moving very slowly. This is partially due to the presence of large amounts of rock in the digging layers. We have found it necessary to rent a track hoe with a rock breaker attachment. This piece of machinery is responsible for the noise that you may have heard coming from the course recently. Although progress is slow this equipment is gaining traction and moving us forward in the process. There is also an additional expense for the equipment, unfortunately.
Fortunately the nice weather has allowed work to continue much longer than expected. At this point progress on the irrigation system is roughly 30% complete. This has us on track to stay within the time frame we originally anticipated. Holes 13, 17, 18 and 9 are 100% complete and mainline has been completed for holes 14, 15 and 16. We anticipate holes 13, 15 and 16 to be the rockiest and most difficult, with these holes behind us progress should pick up shortly.
Hole 15 of the Irrigation System renovation. As you can see there is a lot of large rock to contend with during digging.
Bunker Renovation
The Bunker Renovation is now 100% complete. With this project we are on time and slightly under budget. The crew from DHR Construction has been terrific and extremely thorough. The bunkers look amazing and drainage will be superb. We hope our membership will be very pleased with the outcome. Below you will find a number of photos with descriptions of the work.
Bill Abbey putting the final raking on the completed bunker on Hole 12
The bunker on #15 forward tee nearing completion.
A close up of the capillary concrete.
This is a bunker on 18 green. The sand is removed and drainage is in place. Notice the dirt work above the blue line to the left. This bunker has been reshaped to mimic its original shape. A rough estimate of 50% of the bunkers required at least minor reshaping.
Applying capillary concrete. This is a water permeable concrete liner that cannot be damaged by elk. The bonded aggregate allows for terrific water penetration and prevents future sand contamination from washouts or elk damage. This is a photo of hole 3 fairway bunker.
This is a “pipe puller” making a giant mess of Hole 13 back tees. Small elevated tees are a real challenge.
Digging mainline on Hole 9. Very nice dirt down in the canyon. The pipe adjacent to the trench is HDPE. This pipe is electronically fused for strength. Fusing is a slow process that makes a joint much stronger than the pipe itself and eliminates glue joint failure.
Trying to lay frozen sod on rock damaged trenches is difficult at best. This will require some grow-in repair time. The rigors of doing a job like this in the middle of winter.
Excavating out old sand and piling topsoil on the lip for reshaping.
The irrigation installation was completed in early July 2018.
Golf Course Maintenance Team
Forest Highlands Golf Club