Farmlinks

I was lucky enough this past week to be invited to Farmlinks golf course in Sylacauga, Alabama.  BASF invited the Superintendents from Landscapes Unlimited to this research golf facility for some education, networking, and golf. 
Farmlinks is a demonstration facility that uses new chemical, irrigation, and maintenance products in real world situation, and allows superintendents from across the country to see the effectiveness of each product.  If you are looking for a great vacation spot in the South check out www.farmlinksgolfclub.com, it will be well worth your time.  The accommodations, food, and hospitality are a step above anywhere I have ever been and I am looking forward to the next time I am invited to travel to Farmlinks.

First Snow!

10 fairway

We have been spoiled with the warm weather so far this fall, but Mother Nature is finally bringing us some much needed moisture in the form of snow!  Although we only have about 1" on the ground the course received .3" of rain yesterday.
Snow might be bad for golf, but snow cover can be a blessing for a golf course.  Even though the grass is still green this time of year it is putting all of its resources into preparing for dormancy.  This means that it does not have the ability to recover from high volumes of golf traffic like it can during the summer.  The snow acts like a blanket of insulation over the turf, protecting it from extreme cold temperatures as well as protecting it from golfer traffic.

2 Cart Path Reconstruction

2 path before

2 path during

2 path finished

#2 cart path has been in desperate need of attention for the past couple of seasons.  We decided to remove the old road base cart path and add a crusher fines material .  This material will pack in on itself and overtime and will create a very firm surface that acts and looks a lot like concrete.  In order to make sure the path sets up correctly we needed to treat the path like we were pouring concrete.  We first excavated the old road base material to a depth of 4".  Next we came in with some wood framing and frame the path to 7' wide.  Next we put down a landscape fabric that will prevent the new cart path material from migrating down into the soil.  We then added the crusher fines product at a 6" depth and packed the material down to a 4" thickness.  In the spring we will be sodding the golf course side of the path to make a clean edge from the tee to the green.  Over the next couple of seasons we will be reconstructing the paths on 7, 8, 13 and 15, and 18 the same way.