In my mind, one of the most rewarding parts of the year is the time period from when we close until weather conditions make it so that outside work becomes unproductive. Typically at the Wilderness, this time period is from October 14 until Thanksgiving. Much of the work that we perform during this time of the year would be highly disruptive to our players-much more so than aerification-but it ensures improvement of the facility from year to year. For a good portion of this time, we do not have much in the way of seasonal staff to assist with the labor so it is an opportunity for both me and Assistant Superintendent Trevor Rintala to get away from management and build personal character with work in the field.
One of the projects completed during this time period is a new culvert installation on the cart path leaving 11 green and going to 12 tee. Many of you likely remember the very bumpy ride due to a culvert heaving upward from frost in the ground. This old culvert was removed and replaced with a custom built culvert that should work much better.
Removing old culvert-11 Finished culvert-11
Drainage installation is another fall ritual and this year was no exception. We installed additional drainage tile on 2, 3, 5, 9, 11, and on the hotel front lawn. We used about 500 linear feet of drainage tile and over 25 cubic yards of pea gravel for these projects. Note the snow present on the drainage trenches on 9-we continue to work outside until cold or snow impedes our work too much.
Drainage-9 Tee
A final project of interest is a tee restoration on the white tee on 9 which has never really drained well and is rarely as firm and playable as the other tees on the golf course. Historically, this tee has been damaged by winter diseases and ice more than any other part of the golf course. We have, in effect, raised this tee up about a foot, increasing its surface area from 1300 square feet to close to 2300 square feet. In addition, the soil medium we are using to raise this tee (about 85 cubic yards worth or 4 semi-trucks) is a much better draining soil that should make the tee much more playable during wet periods. The bottom line here is that the playability of the 9th hole is being improved for our customers with a projected opening date of the enhanced tee of around July 20.
9 tee-Note grade stakes to establish surface grade
Thank you all for sharing our facility this past season and I wish a wonderful holiday season to all of you.
Vincent Dodge