Flood Recovery

The guys have been hard at work since 5:30am.  I'm so thankful for their hard effort during these times; by all means this is not fun work.  If you see them please extend a thank you; it goes a long way with them.  Early morning assessment of the golf course showed lots of positives.  First and foremost the amount of water that drained off the course.  Over the last 4 falls, we have done some substantial drainage improvements.  Roughly $70k has been invested into equipment and materials to complete these projects in house and it's paying off.  Pictures below are comparisons of yesterday vs today:

This illustrates the lowers area of #7.  Just a small amount of
standing water where the dog is at but otherwise clean.  3 years
ago had we seen this amount of rain that water would have
taken 2 or more days to drain.

Middle lower area of #9 fairway.  Again an area that has seen
drainage improvements and they are paying off.  Again, an area
that would easily have standing water for 2+ days after the rain
we received.

Photo of #9 fairway from the tee.  Again, all standing water is
gone.

Lower area of #1 fairway.  Yesterday there was a full flowing
stream across here.  Today all standing water gone and area where
we added drainage this fall; firm.

Minor debris was created from tree limbs.  More debris existed due to high waters and debris washing from ponds and other areas on the golf course.  Again, a crew of guys are doing a phenomenal job of cleaning this up.  We had one tree struck by lightning; a large elm to the right of 7 fairway just past the ladies tee.  Hopefully, the tree survives.  Normally the electric charge that goes through will kill it.  Also, a good learning tool to show why you should make your way to the clubhouse when the siren goes off.

Elm tree struck by lightning.

Lastly, where does conditioning go from here.  Our goal for today is to get all green side bunkers free of water.  As guys are pumping, other crews are working on getting sand back on the faces where able to.  With the amount of rain we received we are solid tining greens to aid in oxygen exchange and speed up the drying out process.  Following needle tining we are able to mow greens.  Greens are the only playing surfaces being mowed today; thank you to XGD which was installed in 2010.

Tomorrow; we hope to have all bunkers completely reclaimed by the end of the day.  Along with finishing bunker work we are looking to get tees and approaches mowed.  Mowing is much needed as the last time they were mowed was Monday.  Fairways still may be a challenge to mow come tomorrow, if anything tomorrow afternoon.  If we do not get fairways mowed tomorrow we will do so on Saturday morning.  There may be slight adjustments to tee times Saturday if this is the case, this allows maintenance to stay ahead of play.  Do not expect anything easy out of the rough.  Rain on Monday prevented us from mowing and it will be too wet to mow at all the remainder of the week.  Come Sunday it will be US Open rough conditions.  We have raised heights on the rough machines in preparation for the Illinois Open Semi-finals, this will help minimize the mess come Monday when we begin to mow.

These are always unfortunate events for all involved at any course.  It is an inconvenience to the players, a hit to the revenue stream, and a lot of hard labor.  We relish in these times.  You take the challenge head on and you succeed.  We appreciate your patience; please say thank you to the hard working Grounds Crew members if you see them out there.