Theodore Wirth Golf Course Renovation Complete

With the 2018 golf season wrapped up, we can now look back on all the changes that were made this year at Theodore Wirth. After a season and a half the new holes 11,12, 18, and Par #1 opened on July 15th. The wait was well worth it, with golfers greatly enjoying the new holes, and we as a maintenance staff were very happy with the conditions of the new turf. Through the remainder of the season, the new turf held up very well. Greens have strong root zones and handled the traffic better than we anticipated (see below). The tees and fairways also were able to withstand the daily wear and tear from play. With that said, these are still young stands of turf and additional inputs from our staff will still be required for the immediate future.

This is a plug from the new 12th green on 10/30/2018, the root structure and depth are outstanding This was exactly what we were trying to develop on the new turf areas.

After the opening, we analyzed how golfers used and reacted to the new layouts. We made some observations and are addressing additional issues over the winter months. The intention is, with some slight improvements we can improve the golf experience for next season. Now, lets just look back and see where each hole started and ended.

HOLE #11

 Original #11 above, hole was regraded and green shifted slightly to the right to accommodate new 12th tee. Bunker was moved from right to left side of green.

Looking down on new #11 approach above, view looking back up from #11 green below.

HOLE #12

 Original #12 hole location. Hidden behind the trees and shrubs was the remains of a golf hole from Wirth's past. The new hole is a re-imagining of that layout. 

View from the new blue tee above, view back towards the tees below.

HOLE #18

 The new 18th hole was created through this stand of trees. Below, the scene after tree removals.

 The white post above was the marker for the center of the green, which you can see in the final product below. 

Above, the view from what would become the new forward tee after tree removal. Below you can just see the downtown skyline sneaking out from behind the green.

PAR HOLE #1

 The view from what would become the new 1st tee. The original green can be seen on the right edge of the photo. Below you can see the initial grading of the new hole.

 Below is the final look of the new 1st hole at the par course.

Additionally, this year we built a new forward tee for the 16th hole. The old tee has a long, forced carry over a rather wet area, this tee was added to ease that tee shot and try to reduce traffic through the left side wet rough. The location of the new tee brings it in line with the fairway and shortens the carry slightly. The placement of this tee was dictated by the irrigation system. This was as far forward as we could place the tee that could still be watered by an existing irrigation head. The new tee box will hold the red tee markers while the yellow tees will remain on the original tee box. This tee will not be ready at the beginning of the season, but should open late spring or early summer.

This fall also saw us take on a irrigation project on the par course. The par irrigation system is insufficient and was mostly operated manually. With the course renovation, we had a new irrigation controller installed to operate the new 1st hole. We placed that satellite in a place where we could utilize it for the rest of the par course. So this fall, we swapped out old manually operated quick coupler's (where you plug in a sprinkler), to actual irrigation heads. After that, we brought in a vendor to help us pull wire to all the new and existing irrigation heads on the par. This will allow us to operate the par irrigation system from our central computer, the same control feature as the championship course. These improvements will allow for better and more consistent turf management at the par course.

Once again, we want to thank all of our patrons for their patience as we work to make improvements to Theodore Wirth Golf Club. There is definitely much more to do and we are working on gathering resources to continue to make improvements that will benefit our patron experience. We will continue to strive towards providing an exceptional golf experience next year and the years that follow!

Golf season is coming!

As the golf season approaches, we are trying to put the finishing touches on some winter projects, prep the course for cleanup, and mostly waiting for the snow to melt! Once the snow melts, we will need to assess the golf course for playability. With all that melt, the turf will be soft and wet, meaning we cant rush play out onto the golf course until conditions firm up. The grounds team will begin preparing the course even before the snow melts, as long as we can access areas, to reduce the amount of time we are unable to open after snow melt.

There will still be temporary holes on the back 9 for the first few months. The new holes need more time to establish strong root systems that can support the wear and tear from daily golf.

I'll use the picture below as an example: This cart damage from last fall will need additional inputs from our grounds team. The turf had not established a root structure that could support traffic, it was also very soft and wet. With no root system, these areas stood no chance to grow back. The seedbed has been disrupted and
Although the turf may look much more established than this in the spring, that does not mean it is ready for use.

Please help us prepare these new holes for play by staying out of designated areas.

Over the winter, we spent time renovating some of our golf course accessories. Its amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do. 

The par 3 tee signs were freshened up. They had this unique color scheme that I really liked, so we cleaned and repainted them the same colors.

With the new holes, we needed to get new tee signs. This is something we decided to take on in house. We went with a simple, classic look with dark finish and black trim. Our golf course parkkeeper Todd crafted these signs over the winter months.

Above/Below: Test runs

This will be the finished product.Todd put a lot of effort and work into these, he did a great job!

The season will be here soon and we cant wait to see everyone out playing golf again.

4 months later.......

Well, that went fast!!

Now that the golf course has closed for the season, its time to look back on what we were able to accomplish this year. This season was extremely busy at Wirth,  as I've demonstrated here by being a little slow with the updates, my apologies. The task of maintaining a golf course is not as simple as one may assume, along with new construction and multiple other projects on site, these updates became a lower priority. So, this post will be a large update to show the progress we made this year!

Overall the construction went very well. Duininck was able to complete construction on schedule, which allowed ample time to begin the grow-in process. At that point we were gifted with ideal weather and the new turf areas were given a great starting point. As you will see below, these areas look great for the short time period they had to begin growth. With that being said, these areas will NOT be ready for play when the golf course reopens in the spring! Appearances are deceiving, although they look green and healthy, they would not be able to tolerate the wear and tear of daily play. We need to allow the turf to develop a strong root structure so it can withstand the effects of golfers. This will take time, once we warm up in the spring it will be a few months before that root system has developed to the point that it can handle daily golf. This of course is also dependent on the weather. We need a good winter and spring with proper growing conditions to continue the grow-in process. If everything goes well, we hope to be able to open the new holes mid-summer. Again, with that being said, there is no definitive date for opening and timing of that can not be addressed until next summer.

Now that I have my disclaimer out of the way, lets start with the new holes at Theodore Wirth!

Par 3 Course- Hole #1
The new first hole at the Par 3 Course was the first one to be completed. During the late stages of construction we did have several significant rain events that caused some minor issues, some with construction and others with unaware users, flooding and cart track damage respectively.

Above: This green was seeded on Friday August 25th, this picture is the next Wednesday the 30th! That was a remarkable start for our first seeded green to be sprouting already.

Above: This is September 6th, about a week after seeding the rough area. 

Below: Same day. Notice the progress of the green seeding in just another week. The area around the green was sodded to prevent erosion onto the green surface in case of significant rain events

Below: September 26th, The entire hole has established to the point where we could regularly mow. The tees and greens were mowed with a walking greens mowers, while the sodded areas were done with a regular lawn mower. The sod in this area was mowed one final time with a larger machine at the end of the season, otherwise everything was done with walking mowers.

Championship Course- Hole #11

To make room for the new #12 tee box, the 11th hole green complex needed to be moved. The green was moved roughly 20 yards to the right, the bunker was relocated to the left side and the approach was shifted slightly right.

Above: July 27th, drainage has been installed in the green and shaping of the approach is underway.

Below: August 17th, Sod has begun to be laid. This morning saw us get some rain, so Duininck's crew is re-leveling the front of the green and cleaning up some mud that washed onto the sod.

 Above: August 24th, Sodding has been completed and final preparations are being made for seeding of the green and fairway. Seeding of the green was completed August 31st.

Below: September 29th! One month after seeding this green has established very well. At this point, we were mowing the green and collar several times a week.

Championship Course- Hole #12

The new 12th hole is a short par 3. This was actually a golf hole in the past, so its fun that this area has been restored to be a playable golf hole again. The green is surrounded by three bunkers, one in front, one on the right, and one behind to catch balls that go over, hopefully before they head down the steep rear hill. 

Above: July 24th, The green and the surrounds are shaped in for the first time. 

Below: August 21st, The tee surrounds have been sodded. In the foreground, you can see that the fairway and rough areas have significant shaping left to be done.

Above: September 8th, The green was seeded on August 31st, so after a week you can begin to see some of the seedlings coming up. 

Below: September 26th, The tees have grown in well and even the rough has begun to grow. The rough areas were more challenging, they do not have irrigation, so watering was done manually. Also, the peaks on these mounds have a tendency to be much drier areas. The progress of the rough seeding was beyond our expectations by the end of the season. 

Below: September 26th, The green here has also established well. One unique issue with this one was the deer traffic. Many deer are in this area and they happened to wander across the green several times leaving indentations in our new green. We began topdressing all new greens with sand to begin leveling out the surface and firming up the soil structure.

Championship Course- Hole #18

The new 18th hole may become our next signature hole! This hole will be a challenging, but fun short par 4. The pro tip for this one is, hit it straight! This was the last hole to be completed, the green was seeded September 6th. This green also saw some deer damage, which was significant enough to warrant additionally seeding. Also, a few weeks after this green was finished, we began rolling the greens in addition to topdressing, again trying to level and firm up the surface.

(Note: These photos are not in chronological order like the rest, but by area)

 Tees

 Above: August 1st, the 18th tee box has been staked out and rouged in. This was the first step in the tee construction process.

Below: September 1st, one month later, this is the result. Sodding has been completed and the tee surfaces have been seeded.

Below: September 26th, Another month and the seed has fully sprouted. The thin stripes on the tee surface are from the walking mowers I mentioned before. These mowers have a single cutting blade, where our riding mowers have three. These units are lighter and safer to use on the weak seedlings, there is less likelihood of turf damage from a walking machine versus a riding mower.  

Fairways

Above: September 12th, the 18th fairway and rough seed have begun to grow. If you look closely, you can see the green is also turning green .

Below: September 22nd, ten days later and it almost looks playable. (Note: IT'S NOT) 

Greens

Above: August 16th, The green surround has been shaped and graded, the only green side bunker on this hole has been sodded.

Below: September 15th, roughly 10 days after seeding, this green was showing some healthy growth. The stakes you may notice around the greens were intended to deter deer. They had a silver pie plate and metal tines. The pie plates were supposed to shine and shimmer to scare them away in the day, while the metal tines were meant to be wind chimes, to make noise when the plates weren't shimmering at night. We did see a reduction in deer traffic after installation but not completely. Admittedly, these were probably better in theory than in practice.  

 Below: September 26th, this photo was taken just before the first fairway mowing. (See below for just after a mowing) Now its really starting to look like a golf hole. The green continues a strong grow-in and the fairway really took off. 

I cant finish without sharing a bad photo also: Below you will see what happens when someone doesn't appreciate the efforts that have been made. This happened within the first two weeks of seeding the 18th fairway. It was muddy and wet, they got stuck in the bottom left. With this area being so young, the seed was lost in this area and no grass established in the tire ruts. Our grounds team has repaired this as best we could at the time and will do additional work in the spring. I share this to remind people that we put in this effort for our patrons and ask that everyone follows the posted rules and signs. We want these areas to be ready for play as soon as they are able, it would be unfortunate if that was delayed due to one parties disregard. 

I also cant end on that sour note, so here's one more nice shot of the new 18th hole!

Thank you to all our patrons who were respectful and patient of this process and we look forward to seeing everyone on the course next season. If all goes well this winter and spring, we will open these new holes sometime next summer for everyone's enjoyment. We are excited for people to come rediscover Theodore Wirth Golf Course!

Wirth Renovation Update

This morning saw the golf course get 2.1" of rain! This was much needed but a little more than we desired for the golf course and construction plans. However, the last few weeks have seen great progress with the project. The bunkers are almost complete. All the sod has been laid and only one bunker remains to be filled with sand. While this sod establishes, please follow the posted signs and remove your ball from the sodded areas with a free drop, the sod is unstable while the roots develop. Balls that land in the bunker may be played from there. Please enter sodded areas through openings in the rope lines.

 Above: 9th hole bunker final grade and drainage installed

Above: Future hole #16 (Temporary 18), fully sodded

 Below: Duininck crew filling #9 left side with sand

Shaping and grading of the new 12th hole and 11th green complex are currently underway. The Par 3 course hole #1 is close to being seeded, with that occurring hopefully in the next few weeks. Irrigation has nearly been completed on the new 18th hole and is fully complete on the new Par 3 course hole #1. 

Above: #18 green at sub-grade

Below: Par 3 course #1 green getting topsoil

Below: Irrigation section installed on Par 3 course #1

As these areas reach completion, it is essential that they remain off limits. These new areas will take time to establish and any early activity will negatively impact the end results. Please enjoy watching these holes take shape from afar, let them grow properly, and sometime next season we will have exciting and healthy new holes to play. Thank you for your cooperation!