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)
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!
