Keller GC Grounds Renovation 2012 - 2014: September 2013

And I thought everything was moving at a fast pace during my last post! As of September 8 we have 11 golf holes that are "substantially complete" and have been turned over to Ramsey County. They have been turned over in the following order starting August 21: 3-4-14-15-6-5-7-8-2-16-17. As you can see, the 3rd hole has an 18 day jump on the 17th hole so maturation levels will be reflected accordingly as we progress with this grow-in.

We have mowed six greens for the first time as well as most of the tees associated with those holes. Fertilization has commenced as well and will continue until freeze-up.

Sodding operations reached the halfway point this past week as half of our allotted sod is installed. We are ringing tees with several sod roll widths for definition and to stabilize the sand-capped tee surface. Bunker complexes are generally sodded from the sand to where they flatten out into the surrounds. The remaining and usually the majority of the sod is used on the green complex.

The weather has been fantastic and all holes should be completed by the third to fourth week of September.

This is the third fairway being seeded in two directions with a Brillion seeder. Pre-plant fertilizer was applied prior to beginning the seeding operation.

When seeding is complete, straw is applied to all exposed soil to aid in erosion control. Then the water is turned on.

The following photos will give you a flavor of the new bunker style at Keller. This is a bunker on the right side of 15 green.

Right front bunker on 14 green.

Left fairway bunker on top of hill on hole 7.

Right fairway bunker on hole 8.

Right side bunker on 8 green.

Left side bunker on 8 green.

Left fairway bunker on hole 8.

This is the machine used to install the big rolls of sod. The operator is very skilled with this piece of equipment and he makes short work of the sod placement.

A view from the back tee on the 16th hole as the 14th green complex is prepped and sodded.

The new sod on the 15th hole tee complex gets a good soaking.

After the fairway is seeded, the steep slopes are hydromulched to minimize erosion and help retain soil moisture.

The back of 15 green showing a straw blanket on the steep areas of the soil collar.

This is the laser-leveling rig used to put the final grade on the tee surfaces. The final product is as flat as a table top.

Keller GC employee Brian Hoffman watering sod on the back of 3 green.

New green "fuzz" on 3 green and collar.

New growth on the back tee of the 3rd hole.

Front two tees on the 3rd hole showing some strong early growth. The 007 and Extreme 7 bentgrasses have shown consistent germination at 3-4 days.

As more and more holes are completed, it has become increasingly more difficult to move about the golf course without causing damage. Here is an example where I made a poor decision. These types of areas will be repaired once the grass is established.

Once a green or tee surface is seeded, the seed is incorporated into the mix using a technique known as "dimpling in".

A mechanical bunker rake with knobby tires is driven over the entire surface.

The resulting pattern is shown above. The tiny bentgrass seeds tend to collect in the bottom of the dimples where more moisture is retained.

The seed germinates in the bottom of the dimples producing this tire track pattern.

As I have mentioned before, the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District has been hard at work with various ecological restoration projects. Here they are shown seeding prairie along hole 16.

Bill Bartodziej, Watershed District biologist, loading native seed into their drill seeder.

As you can see, much of this native grass and forb (herbaceous flowering plants) seed is large in size and requires a special drill seeder to plant it properly. The seed is also very expensive. Bill showed me a quart size bag of a forb seed mix that cost $800-$1000! Much of that seed is collected by hand, thus driving the price.

The watershed district does many of their projects in conjunction with the Ramsey County Corrections Department. The two gentlemen in orange doing soil prep are inmate residents at the facility. It is considered a privilege to leave the facility and participate in landscaping projects. The two women hand seeding are Janna and Tessa and they are interns with the Watershed District.

Inmates installing rolls of erosion control blankets on seeded areas between holes 14 and 16.

Sean Uslabar, Corrections Officer and greenhouse manager for Ramsey County Corrections, planting the hillside to the left of 15 green.

The poles for the driving range netting are on site but the installation crew won't be here for another week.

Richard Mandell, Golf Course Architect, painting sand lines in a bunker next to 12 green.

Photo op as Mandell preaches next to the irrigation pond.

Mandell in conference with Richie Quisberg, lead shaper for Duininck.

A view from the back tee as the 2nd hole is prepped for seeding.

The third hole starting to come to life.

A variety of implements are used for fairway shaping, leveling and prepping. This piece of equipment is known as the "Kong." It is a vibratory cultivator used for ripping compacted soils such as haul roads.

The Kong in action on the 5th hole.

This Gill Rake is used to pulverize the soil prior to final grade.

A box blade is used for leveling and redistributing soil.

Another box blade with teeth showing.

7th hole is seeded and it's time to start growing grass!

16th hole looking back.

Copper cap is installed on the clubhouse chimney.

Coyotes are causing extra work on this project.

The back tee on the 5th hole starting to show some good growth.

The 3rd green and approach with a tinge of green.

The 3rd fairway.

The Watershed District was busy planting native shoreline plants on the 12th hole last week. Plant types included bur- reed, arrowhead and bulrush.

Assistant Superintendent Brett Wenzel mowing the 6th green.

The first clippings of the grow-in off 6 green.

Duininck Superintendent extraordinaire, Paul Deis, pitching in with some manual labor.

The two forward tees on the 16th hole with seeded prairie backdrop.

A view of the "B" tee on the 16th hole with the 14th hole in the background. Sight lines have improved dramatically making this string of three holes a real show stopper.