Progress report on weir work in Kelsey Creek along 8th hole

I took a couple photos yesterday afternoon to show progression of the first weir work of the Kelsey Creek project.

Several hundred yards of creek bed material has been added to the down stream side of the weir to reduce the distance between the top of the weir and the water level. The lower weir will have a cap added to it to bring the level of it up to be six inches lower than the upper weir. That addition will be done this coming Monday. Then the work will be complete and the contractor will move south down the 8th hole to the next pair of weirs.

This photo shows water flowing down the new stream bed and is typical of what the rest of the finished construction will look like.

Creek work continues along the 8th hole

Construction in Kelsey Creek continues along the 8th hole for the next two weeks. The concrete weirs in the stream are too high above the down side  water level, so material is being placed downstream of the weirs to raise the creek bed.

Once the stream bed is raised to the proper level, a cap will be put on the lower weir to get it within six inches of the upper weir.

This photo shows the upper side of the top weir and the location of the pump intakes which pull the water out of the stream. The water is pumped around the work area and discharged on the lower side. The stream is blocked with a net on the up stream side of this photo to prevent any fish from getting into the pumps. The net around the pump intakes is there in case any fish make it past the upstream nets.

Kelsey Creek project moves on

The work in Kelsey Creek has moved from the 11th and 16th holes to the North end of the course.

This photo shows the area on #11 where the stream was widened and large woody debris was added to create new fish habitat. The areas where the burlap is showing will be covered with soil and eventually planted with native shrubs near the end of the project in September. There is a yellow line on each side of the stream showing the margin of the water hazard. Anything between the white line and the yellow line is ground under repair (GUR). There are ball drops on each side of the stream to hit from if a ball lands in the GUR on that side of the stream.

The contractor has moved their operation to the first weir in the stream near the 8th green. Each weir will be lowered so the jump height over them will be possible for juvenile fish. There will be a road constructed down the left side of the 7th and 8th fairways for equipment movement back and forth. All of these areas will be restored by the contractor before the job is finished. These areas will be marked GUR and a free drop may be taken with no penalty. I'll keep this updated as work moves south toward the 8th tee.

Billbugs are the newest enemy at Glendale CC

We have been hit with an infestation of Billbugs here at Glendale CC and the results of their feeding are starting to show. Billbugs are small insects that live in the soil while they are in the larvae stage of development. Once they hatch the look like a small brown beetle. The adults don't do any damage, but the larvae chew on the crown of grass plants and kill the turf.

The photo above shows the Billbug larvae that are tearing up our course. They are about the size of a grain of rice. We are in the middle of a three day process of spraying an insecticide on the entire course to kill them. I have never seen this level of infestation at Glendale, we had some two years ago on the sixth and seventh fairways. We sprayed the affected areas and I never thought about it since. Last Sunday morning I was here helping the water crew when I noticed some areas I thought were burned from being too dry. Upon closer inspection I found that not to be the case. The area next to #1 tee is shown below. 

 

There is widespread damage on the driving range tee making it unusable until we can get re-seeded. We'll have to wait and see how much damage is caused around the course by the bugs since it takes 4-5 days for the insecticide to kill them. I'm sure the greens will be OK, but fairways and tees could be affected in some areas.

 

I grabbed a handful of turf next to #1 tee and pulled it up like I was picking up a pile of cut grass clippings. I guess I actually was pulling up a pile of dead clippings since the Billbugs chewed off the crown of the plants and severed them from the roots.  

The collar around the practice area green got torn up by Crows looking for Billbugs to eat. I have never seen Crow damage this bad. This entire area will have to be stripped and sodded. The photo below shows #6 white tee and the damage around it.

I will closely monitor the condition of the course over the next several days and post any more damage that occurs.

Steve Kealy

Golf Course Superintendent

Kelsey Creek project week of July 1 2013

The creek project is underway and the contractor will be working on the 11th hole until about Wednesday July 10th.

We will continue to play the hole with the White and Gold markers set off to the right side by the cart path on a temporary tee. The Blue and Black markers may be set off to the right lower tee at 154 yards. I will continue to make changes and give the latest information with construction as details become available. The 16th tee will play as usual.

Thanks for your cooperation during this project.

Steve Kealy

Golf Course Superintendent