That is a nice little shelf there. It would be totally blind from the other side of the tee - not that that makes much of a difference. Biggest concern is it being washed out when a big rain comes through.
You mean youâre not putting in a SubAir system?!
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Need my fix @sundaybag
Made any progress?
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@sundaybag - Weâre still waiting for our fixâŚthe thread, like this needle, is empty.
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Iâve been using my weekends to play some tournaments and did some travel with my father this past weekend at The Prairie Club - so good.
Havenât made huge progress, but enough to update.
The barn was cleaned out and ready to be a full on clubhouse. Got a new beer fridge, hung up some golf paraphernalia, cleaned out all the crap. Have an old couch we brought down. Moved all the tools from the backside of the garage where there is a garage door looking out onto the course - should be able to hit shots in the winter out of the barn. Birdie Ball putting green coming in as well.
Had a few logs left over that a neighbor asked to set aside for them. They finally came and picked them up. Finally do not have any downed logs on the property anymore!
This week will be a huge push getting ready for seed. We finally got some rain here in the Midwest which will allow us to have the final burn of all the left overs that have been raked up. Once that is done, we will spread out the remaining ash across the turf area, get another rake on it, and lay seed throughout the entire property. Plan to be ready for seed by the end of this upcoming weekend.
The Road Hole bunker has grassed over due to neglect. Plan to get that all cleaned out, lined, and get some sand in it. Really want to have that done by this fall so we can at least play something this year.
Other then that, going to be doing some general clean up. If we are feeling up to it, may drop another tree or two. The whole crew should be out to help, so expect to have some serious updates next week.
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Wanted to share a few as we go this weekend. Things are shaping up for the Road Hole.
Reclaimed the old tee boxes. 98 and 115 yards to a mid pin on the Road Hole.
Few others of the green.
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Had a huge weekend with tons of progress - the blisters on my hands tell the story. As we began working on what we would consider âfinishing touchesâ preparing for seed, we realized the course would not be fully playable this year no matter what we do - the turf just isnât going to be playable until next spring. Due to that realization, we decided to work on some things that were more in the long-term view. We cleared out all the trees along the creek (9 full sized trees) opening up the Road Hole green to lots more sun and wind movement (foreshadowing for building a real green). An unintended consequence of this was that we actual opened up visuals of the most incredible trees on the property. We now have 4, 100 foot tall cottonwoods with very high canopies outlining the property. We also opened up view of an amazing tree with white bark (sorry not an arborist) that looks like something out of an African safari.
A view of two of the huge Cottonwoods framing the Golden Bell hole:
The safari tree:
Here is a before and after finishing clearing out the creek by the Golden Bell hole:
So much more room!:
Here is a before and after clearing the creek by the Road Hole.
After the clearing:
Here is another of the dry creek that is now totally cleared for 80% of the property:
We still have a little bit of low lying brush we need to take out. This will make maintenance so much easier then before as we will be able to spray weed killer a few times a year and mow right up to the creek edge. Assuming a lot more balls will find their way into the creek now.
We completed the bunker. Installed 1.5 tons of âBrick Sandâ into the bunker. It filled it up completely (6 to 8 inches deep) but expect it to pack down quite a bit once some rain hits it. Sure isnât a pot bunker anymore!
A few more pics for your viewing pleasure:
One of the four cottonwoods outlining the property. May be able to get a third green on the other side of the creek with this tree as the backdrop. More to come on this:
All this work has left us with yet another heaping pile of sticks and logs that need to be burned. This sets things back quite a bit for seed, but should have time in the next week or two to get this pile taken care of. Came across a rake for the tractor, so will be able to rake up any leftovers on the property and prepare it for seeds fairly quickly. Hope to seed by mid September or first of October at the absolute latest.
Big plans to clear out the rest of the creek this year and have it ready for easy maintenance for next year. After that, we have raking and seed and we will be done for the year. Easier said then done, but man it has been fun!
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90 degrees only from the cart path on those jet skis.
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You should sell merch, so we can buy it
This way I can have a hat from both TBC and some guyâs backyard
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I know itâs taboo, but you gotta go mats for the tee boxes right?
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There is nothing wrong with mats for the tee boxes. In fact, I would encourage it. As much play as there is going to be in a limited space, artificial turf is the way to go.
I use the Country Club Elite from RealFeelGolfMats.com and itâs a great product. I bought it new off ebay during one of their 15% off everything sales. I think the total was around $425. The mat is 5â x 5â and I have plenty of room to his every club. (Iâm 6â2" with size 13 shoes). If you want a smaller footprint, they also have 3â x 5â and 4â x 5â sizes. Costco also sells this brand for a decent price but I donât have a membership.
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So I bought a county club elite 5 x 5 two years back when we threw a flag in the ground and just started hitting shots off the driveway. The tee boxes you see above are actually hard clay with gravel on top to make it as hard as possible of a surface for the mat to play off of. We will use the mat on the two tee boxes you can see above and all the different shots from the driveway. Other then that, we plan to maintain the grass good enough to just throw a ball down and basically have a shot from anywhere out of a short rough lie. Generally, we will play holes out with a one club length rule - whatever shot gets you within one club length, add 1 and that is your total score. If you make it, obviously add no shots. Seems fair as we contemplate green surfaces.
Still need some awesome ideas for tee marks for the inaugural tourney.
@Zocco - merch on the way! haha.
I know it looks mostly like a construction site right now, but appreciate you guys following along and seeing the #vision.
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If it isnât large branches off of your tree removal cut and stained a la ANGC then what are we even doing here?
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Another suggestion for tee markers, maybe some old tractor parts or farm tools? Not sure what you have laying around?
Jet skis
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The tee markers should really reflect the ethos of the course. If you prefer natural simplicity, I recommend something that you could find on the course (e.g., state mineral, state flower, etc.). If you want something functional, you could do a small wooden crate with a lid. Inside the crate, you would have sand/seed divot mix.
Oh, if that doesnât work, I agree with @3wiggleâŚjet skis.
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With you 100% that the tee markers need to be natural. What if there were no tee markers in the way of âone must hit in between these two pieces of materialâ and more of a general marker of the teeing location. The creek is filled with flat slate rock. We could bury a piece of rock at each tee location and spray paint/write on the rock:
Hole #1
Golden Bell
69 Yards
Just play the general location.
Really like @Tizz idea of some old metal parts and bits and pieces. It isnât a farm in the common sense, but we are in Kansas and antiques are dope. We did just throw away a ton of stuff, but there has to be some cool stuff in the barn. Found a few full cans of 1980âs bud heavy last weekend.
You could also do something to honor each of the people that helped you prepare the land. Ex. Your buddy is a huge fan of college X, maybe plant the schoolâs flag denoting a teeing ground. This is $15 on ebay.
That would be cool. Everyone that has helped all graduated from the same school, so could be an interesting Jayhawk vibe. We all met there, so would make sense.
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