Bob Raley is the superintendent of Thousand Acres Lakeside Golf Club. Bob is a native of western Maryland and attended Frostburg State University. After graduating, Bob went on to complete the Two-Year Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program at Penn State. He has worked at courses in Pennsylvania and Maryland, including Laurel Valley Golf Club, Hobbit’s Glen Golf Club, and Hog Neck Golf Club. Bob also spent time teaching and conducting research at Penn State.
Fall 2009 Superintendent’s Update:
The golfers have arrived. While it was on a limited basis, the arrival of golfers onto a newly constructed golf course marks a point of great accomplishment. There are a lot of benchmarks for the construction of the golf course; from finishing the clearing of the wooded areas, to finishing the shaping and seeding, to mowing the new seedlings, but no benchmark is as meaningful as sinking those first putts.
Even though there were golfers on the course we were still able to improve areas of the front nine that were not yet matured, and enhance the condition of the golf course. We worked on the edges of the golf course, areas that transition from golf course to natural areas into the tree lines. The cart paths were also addressed; some were adjusted to improve the experience for golfers, and the asphalting process began. We also repaired the washouts that are so unavoidable during golf course construction. In addition to tidying up the construction, normal golf course maintenance practices became a daily routine. As I have stated in previous updates, the more we mow the better the golf course gets. That statement was never more true than this past summer. We also implemented other maintenance practices that improved the playability of the golf course, vertical mowing and topdressing. We also aerified the greens and tees!
In addition to all the improvements made on the front nine, we began construction on the back nine. We installed most of the main line for the irrigation system, which is without a doubt the most difficult process of installing an irrigation system. Over the winter we will be working on building a retaining wall along the pond for the 18th green complex, and some earthwork on the back nine in preparation for spring construction.
As we look ahead to next year, it is nice to know the work on the front nine is nearly complete! Now we can begin the process all over again on the back nine!
Spring 2009 Superintendent’s Update:
The warm weather this spring has brought great change to Thousand Acres; golf course maintenance equipment has replaced bull dozers and excavators on the front nine of the golf course. We are now in full swing of golf course maintenance as we have entered the grow-in phase of golf course construction. We are mowing grass every day; greens, tees, approaches, fairways and roughs. In fact, the tees are ready for the golfers, and the greens are almost ready for play. We continue to fertilize and mow the fairways, and the thin turf areas are getting smaller and smaller. The more we mow, the more the property looks like a golf course.
In addition to growing grass we are working to tidy up the edges of the golf course, and to finish removing the storm water controls. We are also preparing to install the asphalt on the cart paths. My biggest concern from the winter was how the irrigation system would survive the severe weather and extreme deep freeze. Well, it made it flawlessly, with no damage or start up problems. With all the rains we have hardly needed to use the system, but we have an excellent system when it does dry down, and it will!
This spring has been a wonderful time of change at Thousand Acres, but we are looking for great change this summer as well. The golf course should transition into a golf course ready for play, plus we will begin construction of the back nine soon as well. Check back soon for a summer update, I am going to get back on a mower!
2008 Construction Recap:
The front nine constructions is complete! September saw the finishing touches of construction on the front nine. Golf holes seven, eight, and one were finished just in time to allow for germination and growth this fall. Now it’s time to transition into golf course maintenance practices; mowing, fertilizing, watering, leaf blowing, and more mowing. There is also plenty of clean up from the construction to work on this fall. It was amazing to watch the construction site transform into green grass! We still got a lot of work to do, but playing golf is not too far away.
Check back regularly, as the construction accelerates, this page will be updated often.
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