Winter Storm Vol. 2 (Oak Removal)

Here is some pictures to illustrate the removal of the Oak tree that had fallen against the clubhouse.  It was quite a project. The crane carried the guy up to get in place to begin making strategic cuts for the crane to lift pieces off of the tree and reduce the weight of the tree.

It was a tedious job and took most of the day to position the crane and make the proper cuts.  To give you an idea the tree weighed rough 60,000 lbs and the crane could safely lift around 2000-3000 lbs at a time.
The trunk of the tree measured about 12 ft in circumference at the base.  A guess at the age of the tree was roughly 150 yrs old.

If you have any questions or comments about the tree removal or would like to know about the clean up that is happening on the golf course over the next few weeks please contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG

Justinr@indiansummergolf.com

Winter Storm Vol. 1

The winter storm we just experience left many people out of power for several days. The aftermath has left the state in need of clean up and repair. The club was no exception. The snow storm hit and then an ice storm followed.  The added weight to the already snow covered branches was the culprit. The added weight broke the branches near the top.  The weight the branch could no longer hold was transferred to the next branch down the tree and so on.  There are some trees with just the trunk that remained and all the branches were sheared off.

We are left with a lot of clean up and some repair. There will definitely be some different looks to the course once we can open for play.  Please bear with us while we try to remove the debris and cleanup the course.

Although the course is covered with snow and closed, the restaurant and grill are open.  You are always welcome to visit us.


 Here are some pictures of some of the damage that we sustained during the storm:




The Cherry Trees around the clubhouse were all heavily damaged.











The range net was pulled down by the weight of the ice.














A 100 year old White Oak fell onto the back side of the clubhouse.  This tree will hopefully be removed with a crane this week.

The Maple tree on #12 had a large branch split off of the side.  This will make the hole look a little different next time you are able to play.






If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG
justinr@indiansummergolf.com

Bunkers

The bunkers begin to deteriorate at five years +/-. Drainage, definition and contamination are all part of the failure of sand bunkers. The recommended life span of a bunker is around  five years before renovation is needed.

Luckily Indian Summer has a good sandy loam sub-soil.  Little to no rocks are present for contamination. The problem I have observed is the lack of drainage.  With a little more investigation, I found that the depth of sand is quite a bit more than USGA's recomendation of 4" on the bottom and 2" on the sides.

Most bunkers do have dry wells installed to allow the water to drain out of the bunkers.  Over time, consistent rain has brought fines to the surface and has basically reduced drainage of the sand dramatically.  A thick layer of sand before it can get to an area that drains is also impeding the movement of water.



Another project that we are looking at this winter is to re-distribute the sand throughout the bunker to get closer to the USGA recommendations.  Some bunkers have more than enough sand while others might be shallow.  We can make use of the extra sand and spread that around to bunkers in need as we make our way through the course.

If you have any questions about the bunkers or any comments about the course please contact me,

Justin Ruiz, CGCS, MG
justinr@indiansummergolf.com