Magnolia #4 main drain line installation

This week a small group from TDI began some work down the left side of Magnolia 4.  This work has been able to be done almost completely out of the way of play and giving them a nice head start before the full project begins. The crew has been installing a 6” drain line down the entire left side of the hole along with drain basins.  This will serve as the main drain line that all the fairway drainage will feed into and is very important.  This 6” drain line then ties into an existing storm basin.  This is one of the longer drainage runs that will need to be installed during the project and having it done beforehand will be very beneficial.  With the rain event throughout the day on Thursday preventing the crew from working we have already seen why this pre renovation work is very important. The crew hopes to have this run completed in the next couple of days and then move to Magnolia 3 to begin some more work out of play.  We look forward to April 4^th and getting into the full swing of things and as much sunshine and warm weather as we can get. 

Ryan Watson

Golf Course Superintendent

Basin installation to capture surface water runoff

700-foot trench run with 6-inch ADS pipe to move water from tee complex to outfall

 Crew members tie-in 6-inch ADS pipe into existing basin

Equipment and Material Staging

 

With only 16 days left before the renovation begins, the equipment and material trucks have really started to roll in.  We have been planning this event for close to 4 years now and all the pieces continue to fall into place to be sure we start off on the right foot.  In todays world of supply chain issues and slow delivery times, we are thankful that we placed material orders back in December.  This pre-planning has worked in our favor and we now have most irrigation and drainage materials needed onsite ready to roll.  TDI has also been sending in 2-3 trucks of equipment per week to make sure they have all they will need for a successful project.  Next week, the first small crew from TDI will arrive onsite to begin setting up all of their equipment and begin some out of play drainage work that will help get them a head start on April 4th.  This work will be done at the back of the range and down the sides where we have our main drainage issues.  Again, this work will be out of play and the range and golf course will remain open up until the April 4th close day.  

XGD drainage pipe

Staging Area

Irrigation pipe delivery

TDI equipment staging

TDI will begin delivery of all the sand and rock material on and after April 4th.  These material piles will be staged on different parts of the course, with the main staging area located in the parking lot of the Practice Area.  

Billy Bagwell

Director of Agronomy

Golf Course Renovation Blog Introduction

The golf course renovation will begin soon, and with this project begins this blog.  A place for you to follow along with our progress and what to expect as we move through the renovation over the next 7 months.  This project will address many key components of the golf course over the next 3 years, completing the work described below in three 9-hole phases.  Phase 1 will include the renovation of the Practice Facility and the Magnolia golf course.  Phase 2 will include the renovation of the Dogwood golf course.  The third and final phase will include the renovation of the Palmetto golf course.

 

The key components of the course that will be addressed:

-Greens: Putting surfaces will have the top 5 inches of existing grass, thatch and organic material removed and restored back to original size.  Removing the top 5 inches of material will return the mix layer of soil back to USGA recommended 12-inches deep of greens mix.  Once the soil profile is shaped back to original size and shape, the greens will be sprigged with Mini-Verde Bermudagrasses.  This is the same variety of grass we currently use and have had tremendous success with over the past 15 years.

-Green Approaches and Surrounds: The top 5-inches of native soil will be removed and backfilled with greens mix.  Under the greens mix cap XGD drainage will be installed on 6-foot centers to ensure adequate drainage.  Once the approaches and surrounds are shaped these areas will be grassed with Tif-Tuf Bermudagrass.  The combination of XGD drainage, sand capping and quality turf will help enhance the playability around the greens.

-Fairways: Fairways will be drained with XGD drainage.  Drainpipes will be installed on 10-foot centers throughout the fairways. After the drainage pipes are installed, the fairways will be tilled and prepped for grass.  No major reshaping will be done, but the tilling and prep work will remove the small imperfections, dips and bumps from years of water runoff.  The fairways will be sprigged with Tif-Tuf Bermudagrass.

-Tees:  All tees will be expanded in size, properly aligned and rebuilt in a square shape.  Tees will be sand capped and new irrigation installed on the tee tops.  The tee tops will be sodded with Zeon Zoysiagrass.

-Tee Complexes: The tee complexes will be reshaped to properly drain water away from Tee tops and grassed with Empire Zoysiagrass.

-Rough: All rough grass will be replaced with Tif-Tuf Bermudagrass.  Select areas will be drained and other drainage enhancements will be made to existing drainage. 

-Bunkers: All bunkers will be reshaped, reducing the current square footage of sand by 45%.  The new bunker shape will be built using the Better Billy Bunker spec to eliminate sand washouts during rain events and to provide uniform playing conditions throughout the golf course.

-Cartpaths:  All existing asphalt paths will be removed and replaced with new concrete paths.  Curbing will also be installed around tee and green complexes to minimize cart traffic damage.

  

-Practice Facility:  The Practice Facility will be completely redesigned.  Main components will be the drainage of the landing area to limit the number of closed days we currently experience.  Shaping of target greens in the landing area will provide better positive runoff to new drainage installation, plus provide the golfer better targets to practice different shots.  Construction of a new short game area will be completed where the current putting green rests, providing chipping from 1- 75 yards to an expanded chipping green.  The putting green will be moved to behind the practice tee, allowing for expanded putting practice and overall, a safer Practice Facility for everyone to practice all aspects of their game.

The project is scheduled to begin on April 4th with the Magnolia 9-hole course and the Practice Facility closing that Monday.  TDI Golf, the contractor selected to complete the work, will be arriving onsite March 21st to begin staging equipment, materials, and other reconstruction work.  TDI will also begin some out of play drainage work on the Practice Facility and select golf holes during the 2 weeks leading up to April 4th. All golf holes and the Practice Facility will remain open during this time. 

We are all extremely excited about this project and look forward to having you all follow along as we go through it together.  Check back here every Friday for ongoing project updates.

Thank you for all the support.

Billy Bagwell

Director of Agronomy