Water - can't live with it, can't live without it...

The lesson of the day is "be careful what you wish for."  Last year we couldn't buy a drop of rain, and this year it's getting crammed down our throat.  We are in the top 5 all-time wettest Junes.

As we enter our 4th straight day having a saturated golf course, the frustration is setting in.  I can sense it in the members, the golf shop, and certainly myself and my staff.  Carts can't get out, things can't get mowed, the greens are soft, the range tee is closed, and one of our best revenue streams (carts/guests) is severely limited, and people just get grumpy.   There's just not much to be done when it gets like this, and the golf course conditions suffer.

Please bear with us as we do our best to get things in some sort of shape.  We have been using squeegees and pumps to get as much water off as possible.  Today, we will begin using push mowers around greens and lightweight trim mowers to try and tackle as much of the rough as possible.  During times like this, it's the best we can do.

On the bright side, the steady rains have been in lighter, more frequent shots.  Unlike year's past, we have not had the big 2-4 inch dumps that take the creek clean out of the banks and shut the course down completely.  It's been a half- to one-inch chunks which at least keeps the major flood damage away (by the way I hope you all are "knocking on wood" at this point to avoid the catastrophic "jinx" I just likely initiated).

Above all, thanks for your patience and understanding as we attempt to battle what mother nature keeps hurling at us.

Now we are getting somewhere

I'm in a much better mood today.  The well drillers have hit 300 feet and their gut feeling is we have in the neighborhood of 400-450 gallons per minute capacity.  This means that we can dig a second well and have the necessary capacity to properly water the golf course WITHOUT the costly and disruptive construction of a retention pond.

This is great news, but it's not time to jump up and down and "a git to hollerin'" just yet.  The estimate of yield is based solely on the drillers 30+ years experience and the amount of water burping up during the drilling process.  The rubber will meet the road when they return to hook a pump up to the well and test capacity.  .  Also, this will give them important clues as to the nature of the aquifer and how far laterally the well is drawing water.  This is important to us as it will tell us how far away well #2 will have to be from well #1 to avoid overworking the supply while watering the golf course.

Overall, if this plan works, the plan to correct this golf course's greatest flaw will be much more simple.  We dig another well, get some new pumps (that I must continually remind you we will need anyways REGARDLESS of where we choose to get our water in the near future) and a new pump station (which we will also need anyways) and hook 'em up to the golf course.  No more dam in the creek holding back flood water (and no more downstream neighbors bitching about it), no more bulldozers in the creek, no more worrying about the quarry sending us enough water, no more pipes and sprinklers full of "creek turds", no more nightly shut-downs from debris, no more worrying about the army corps of engineers taking out our dam, no more excuses not to spend every dime we can on new bunkers, and a much more reliable source of clean, cool water for the golf course for decades to come.

Not to mention I will sleep much better in the summer.

Eureka there be water!

Well, the much anticipated well drilling is ongoing at the moment.  Currently, we are down around 200 feet. When you all were asking me what depth they were anticipating for good yield, the answer was about 175.  Unfortunately, we aren't quite getting the flow we are looking for.  Fortunately for us, there were some savings early on that will allow us to keep drilling deeper at no additional cost.  We will go to around 275 to see if we can get the 350-500 gallons per minute we need to make wells (without a pond) an option for our future watering needs.

We should have a good idea if not later tonight tomorrow as we plunge further into the earth.  Cross your fingers and hope that we can get a good geyser going soon!

The video is just a shot of the drill working away as it has the past few days.  Now, however, the compressed air they pump in is bringing our water to the surface and not just spoils.  Have a look.

Well to-do

I must first begin by apologizing for not posting in some time.  The course has been very busy with projects and just getting the condition up to par for the upcoming summer season and this weekend's invitational.  I have been spending a great deal of time far away from my desk.  As most of you can see, there has been a lot going on.

First of all, the new concrete work at the clubhouse is in, and the asphalt tie-in will be completed today.  We will follow suit by upgrading the plant materials in the entrance flower bed for a much more polished appearance as you enter the clubhouse.  While the concrete was being placed at the clubhouse, we decided to extend the cart path on #18 bridge.  This area was a constant eyesore between our member cart traffic and the tournament traffic and the concrete bridge approaches were uneven and difficult to drive on.  Overall a nice improvement that should last decades.

The old approaches were removed such that a smoother transition from path to bridge could be poured.

Workers pouring the new path leading up to the bridge

We are removing the old plants, most of which were in poor condition.  Also, we are installing sprinklers to help  the bed perform much better.  

The hollies in the entrance flower bed were different varieties and were in various states of death probably due to the winter time and perhaps some of last year's drought conditions.  They have been removed and new evergreens will be put in their place.

Aside from that the drilling of the well has finally begun!  Drillers are on-site and have commenced drilling the hole for the 10" pipe that will keep the soil portion of the hole from caving in.  I spoke with the driller today and solid bedrock was hit a mere 10 feet below the surface.  This means that due to regulations, our well pipe will have to be at least 30-35 feet deep to ensure there is no caving in and no contamination can enter the aquifer.

Once the pipe is set, they will then use a smaller bit to drill inside the pipe.  The wall of the bedrock will then act as our pipe from the bottom of the actual pipe to the bottom of the well.  Given recent well records in this area, we anticipate getting our best flow somewhere between 150-200 feet.  I hope to get no less than 400-500 gallons per minute.

Assuming everything goes well, the pipe should be set by tomorrow sometime, and we may start to see water as soon as Friday evening.  For sure, Monday will be likely to start seeing some more significant water.  Once we reach a depth that we suspect will provide the needed flow, the drillers will hook a large pump up and test the wells ability to provide water.  This will give us a very good idea of exactly what we've got to work with.

Finally, the first step towards securing good, clean, and (hopefully) plentiful water for the golf course has begun.

Drill Rig poised to mess things up

Here is the drill bit that will bore out the hole for our pipe.  Nasty!