Wrapping Up

Well, just like any Vikings fan would say about right now, "We'll see you next year!"

It has been a good season, a real good season. Winter came quickly and fall certainly had a good run. We are putting some final touches on the course and gearing up for the nordic season.

Be sure to grab you snowshoes and check out the new "Gompf Trail" near the 14th green. It is one of the most scenic areas of the winter landscape.

Also, we still have the Coal Bucket Classic to play once the calendar turns to November. We are expecting some melting at the end of this week and possibly next week. Keep tuning into the blog to check for the date and time.

Bridge Work

This week we removed the old bridge from the 11th hole. The failing abutments soon followed and we are staging to excavate for new abutments. As you can see in the second picture, water dams are being installed to de-water the excavation sites.
The old bridges were 40 feet long and 10 feet wide with no railings. The new bridges are 44 feet long to prevent any constriction to the flow of the creek. The bridges are 15 feet wide to accommodate all equipment crossing including the snowcat. Due to code and safety concerns there must be a 42 inch high railing on each side of the bridges. The bridge railings will not interfere with golf shots with their location.

Project Month

We had four projects begin at the golf course over the past two weeks. The 7th tee box is the big one, followed by three Gore Creek projects. On the creek we have two 44 ft bridges being replaced and a drop structure in the creek adjacent to the irrigation diversion.
Pictured here is the excavator repairing the rock formation that was wasted from the high flows in the spring time.
The top of the structure was formed with concrete and boulders. Due to the stress of the high flow, the concrete fell apart and the structure became a significant erosion problem and a recreational hazard. The downside of the structure had a large hole and the creek was undercutting the structure. If this was left alone, a sink hole would eventually form before the structure and become a serious threat to any recreational activity in the creek. This project has been corrected with approximately 100 tons of boulders placed properly with out concrete. The boulders have been placed to increase the strength of the structure and improve flow through this stretch of the creek.

Progress on #7

Here we are after three days of construction progress at the #7 tee box. Erosion control, wall staking, utility marking, tree identification and removal of trees due to the impact of the new walls are complete. Thursday and Friday we begin removal of old walls.

Scroll down to the bottom of the blog to view an artist rendering of what the project will look like upon completion.

Disobeying Signs

Yesterday we had some golfers sneak out to some of our closed holes. The Vail GCM staff was tired of policing the area, so we had to bring out the "enforcer".

We have 13 great holes for play and it has been fairly busy out there.

Fairway Aerification

It is time to aerify fairways. The weather has been favorable. By the looks of this picture you may not even notice that big green tractor.

I love this aerifier because there is nothing to break, especially with all of the rock in the fairways.

We aerify fairways in three directions with this wheel to disturb as much of the surface as possible. There are 5/8th inch tines on the back and open up great holes. After letting the cores sit and dry out we drag them with a large plastic mat to break up the dirt from the thatch and plant material. Once the dirt is free, we use a large blower to push the thatch into the rough to be disbursed by mowers.

Today we attacked 4 & 5 fairways. The rest of the week is planned as follows:

Tuesday: Fairways: 6 & 7

Wednesday: 2 & 8

Thursday: 1 & 9

The back nine fairways will be aerified next week.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Construction on the 7th tee boxes begins today. Holes 3-7 will be closed for the remainder of the season. The 10th tee will be played as the first tee this week. After playing the back nine, holes 1,2,8 & 9 are available for play. I will load plenty of pictures onto the blog as we move through the construction this fall.