May 18

We are almost ready to start sodding on holes 7, 8, & 9. Probably start that next week. Shortly after we will be filling bunkers with new white sand, and then final preping for sprigs.

Here the contractor is final grading with a box blade


Here's some what of what it will look like after being boxed. He'll just keep swirling around until it is super smooth


Remember how small the old red and gold tee on 16 was? I wanted to give a perspective of how large the tees is now so I took this pic of my cart in the middle of it.


After the contractor finished with the rock walls for the tees, I asked him to see if it would be possible to dig out the lake since as you can see it is almost completely dry. Here is a pic of the "test" dig to see what he could do.


In the end he was able to excavate about 4 feet down, right to solid rock. Here is a series of pics showing the process. Careful, these are messy!!!!





One of the major objectives on 16 in the project was tee enlargement, which we did, and cutting down the front of the fairway to make it easier to make it over the lake. We also needed dirt to make a haul road out into the lake so we could reach the remaining unexcavated portions. So, I had the contractor take this big bull dozer and just push the dirt out into the lake on the cut line. Then, as the excavator finished digging out the lake, it just dug out all of the haul road too. Here is a series of pics to show the process.





Then once the material is excavated, the lake edge looks like this. Also in this pic you can see the new rock wall that is being made right at the top of the high water mark. We will still have that "ramp" look up to the fairway as promised. The top of the wall will be 3 feet below the top of the fairway.


Here's another pic of the wall, just a little higher.


Back on the front side, its time for some new landscaping on the holes that are about to get grass. Specifically, time for the big trees. Remember back in January when I root pruned all of the big black olives and oak trees. Well, its time to give them a new home. If properly root pruned, transplant is a snap. As long as you can pick up these beasts that is.


Here is pic of some new palms added between 7 & 8. Last week I had 100 palms planted on 7, 8, & 9.


Add a nice big black olive....and now you have instant seperation between holes.


Here's another pic of some new tree landscaping around 8 tees


Here the contractor is spreading out all of the new dirt on 18 fairway


And here is the contractor picking out the rock from the fill dirt on 18. Holes 13, 14, 16, 17, & 18 have all the rock.


Here the contractor is digging out the old "elephant burial ground." This area's dirt was not suitable to use on the course, so it being buried to generate good material.


Notice the cut in elevations from the excavator to the ground below. The whole area will be cut and planted in marsh grasses.


A couple of loads made it out to the course, so I asked the contractor to scrap it up and haul it to the bury pits. Notice how dark it is compared to the pile in the background.


If you are a resident in Big Cypress on the north side of the Clubhouse, you're going to be glad I replaced this old pipe. It used to drain the streets into the pond on 13 tee. I think it got a case of metal termites!!!



Stay tuned, more to come.