Driving Range Improvements

Every year during the off-season we work on projects aimed at making Highlands Falls a better place to be a member.  While this winter has had its share of course improvement projects that you will all enjoy, one project has been a long time coming, improving the permanent tee on the driving range.

New teeing stations at the driving range.

Installing pavers at the driving range.

I am happy to report that the very unsightly "astroturf" permanent tee is no longer.  We have removed the artificial turf and begun installing brick pavers in its place.  The pavers are designed to give 12 separate teeing stations, an increase of 2 over the previous arrangement.  At each station will be the familiar mats that we have used in the past. 

A great project for a rain day

Being that the driving range is the first place a guest "plays" the course and thus the first impression they have of the facility, this was an improvement long overdue.  In addition to the new playing surface, we will be installing a new clock like the one at the putting green.  The clock was a donation from the friends of Dr. Al Mena in his memory.

Fairway Verticutting

We recently purchased a new verticutter for cutting fairways.  The SISIS Veemo is one of the best verticutters on the market and is especially well adapted for our environment. Verticutting is the process of cutting the grass in a vertical position as opposed to the horizontal position that most mowers cut.  Verticutting is a necessary agronomic practice that removes thatch, increases turf density, reduces grain, and promotes bentgrass.  It also makes a mess!

HFCC's new Verticutter

Deep verticutting on the #1 fairway.

Ever since implementing our fairway verticutting program about 5 years ago, the turf has steadily improved year after year.  We recently finished deep verticutting the fairways and due to the continued rain, have been cleaning up ever since.  Verticutting creates an excessive amount of organic matter that needs to be cleaned up afterwards.  Normally, we blow the material in the rough and mow it several times turning it into mulch.  However, the rains have hampered our ability to blow the material and in many areas we have had to clean the material up by hand.  While the clean-up is taking longer than desired, the benefits far outweigh the extra effort.

 

"Rooster tails" are a good indication that your getting a good cut.

Mid March Update

With the recent trend towards warmer temperatures, the grass has started to grow.  With that, we have removed all of the green covers and mowed the greens for the first time this year.  Even though we have begun mowing, it will be some time before the greens are in tournament condition.  Before the end of this month, we will aerify the greens and topdress them heavily with sand.  Only after we have finished aerfifying, can we begin to condition the greens for the season.

First mowing of greens in 2015

Notice the height difference between cut and uncut.

Mowing #7 green after the cover was removed.

Notice the difference from the turf that was covered and the turf that was not covered.

On another note, with good weather, we should finish the rock wall behind #2 green this week.  I am certain everyone will be pleased with the new look.  The staff always amazes me as they just keep getting better with their stone work.  As soon as we finish with #2, we will start a similar rock wall at #10 tee.

HFCC staff building the rock wall behind #2 green.

#2 rock nearly completed.

 Now that the weather has improved, we have begun to replace the large culvert that extends across #5 fairway.  While our staff is doing the detail work, Mountain Hardscapes is doing the heavy lifting, digging, removing the old pipe, and installing the new one.  I expect them to be competed sometime next week.

Sod removal on #5 fairway to make room for installing a new culvert.

#5 fairway before culvert installation.

 

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who has contacted and congratulated me on my TurfNet Superintendent of the Year award.  Its really an honor and I am humbled by it all.  After coming back to work from the Golf Industry Show, my staff surprised me with a little appreciation of their own.  I am every bit honored by their support as I am by my SOTY award as I could not have done it without them.  Thanks guys!

 

Signed by the HFCC maintenance staff.

Superintendent of the Year Honors!

Fred Gehrisch, CGCS, is 2014 Superintendent of the Year

Feb 26 2015 | John Reitman

When it comes to managing golf courses, Fred Gehrisch, CGCS, sees the big picture, but it's the little things he does that attract so much attention.

 

"Fred Gehrisch not only knows how to grow grass and manage a crew and a budget, but is also very attuned to the club members, and probably is the staff member who does the best job of seeing that members have reason to be proud of the club," said Charles Sausman, a member at Highlands Falls Country Club in Highlands, North Carolina, where Gehrisch has been superintendent 16 years.

 

Whether it is maintaining the golf course, taking on a civic-improvement project or picking up random trash on the property, doing whatever it takes to improve the customer experience for members has become Gehrisch's trademark.

 

"We all get dirty here," Gehrisch said. "There's no such thing as 'it's not my job' here. Picking up a wrapper on the floor is just as much my responsibility as someone who works in the clubhouse."

 

On Feb. 26, Gehrisch was named the winner of the 2014 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta.

 

He was chosen by a panel of judges from a field of 10 finalists that included Nelson Caron of The Ford Plantation in Richmond Hill, Georgia, the late Paul Colleran of Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Washington, Jorge Croda of Southern Oaks Golf Club in Burleson, Texas, Jim Ferrin of Timber Creek and Sierra Pines Golf Courses in Roseville, California, Mark Hoban of Rivermont Country Club in John's Creek, Georgia, Joel Kachmarek of Tacoma (Washington) Country and Golf Club, Paul Latshaw of Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, Jim Roney of Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Eric Wygant of Shannopin Country Club in Pittsburgh.

 

Throughout his career, Gehrisch, 45, has undertaken several civic-improvement projects that help improve quality of life for residents of Highlands and portray the club in a positive public light. Recently, he won the praises of his members for helping spearhead a project to convert an otherwise forgotten meeting room in the clubhouse into a museum dedicated to the history of the club and architect of the golf course, the late Joe Lee.

 

The project culminated with a golf tournament in Lee's honor and a celebration that included a host of dignitaries including Lee's widow. The Joe Lee room includes photographs, trophies and other memorabilia that walk members through the history of the 50-plus-year-old club and connect some long-forgotten dots.

 

For many years, Gehrisch, a graduate of Ohio State University, has had a love for tackling projects outside the normal realm of his superintendent duties, and has been fortunate to have a membership that understands his passion.

 

Highlands is an upscale mountain community in western North Carolina, and many of the club's members maintain second homes there. Among the area's more well-heeled residents, they also have a knack for volunteer work and giving back to the community, and appreciate the same from Gehrisch.

 

To that end, Gehrisch has planted trees throughout Highlands for the city, cleared a downtown lot to make room for a municipal park, managed hemlocks for the town's land trust, repaired its hiking trails, cleared debris so a local animal shelter could expand its operations, cuts firewood for the town to distribute to needy families, builds doghouses for a local charity.

 

"Part of the job here is to promote the image of the club," Gehrisch said. "In a small town, little things can go a long way, especially our community projects."

A Glimpse of the Past

This past week I have been going through the many floppy disks I have and transferring all the pictures they contain to a more modern digital format.  As an early adopter of digital photography, I took a lot photographs of the many projects that have been completed at HFCC.  Viewing these pictures brings back a lot of memories and really makes me appreciate how far the club and myself have come in the 16 years that I have been the golf course superintendent.


#1 green renovation, November 2002.

#1 lake standpipe replacement, April 2003.

#1 green today.

After my first year at HFCC, it quickly became apparent that there were a couple of systemic problems throughout the course.  One was the irrigation system was VERY inadequate and poorly maintained, and the other was that several greens were poorly constructed.  Fortunately, all of these problems have been corrected.


#10 green renovation, November 2002.

Large tree trunk dug out from under the old #10 green.

#10 today.

Irrigation installation on hole #4, November 2000.

Hole #4 today.

In addition to changes on the golf course, the maintenance facility has undergone a transformation through the years.  Originally, a large portion of the equipment was stored outside, today almost all of the equipment is under roof.  In 1998, the staff break room, locker room, and Superintendents office was one small room.  Today we an addition to the main building that houses complete facilities for the staff and professional office space for the Superintendent and Assistants.


Maintenance facility staff offices in 2002.

Maintenance facility before improvements.

Maintenance facility entrance today.

Course Projects Update 2/13/15

With the various temperatures we have had the past month (one week above freezing, next week below), we have had to make some changes to our winter project schedule.  While drainage projects remain a major priority, our ability to stay focused on it has been limited due to the weather.  At this time, I feel we are a bit behind schedule.  However, with warmer weather, I feel certain we will make positive gains and finish  the drainage projects before the season starts.

Turfdrain being installed on #13 fairway

Drainage installation #13

 With the weather affecting some projects, we have had to refocused our efforts on other projects throughout the course.  One such project has been the beautification of the course with stone walls.  As I have reported in past posts, we have finished stone walls on #8 and #18.  We are currently finishing a major wall at the red and gold tee on #7.  This is part of our landscape master plan that will not only improve the aesthetics at the tee but also make maintenance easier.  In addition to #7, we have started on a stone wall behind #2 green.

Thank you to our friends at Jacobsen who have loaned us one of their new Trucksters to test.  I must say that it is doing very well and helping us with our projects.

Finished stone wall at #18 red tee.

The start of the new stone wall on #7 tee.

All of the stone must be hand picked and then hauled to the intended location.

#7 red tee.

Main wall on #7 is finished as the staff start the secondary wall.

By adding a secondary wall at #7, we can better manage the steep slope with landscaping.

Stone walls are not the only other projects we are working on.  We have been busy removing dead and diseased trees throughout the course.  While taking out a tree is relatively straight forward, taking out the stump can pose challenges and create extra work. 

Digging a stump.

All of the stumps will be collected and hauled off to the dump.

Lastly, in an effort to continually improve the maintenance facility, we have finished creating a new entrance to our building.  We have also, added extra covered storage to better protect some of our tractor implements and other equipment that was stored outside.

New entrance to the maintenance facility.  Additional landscaping will be added in the future.

The staff building additional covered storage.

Completed covered storage.