MC,
Interesting second photo. I recall you mentioning this a while back. Must have been very frustrating. How deep was the material and how did you deal with it once it was on the ground and did it have any adverse effects (non-immediate conditioning wise, blockages, machinery damage etc)?
From the other two photos the course seems to have really come on in comparison to photos previously posted, or have I missed something along the way?
Atb
Thomas,
This was just over 10 months ago. The volcanic material was about 1 inch deep. Our immediate concern were the greens and we used back side of rakes, squeegees, street brushes and wheelbarrows and then humid towels to clear them. We used a tractor pulling a box scraper blade to clear fairways and tees. We then irrigated.
Interestingly the 3 oldest greens with the highest density of grass were the most affected and developed fungus during the winter as they had less air. Conversely, the 3 newest fairways were the most affected as the lack of appropriate grass density allowed the volcanic material to settle in small grooves, killing the weakest grass and then was washed out during the winter creating crevasses. We reseeded areas of these 3 holes this spring and the 3 bad greens have recovered. Tees were not damaged at all.
We cleared bunkers with spades, manually.
I dont think many people would realize today that the course got dumped with an inch of volcanic debris less than a year ago, although the native areas are dusty.
We had no major machinery problems, but we did go through faster maintenance cycles on filters and blades. No issues with irrigation (lucky to have no pumps).
You are right I have not posted pictures in a long time, been too busy and was always a bit hesitant to post much here on El Desafio. I am very happy with the way the course is turning out. Getting a lot of attention from US, Europe and local players (we are allowing limited outside play) and reviews have been fantastic, with most people believing this could be in the top 3 in South America. Tom Doak included us in Volume 2 of the Confidential Guide, which was very exciting to me.
One more picture below showing bunkers on the par 5 5th.
