Skip Fumia
As of mid-July, the reconfiguration of hole No. 4 on the Quail Course is proceeding as planned. This includes: shifting the tee boxes to better align golfers to the center and right of the fairway; removing the previous right bunker and regrading/sodding that area to provide a level landing surface; moving the cart path from the left side to right side of the fairway; adding a bunker to the left side of the fairway at the moguls; and finally, removing the tree that was to the left of the previous right bunker. Once we’ve played the newly configured hole for some time, we will determine the desirability of a replacement tree in the fairway and the preferred placement of such a tree. Additionally, the Quail Creek area that crossed the fairway at about 100 yards from the green has been cleaned out and will be regraded to provide a gentler, grassed slope while accommodating monsoon water movement through the area.
During the reconstruction, we have played the hole as a Par 3 with a temporary tee box at about 85 yards out. This will be the situation until Quail reopens after overseed. After overseed, to preserve the newly laid sod on the right side of the fairway (where the previous bunker used to be), it will be cordoned off to cart traffic. If your ball lands in this area, you should walk to your ball and play it from there. J.R. tells us that foot traffic and play from the new sod will not damage it, but cart traffic will. Thus, there will be entry and exit points from the cart path around this area. While we will be overseeding the left fairway in September, we will not be overseeding the new sod.
Near the end of May our pump system at Well No. 5 (the main well that provides water to our lakes for golf course irrigation) failed. This required us to purchase water to irrigate our golf course. By the third week of June we were able to reinstall the repaired pump and cease purchasing water. Subsequent to the failure, TEP replaced the transformer serving our motor/pump with a larger capacity transformer. Our service providers for the pump and motor report that the larger capacity transformer is right sized for the power draw of our system and should result in reliable system performance for the next 10 plus years.
Our non-overseeding of the greens is completing its first of a three year trial. The greens on Coyote and Quail are exceptional now, with the RoadRunner greens not far behind. J.R. is aggressively treating the greens to promote vigorous Bermuda growth in order to provide a high quality putting surface throughout the year. Yet, as we’re approaching the overseed season, samples will be taken of the greens to determine if they are healthy enough to withstand the winter’s heavy golfer traffic.
If you’d like to know more, please feel welcome to attend one of our monthly Green Committee meetings held the first Monday at 1:30 p.m. in the Madera Gold Room.