We have just completed what I hope will be just the first phase of construction of the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch in Emigrant, Mt. The property is owned and operated by Arthur Blank. Mr. Blank is one of the founders of Home Depot and the owner of the NFL franchise the Atlanta Falcons. You will not meet a nicer, more humble fellow than Arthur Blank. He was an absolute pleasure to work for. The original plan is for 9 holes but talks had begun before we left about building an additional nine on the other side of the property. That particular side lends itself to a really spectacular layout with very little dirt to move taking into consideration of the extreme elevation changes. The course we recently completed also boasts a practice area with a short game practice course. The property lies in the Paradise Valley just north of the Yellowstone Park. In fact is only some 20 miles away. This should give you some indication of what type of scenery one might expect while there.

The course is a Johnny Miller design and was done in such a way that each tee would reveal a slightly different golf hole. The course is accented by deep bunkering, generous landing areas, but small greens. The greens themselves will prove to be a particular challenge due to the amount of undulation and the type of turf. By far the biggest hurdle will be working with the wind. Notice I said working with the wind. Paradise Valley is quite possibly the windiest place I have ever been. This is coming from a man that grew up on the coast of NC and SC and is well experienced in gale force winds. The mornings are fairly calm but come 1:00 pm hold on to your hat. Winds are normally 15-20 mph with gust of up to 50-60 mph. There were several times while working where it almost pushed me over. That being said there were stretches of 4-7 days where the weather was absolutely perfect, 45-55 degrees in the morning and 75-85 degrees in the afternoon. That was for the time period of early July to mid-August.

The course was sodded due to weather extremes and a desire to expedite play. I think this was a great call. Originally they chose to seed.  Personally, I felt that was going to be a disaster. The fairways are planted in bluegrass, greens in bent, and the far out rough is a native seed blend. The contrast between the blue and the straw color native will make the holes "POP" but will blend in with the surroundings. The longer uncut native together with the ever present wind makes it look like rolling waves of grass flowing up the hill sides. This is an effect we have trouble obtaining here in the SE.

If you ever find yourself in that area, you should try stay at the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch. They have something for everyone from hiking, horseback riding, fishing to golf, just to name a few. There website can be found at  www.mtnsky.com. Check it out for yourself. Below are some pictures of what you can expect to see on your adventure while out there.

This past weekend we went to Reynolds, Georgia where some clients needed to gain more shot opportunities at large bucks on property they could not access. We went there to cut ATV trails, shooting lanes, and food plots. They approximately about 280 acres. Over half was inaccessible due to the heavy undergrowth and wetness of the property. Jimmy asked if I thought we could get through with our mulching machine. So we gave it a try.

In the photos I tried to give you a feel of the thickness of the growth but it is hard. While mowing I could not see the tracks of the machine, ground, or the area in front of me. We used a GPS system to get the general track and the rest was done by the driest way through. In some places the surface was pumping and rolling like a water bed. In a good two days of mulching, we cleared about one mile of ATV trails that are around 10-12 feet wide, a half acre food plot, and several stand areas with small clearings for bow hunting in the hardwood bottoms.

The mulching gives you a clear road without the large amounts of debris stacked up that you have with a dozer or excavator. The first pass is to knock the growth down and subsequent passes in reverse mulch the material down to shreds. The mulch or shreddings will help to keep weed regeneration down and stabilizes the soil as well. I suggest having a company spray with a brush/stump killer to keep some of the larger trees from coming back a few weeks after the initial mowing. The small size of the machine is a plus by keeping disturbance to a minimum.

By using our services you can reach areas of your property you never thought possible, giving you more opportunities at bucks. The costs are extremely affordable for hunting clubs and after the mulching is completed, further maintenance can be done with only a bush hog or spraying. If you have need for tree mulching in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina,and Florida let us take a look at your property and get that chance at the buck of a lifetime.

Here, you will see the layering in a bunker. This particular bunker has had nearly a foot of sand added in the past. The pipe at the bottom of the hole is obviously plugged and not working properly anymore. Many golf courses each year elect to just add sand thinking this is the correct fix. What they ultimately find is that the new sand is quickly contaminated.

The contamination occurs when the water cannot drain properly and backs up in the bunker. When you see your bunkers full of water your sand is becoming contaminated. Each time water has to be pumped out or even if the bunker drains slowly the water is bringing fines to the surface of the sand. This action causes the condition you see at the right.

The only proper way to correctly handle such a condition is to replace all the sand and drain pipe. The adding of new sand without addressing the drainage problem is an absolute waste of maintenance funds. The sand that is added on top of a situation will last only a year or so. It all really depends on the amount of rainfall.

If you chose to rework the bunker in its entirety, your efforts and money will go much further. A properly drained bunker could last 5-10 years depending on the base material. If you elect to use one of the bunker liners they will last longer. The liners allow excess water to run in the thickness of the mat and thus lessens the chance of contamination. The mats will also help on high faced bunkers with holding the sand in place and eliminates the need to send crew members out after a rain event pushing the sand back up on the faces.

Sand costs on a bunker project is running around 35% of the project. At this rate it does not take long to pay for a total renovation. Sand in not the only cost of a poorly draining bunker. It could take a couple of guys a day or so to pump the excess water out of all the bunkers on your course. In years with heavy rainfall you would never get caught up.

Bunkers consume a lot of time and money. Make your bunkers easier to maintain by having them properly built and never look back. Your golfers, Superintendent, and wallet will thank you.