#4 Prairie

You may have noticed this week that the prairie immediately in front of the 4th tees has been cut down. This is the first step in the process of re-establishing the area to a lower growing, prairie-like stand of grasses. Like the majority of our prairie areas, this spot consists of very tall growing warm-season native grasses - some as high as 6-8 feet in height. By August each year, this literally creates a blind shot to the 4th fairway and for lower trajectory hitters, can become an obstacle off the tee.

Photo October 2008 - showing the obstructive nature of the grasses, despite a couple minor trimmings during the season.

The next step will be to kill the existing stand, which will take several days to die off completely. We will then scalp the area down as low as possible, make soil preparations where needed, and finally plant new seed of the desired grass species.

First step complete - mowing grasses & harvesting debris

The project should not affect play, as the area extends only a minimal distance off the tee. We will have the entire area roped off for the remainder of the season to avoid traffic disruption to the new seedlings. With soil temperatures still fairly high and warmer weather hanging around, we should get a good catch going into the off-season.

The ultimate goal is provide a "naturalized" look that fits well into the rest of the property but that will no longer produce blind shots or a hazard for low hit shots.