Entrance Project - Preparation

Preparation on the entrance project is underway.  Over the next few months we will continue to see changes and progress entering the country club.  Before the arrival of heavy equipment our staff has removed reusable irrigation parts to be reinstalled following the 9th tee construction and expansion behind the 8th green.  We have also removed the split rail fence as you enter the club in an effort to recycle as much as possible.

This is just the first step in the entrance project.  Soon heavy equipment will arrive and begin tree removals and site work.  When completed the entrance to the club will look drastically different, but we are excited to see this area improved upon.

Fore The Golfer: Frost Delays and Turfgrass Health

4 Valley Reconstruction

This past week the club had an outside contractor come in to address some problems with the valley in front of the green on the forth hole.  There were several factors which made this area not very playable and also caused balls that caromed off the hillside to roll all the way into the woods.  The primary factors being poor soil, abundant tree roots, and insufficient drainage and irrigation.

The area was excavated and a great deal of fill and top soil was brought in order to adjust the pitch of the valley.  We also extended the drainage to the edge of the woods and relocated irrigation.  The entire area has been hydro-seeded with a rough mix.  We anticipate with extra care in the future this area should have a good stand of turf which will allow golfers to have a fair chance at a difficult shot up onto the green.

5 Green Improvement

Some of you may have noticed that there is an area of the 5th green, at the base of the hill on the left of the green, that often has problems making it through hard winters healthy.  Our staff worked today on mitigating this issue in the future.  We believe the primary problem of this area is that there is poor soil and also there is a bowl that collects water and freezes during the winter.

We hope we fixed these issues by replacing 6 plus inches of soil and by lowering the collar and bank to allow water to roll off of the green, rather than collect on it.  This area will most likely stay roped off for the remainder of the season, but we anticipate that it will make it through winter better than previous years, and be ready early next season.



In the picture above the high bank makes it difficult for water to drain off of the green.  Below the turf has been replaced and the collar and bank have been lowered allowing water to move off of the green during thaws in the winter and during heavy rains.

12 Green Expansion

Today our crew worked on improving the green expansion on the front right of the 12th green.  This area was previously expanded, however do to poor soil quality and a high amount of traffic the turf was very thinned out.

We improved the area by removing the existing turf and digging down approximately 8 inches to replace the rootzone mix with a better quality material.  Once the soil was replaced we laid sod from our green nursery and topdressed and rolled the turf.

When the new turf roots over the course of the fall we anticipate that it will be able to handle the stress of the summer in the future.

Irrigation - Main Line Repair

Over the weekend a section of main line irrigation, located near the walking bridge on 1, sprung a leak.  We were able to identify where the break was and isolate that section of irrigation.

Our crew worked hard along side an outside contractor to fix the repair in a timely manner.  We were forced to shut down the irrigation system in order to make the repair, fortunately the weather was favorable.  In total locating, exposing, repairing and back filling the break took our staff less than a day.  Now this section of main line shouldn't give us problems any time soon.

NEPGA Championship

It was 364 days in the making, but Rich Berberian’s encore performance lived up to the original, as he captured the 2015 New England PGA Section Championship by three shots over Jeff Martin, PGA of Norton Country Club, capping off a wire-to-wire victory which featured lead margins of three, one and finally three, the same winning margin from his 2014 victory at Golf Club of New England.  Berberian was in command from the start of the tournament, posting an opening round 6-under par 66 by Noon on Monday and never looked back over his final two rounds at Concord Country Club.

As he did a year ago, Berberian found himself locked in a dogfight early in the round, as his few mistakes were capitalized on by his fellow competitors.  After matching birdies at the par-5 first hole, Martin and Berberian stepped up to the challenging par-4 second hole where the golf tournament took an interesting turn.  Berberian ran his birdie putt by about two feet, and went to tap it in but missed.  He putted the next one and just missed again, finally tapping in for a double bogey six and a major unforced error thanks to this four-putt early on in the final round of the tournament.  Martin salvaged a bogey, and like that Berberian’s lead was gone.  A costly bogey on the par-4 fourth by Berberian gave Martin another opportunity which he capitalized on with a par, and just like that he was leading the championship and that much closer to his elusive first Section Championship. 

Audubon Certification

Over the past few years Concord Country Club has been working along side Audubon International to become a certified member of their Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for golf courses.  This process includes a site assessment, action plan, and documenting and improving stewardship in several important areas.  These areas are wildlife and habitat management, chemical use reduction and safety, water conservation, water quality management, and outreach and education.

It is our goal to continue to meet and exceed the recommendations set forth by the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program.  We will continue to improve upon our relationship with our environment by documenting our practices and by taking on projects that makes us a destination for wildlife and the community.

ACSP Website

Scorecard Boxes

New Scorecard boxes constructed by the staff this week.  They are a new and welcomed addition to the course; made of the same material as the cooler boxes which were constructed last winter.  You will find them located on the 2nd and 10th tees.

More Snow...

Over the past month most of Massachusetts has seen record snowfall.  With just a few more inches Boston will have set the record for the most snow in a single season, and all in just about 1 months time.

Our crew has been very busy clearing the driveways and walkways, while also moving piles of snow in anticipation of more snow.  When not outside we have been working out refurbishing benches and other equipment.  Also this is a great time of year to clean and organize the shop and finalize office work.

Blizzard Juno

One of the first snows of the season was one for the record books.  Blizzard Juno hit the Northeast hard and by the time it moved on Concord CC had received about 32" of snow.  Just when we think it is going to be a short Winter, mother nature reminds us who is in charge.

Our staff has been hard at work clearing all of the snow, keeping the club accessible to staff and members throughout the Winter.  We look forward to the warmer months to come, hopefully this blizzard is not just the tip of the iceberg.