Devlin collars

You will see white dot/lines on the Devlin collars over the next few weeks. They are wildly inconsistent in their size. Some are too wide and some are too narrow. We have dotted where the right size should be. We will slowly lower the height to get the extra areas back down to green height with a different mower. Where they are too narrow we will no longer cut that at greens height. Over time they will be as consistent as the collars on Weiskopf.

You can see the different size of the collar around the Devlin greens

#16 Devlin Gold Tee

We sprayed the abandoned gold tee on #16 Devlin with roundup two weeks ago with anticipation of tilling it up and reseeding with bentgrass. We ended up having some sod left from the driving range project so we stripped and leveled the tee and now it is sodded. This is a great hole from this tee box. 

#16 Gold Tee on Devlin

Old Driving Range Tee

The old driving range tee was leveled and raked smooth yesterday where the turf was missing. We then laid 5500 square feet of bentgrass sod to make that tee fully covered. It turned out great.

Prepped and leveled DR tee

Laying the sod

All finished.  Turned out great.

New practice green flags and sticks

Professional touch

9 flags and sticks at the original PG, 5 at the clubhouse green and 3 at the driving range

Aerification dates

We will be aerating the Devlin course on September 3rd, 4th and 5th. The greens, tees and fairways will all be aerated at this time. The course will be closed all three days. We will then do the Weiskopf course on October 1st, 2nd and 3rd. That course will be closed all three days as well. Both practice greens at both ends of the driving range will be aerated in September. The practice green at the clubhouse will remain open and will be aerated in October. 

Bunker details

The new Better Billy Bunkers have been an awesome addition to the few holes on both courses that were done. Now that the Devlin course has been completely edged, we are continuously working on sand depths in both the old and new bunkers. We are also taking inventory of rakes and adding some to the holes that don't have enough. We are placing the entire rake in the bunker with the head facing towards the green. The crew is not supposed to place the rake horizontal to the hole so the ball will not get held up on the faces. Below is an example of the new bunkers on #12 Devlin and how we are raking them in addition to the placement of the rakes.

Better Billy Bunker raked with rake placement not to interfere with shots

Looking across the hole

#5 Devlin

The front of #5 Devlin fairway has been such an eyesore with dead sod, bare areas and just soaking wet. When I first got here, I thought it was multiple irrigation breaks. We dug up 6 wet areas today and all were drainage lines that were severed during the irrigation install. The guys fixed all of them and added some more drainage and its amazing how the area dried up. With some topsoil to level the area and then seed, #5 fairway will be back to good shape very soon. 

Digging up and repairing each drainage break

Lance did a great job finding each break and leading a crew to make the area better

Lance, Tommy and Charles adding more drainage to even better dry out the area

Cart Path Only

We received 1.1" of rain early Tuesday morning. The ground already had a high moisture content and this rain made it even wetter. We were Cart Path Only on Tuesday and again today. Tomorrow on both courses we will be back to 90 degrees.  Thank you for your patience. This will also allow the rough to grow in and not cause additional ruts for the maintenance crew to fill. 

Crisp bunker edges

We have started getting a crisp 2-3" lip/edge on the bunkers. On most holes there was no defined edge on the bunkers and sand had migrated its way out into the grass. There was too much sand in places on the faces which can cause the ball to plug in the face rather than roll back to the center. We have about half the Devlin course finished and will move over to the Weiskopf early in the week.

#8 Devlin before we started.  Notice all the sand mix into the grass

Crew moving sand around to right depths and pulling sand off the edges

Crisp finished product after weedeating the edges and raking

Much better defined visual from far away

#13 wetlands

I had many members say the same thing last weekend as I met them on the course. "I can't see the flag when on #13 Weiskopf fairway." We spent this week cutting down the wetlands by hand and giving everyone a better visual entering the 13th green.

Better view entering the #13 Weiskopf

Tee Setup

Tee Setup has been lacking here at Quail. I am retraining the staff to make the teeing area the best it can be. We are filling divots daily, making sure markers are pointed to the middle of the fairway or green and trash and water are changed every day. This has taken longer than I expected, but the crew is catching on and getting the hang of it. Details!!!

Showing the tee setup guys that they put the markers pointed towards the woods and not towards the fairways

Projects so far

There are many projects to tackle here at Quail Hollow. Here are some of the things we have done since I started here last Thursday. I will continue to post updates and pictures frequently.

Adding greensmix/fertilizer/seed to area on old practice green that was used for sod

Finished product - We have roped off area and are constantly watering to get seed to pop

Aerate/topdress/seed blue tee on #1 Devlin and also #15 new tee

Using greens slicer to get air to the roots on the greens on the Weiskopf.  Followed up with a light topdressing to smooth and firm the surface.  We will do the Devlin greens on Wednesday.

Irrigation leak that was fixed in #17 fairway.  We have fixed six so far and have many more to do.  This area was  leveled with topsoil and then topdressed with sand.  Once it settles, we will sod and add seed to any areas needed.

Excited to be at QHCC

My name is Sam Leatherberry and I am very excited to be the new Director of Golf Course Maintenance at Quail Hollow CC.  I have spent the last three plus years as the Golf Course Superintendent at Bear's Best Atlanta.  In all, I have been with ClubCorp for 8 and a half years all in the Atlanta area.  I am originally from NE Ohio and I am an alumni of Ohio State.  My family and I are looking forward to meeting everyone at Quail Hollow and are glad to be back home!!!

Me, my wife Jakki, and our kids Luke, Aubrey, and Ellie