Finishscapers

 Pictured above is the unofficial 13th member of our Turf Crew so far this season, Lyle Robinson. He and his posse from his company, Finishscapers, have been helping us knock off a few early season projects. Lyle is a friend from way back in our Glasgow Hills days, and after a stint out west with architect Les Furber (Glasgow Hills, Links at Penn Hills), he returned to the Island to start his own boutique construction outfit. He does just about anything, but loves getting out and working on golf courses whenever he can. You can see some of his shaping work at the new 9 holes at Countryview Golf Course. We have used Lyle over the past couple of years for a few odds and ends, but hopefully will be partnering a bit more in the future so we can work our way through refinishing a lot of the tee surfaces.

 You may have also noticed the practice bunker that used to sit beside the driving range tees is being filled in. Late last fall we hired another company, Island Grown Sod, to come in and renovate the range decks. After 10 plus years of punishment it was high time to resurface the decks and Rodney Chappell and his crew did a great job.

                                         The finished product. The bunker above was filled in
                                         using the spoils from this project.

   This was the bunker this week. Lyle came back in and regraded the old chipping area, along with the old bunker to form a new tee deck for the range. It will be finished up in a couple of weeks when the weather warms up and we can seed. It will be in play sometime late in the season.

                                         Another shaping shot. The rough grade is now complete
                                         and Lyle will come back to do the finish grade and
                                         surrounds seeding when the soil temps warm up.


 It's really great to be able to get out early this season and make these improvements to the course. Golf courses are organic entities that continue to grow and change constantly. Part of our job as a Turf Department is to identify issues that develop over time, and find efficient ways to fix them. It is an ongoing process that keeps our work fresh and fun.