We have now been under construction at VCC for eighteen working days, and much has been accomplished, and we are off to a good start. Eric Ullrich will still provide his informative and weekly Turf Talk, but I wanted to update everyone on the design and construction progress to date.

The Arcis Construction Team only has three specialty contractors on-site; a Tree Company, a Concrete Company, and a Lake Construction/Dredging Company. So most everyone you may have seen on-site is an Arcis Team Member. We all work long hours and most generally seven days a week to meet our schedule and construct a fantastic golf course.

As most of you know, we started with the quadrant of holes six through nine, which provides an excellent contained area to finish off and sprig as soon as possible. As we finish our construction works on holes #6-9, we will progress from hole #5 to the #2 tee complex. As you can tell, we are working our way out of the three distinct canyons that VCC occupies. It’s imperative that once we install the bunker sand, sod around the bunkers, mulch, and sprig the remaining turf areas, we don’t have construction equipment returning to any areas. Several days ago, we moved shaping operations and the bulldozer across the road to start rough shaping.

I will go through the holes sequentially and provide brief bullet points on what work has been done in each area.

Hole #1:
• Killing grass

Hole #2:
• Our engineers now confirm that we cannot cut or fill within 20′ of the existing sewer. Some of you may have seen the manholes over the years. As a result, we cannot shift the tee complex as much as we had hoped. Therefore, we have had to spend extra funds to cut and prune a few more trees.
• Fill material has been placed for the fairway bunkers
• 75% of the greenside bunkers have been rough-shaped and are ready for drainage.

Hole #3:
• Excavation and rough shaping of the new tee complex have started.
• Greenside bunkers have been rough-shaped and are ready for drainage.
• The existing weir was not repairable, and we could not determine if any repair of the weir would prevent further leaking. The giant pine tree adjacent to the weir was the reason for the leak, as the roots had compromised the integrity of the weir structure. Therefore, we removed 90% of the weir and are building a natural stone waterfall in its place. This will allow us to hold the upper lake’s water level and provide an attractive waterfall feature. Please remember, it will not be a massive waterfall, as we had to keep the two lakes in the exact location and at the same elevation.

Hole #4:
• Construction of the tee complex has started, and tees are being roughed-shaped.
• Fill material has been placed at the landing area for the new bunkers. We have a meeting on Monday to determine how to avoid the sewer line that runs below the fairway.
• The greenside bunker has been completed and is ready for drainage

Hole #5:
• We have been hauling fill material to the tee complex and, more specifically, to the new back tee. This is a significant fill and will take several days and many dump trucks of dirt to complete.
• The fairway bunkering has been completed, and after Jason’s visit on 4/25 and adjustments made, the bunkers will be ready for drainage.
• Greenside bunkers are completed and ready for drainage.

Hole #6:
• The tee complex is roughed in and ready for new irrigation
• New bunkering in the fairway is completed, and drainage will be installed on 4/23
• A significant amount of mulch has been installed
• Greenside bunkering is completed, and drainage will be installed on 4/23
• Lake edges have been reshaped
• Slope clearing and under brushing are completed

Hole #7:
• The tee complex is roughed in, and irrigation installation has started.
• Greenside bunkering is completed, and drainage will be installed on 4/23
• Cart path panels were removed for drainage and irrigation sleeves.
• The hillside behind the green complex has been cleaned and prepped for new mulch.
• Lake edges have been reshaped
• Slope clearing and under brushing are completed

Hole #8:
• The tee complex is roughed in, and irrigation trenching is completed
• CMU block wall and footing have been removed, and natural boulders will be utilized in specific areas.
• Fairway bunkering is completed, and drainage will be installed on 4/23
• Lake edges have been reshaped
• Slope clearing and under brushing are completed

Hole #9:
• The tee complex is roughed in, and irrigation is completed.
• Slope clearing and under brushing are completed
• New cart path routing is completed, and concrete is scheduled for 4/27
• Fairway bunkering is completed, and drainage will be installed on 4/23. Bunker Linker and sod are planned for 4/25-4/27
• Lake edges have been reshaped
• Nearly 90% of the mulch has been installed
• Greenside cart path is cut in, and concrete is scheduled for 4/27
• Greenside bunkers are completed and ready for liner and sod, which is planned for 4/25-4/27
• Sand will be installed in the greenside bunkers on 4/27 and 28
• Slope clearing and under brushing are completed

Hole #10-14:
• Killing grass

Hole #15:
• Killing grass
• Natural rock is installed around lake edges.
• Dredging of the lake is scheduled for 4/25. It will take approximately five days to complete the dredging operations.

Hole #16:
• Investigation of the bridge determined several areas of termite and rotting wood damage, and the bridge’s integrity was compromised. We tried to salvage the bridge, but it was determined the areas of decay and termite damage were too significant to repair. We have removed the bridge and completed pouring the new concrete footings for the bridge. We are building a low-profile bridge that will now allow unobstructed views of the lake as you come up #15 fairway and from #17 tee and fairway.
• Natural rock is installed around lake edges and as proposed in our photo sims presented at the town hall.

Hole #17 – 18:
• Killing grass

I look forward to providing another construction update in the coming weeks.

All the best,

Ed E. Easley
Arcis Golf
Sr. VP. Construction
Dir. Of Agronomy