Turf
23 JUN 2023
Drainage work at Le Maître has officially begun. I'm very happy to see the Construction NMP team working on the drainage improvements to these areas. Although a little surprised I must admit that I'm a happy to see them here already, I was expecting them at the beginning of July. We understand that ideally this work would be done earlier in the spring or later in the fall but given that we want the work done by the experts at NMP we work within their availability. If all goes well and nothing special or 3 weeks of rain prevents them from moving forward, the work should be completed before the construction vacations.
To start with, they'll install collector drains to capture most of the water. Next, slit drains will be installed. This will be the same kind of system we used last year on holes 9, 11 and 18.
So as not to disturb the work and to keep all the workers safe, hole N0 5 will be changed to par 3 for the duration of the work on that hole. Two options will be possible, either an advanced tee giving 130-140 yards from the green or a temporary green and tee-offs on the original tees. When work takes place on hole 8, a temporary green will be erected just before the stream that separates the two parts of the fairway. Our plan is to always only have one hole affected at a time. Both holes will be fully open on the weekends, and daily after workers have left for the day. You can inquire at the pro-shop or with the starters about playing conditions for your round.
Major work on the irrigation system
We had a major breakage on the water main of our irrigation system. An 8-inch pipe was causing problems and could burst at any moment. We managed to repair it just before the forecasted heat wave. There was no way we could water without this repair. I made the decision to replace everything with new material at this point and not just repair the leak. The pipe at that location is quite deep and requires an excavator to give us access. It's much more complicated to repair at this point and does much more damage than manual digging. This, as many have noted, is not the first time we have needed to excavate this area for repairs. We know that if we need to return that it will not be for this same issue.
Upcoming maintenance
- Vertical mowing on fairways;
- Work on sand traps;
- Seeding on tees.
Marc-André Doré
Superintendent