Setting priorities at golf course property is always up for debate. A top priority for one superintendent or a member could be very different from the next because everything on the 'to do' list is important, although some tasks are more critical than others. In this instance, there is no debate. The decision is pretty clear that a leaking septic field is priority number one. Water features and bunkers are fine, but overflowing septic is one hazard that doesn't belong on a golf course.

The original leach field was at capacity and needed to be enlarged to handle the increased use of the clubhouse. After a thorough planning and bidding process, a local contractor was chosen to install two trenches 10 feet deep, 2 feet wide, and 204 feet long. They finished in 5 days and the leach field has returned to normal operation.

The maintenance staff was certainly busy at this job site prior to and after the work of the contractors. To prepare the site, we cut the sod on the forward tee, cut and capped any irrigation lines, removed all heads that were near the path of construction, and set up the maintenance road for the trucks and tractors. I stayed in close contact with Paul and the guys from Central Valley Septic to make sure we were on the same page and to offer our assistance when needed. The project went very smooth and they finished in less than 5 days.

In the top photo, the staff is removing sod to reuse after the trenches are installed. The lower pic shows the final grade with the forward tee removed. The gold tee will be replaced in a different location, closer to the fairway. Since its construction in 2007, this tee was in harms way with long and left shots from the driving range. The new location, 25 yards closer to the green, will be out of reach and also, well protected from approach shots into #1.

Two weeks after the new trenches were complete, we are finally wrapping up this job site. The old tee required four days to move to a soil storage area. We will use the same soil to build the new tee and look into other projects including target greens on the driving range. Irrigation tech, Richard Rivera has reinstalled all of the sprinkler heads in their original positions. All leftover rock has been cleaned up, the old sod has been laid back on the ground, the entire area has been graded, and we will put down some seed and water today to get things back to normal.

This project went as well as could be expected, but all along we couldn't help but joke, "I don't like the smell of this one."