Cape Region golf course superintendents have more than enough to do to keep themselves busy, as winter approaches.

At Sussex Pines Country Club, course superintendent Scott Anderson is tackling some significant drainage work. "We’re in Georgetown, so you know already that we’re low and flat. We’ve got our work cut out for us," Anderson said.

"Some of the old fairway drains collapsed or filled in," Anderson explained. "We had 18 inches of rain in three days last August, and the water just sat there. We pumped over 2 million gallons, and still had problems. Two holes were totally submerged, and we lost two greenside approaches. They’ve come back well since then, but we’ve still got a lot to do.

"The greens are in good shape. It’s the fairways that need the help. On part of the course, we have a large clay seam under the turf that hinders drainage. In one place I’ve got only 5 inches of fall [slope] for a thousand feet," Anderson said.

Anderson plans to start with a new, herring-bone drain system for the 17^th hole, and then move on to two other fairways as weather and staff demands permit.

Ed Brown, the superintendent for Rehoboth Beach Country Club, is in the middle of a major project, creating the first paved cart paths at his club. The new work follows on the heels of the club’s recent reconstruction and renovation of its now-19 holes.

"We’re building over 5 miles of concrete paths. Then we have over 10 miles of rough and fine grading to do along the sides of the new paths after that," Brown noted. "Hopefully we’ll finish pouring concrete before the end of the year."

The new paths will be a minimum of eight feet wide, stretching to ten feet in some places. Brown expects to have all the new construction work completed well before the start of the 2002 season.

Jim Prucnal, the course superintendent at Kings Creek Country Club, plans to do some minor irrigation work on the course. He will also continue his past progress in adding new sprinkler heads, in better locations.

"Irrigation practices have changed quite a bit since the course opened 11 years ago. We’re removing old, big head sprinklers and replacing each one with two smaller sprinkler heads. This change helps spread the water more evenly. There’s a better reach into the rough and other areas that the old heads just couldn’t get to," Prucnal said.

Rob Marshall, who owns Old Landing Golf Course, said simply, "We’re into logging right now. We’re cutting down trees near the 3^rd, 12^th, and 14^th greens, and also near the 15^th tee box, to increase air circulation. We’ve cut a mess of them, probably 50 to 60 so far."

Chris Adkins, the co-owner and superintendent of The Rookery, is making some changes on the new course, based on their experience with how golfers actually play the layout. "We’ll be adding traps, such as on the left side of the first hole, and creating a sea of sand between the 3^rd and 4^th fairways. We’re also going to do some heavy-duty tree planting, make some pond repairs, and also do some general landscaping and irrigation improvements."

Steve Zeveney, the course superintendent at Shawnee Country Club, expects to continue his several-year project of rebuilding bunkers throughout the course. "I know we’ll also be doing some more tree-trimming, as we did earlier this year to improve air circulation around the greens. We’ve already pulled some stumps from the trees we cut down this summer," he said. "I also want to make some changes to the drainage system on the 12^th hole, where water collects on parts of the fairway."

Many golfers don’t realize how much effort goes into the maintenance of the dynamic environment of a golf course. The Cape Region greenskeepers can use the winter to make needed improvements, and better prepare the courses for the new season.

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