Renovations at Moraine Country Club

Jason Mahl, the Class A superintendent at Moraine Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, has a huge item checked off his to-do list: open the golf course. A project which began with platform tennis construction, practice facility renovations and an extensive tree removal program, also featured a complete renovation of the golf course, including rebuilding all playing surfaces and installing new irrigation and drainage systems. What began over two years ago is now complete.

Jason Mahl (right) was on the first tee greeting those were in attendance for the MCC Media Day

The project originally broke ground in early 2014 when crews began demoing what are now the former tennis courts. Soon after the demo, construction began on the recently completed tennis courts, which includes brand new platform courts, surrounds, and a warming hut. Another large project which was coinciding with the platform tennis construction was the complete renovation of the practice facilities. The original range and tee were treated with glyphosate and the existing range irrigation was cut and capped. A new range tee was installed, including both grass and mat surfaces. The hitting area includes five new target greens, complete with bunkers and a large target fairway. In addition to the range, a short game facility was also added. The new short game facility features a USGA spec'd putting green, practice bunkers and approach area. New irrigation and drainage was installed over the complete range and short game practice facility.

Communicating the proper range tee divot patterns to the MCC members has seen early success.

The project on the golf course itself did not begin until June 2015, which happened to be one of the wettest June months in Ohio history with over eight inches of rainfall in a two-week span. The construction project on the course was a massive undertaking. Every playing surface was to be rebuilt, and a complete redesign of greens, tees, fairways, bunkers, roughs and native areas was to take place. New irrigation and drainage were also being installed at this time. With the record-setting rainfall in June, the project faced considerable delays early, but, Jason and his staff worked additional hours to ensure the project remained on schedule. A huge kudos goes out to Jason and the Moraine turf staff for making personal sacrifices to ensure the project was a huge success.

The ninth hole post renovation. The course looked fantastic.

Moraine Country Club officially opened back up to the members on June 11, 2016, more than two years after the project initially broke ground. I was fortunate enough to view much of the course in late June, and it's easy to see why Jason and his staff are getting such high praise from the Moraine membership. The course looked beautiful and playing conditions were second to none. Not only did Jason do a great job spearheading the two-year project, he kept the membership well informed throughout the entire process, proving the value of communication. Superintendents have come a long way from lurking in the shadows and seen as individuals who just 'mow the grass', and Jason is a prime example of that. His leadership shown on the project includes a website he created to keep the Moraine membership informed and displays just how far our members have come. This is a great example which showcases managing the largest asset of any club is both an art and science which requires a trained, skilled and dedicated individual.

A group finishing up their round on the 18th green (ninth green in foreground).

Ohio chapters come together for great cause

For the first time, the five Ohio GCSAA-affiliated chapters came together to host a joint chapter event, and the cause couldn't have been better: raising funds for the Wee One Foundation. The fundraiser began about a month before the event date, featuring a challenge between the five chapters. The challenge brought some good ole competition between the chapters, determining which chapter could garner the most participation in the event and raise the most funds.

The Wee One Foundation has directly supported several Ohio turfgrass industry members including Dean Kerns and Ryan Kopke who were both in attendance supporting the day's cause. Both of these gentlemen shared some of their experiences of how the Wee One offered assistance and donations. These shared experiences really hit home with those in attendance. It let them know that their donations were appreciated and that they are directly making a difference in our tight-knit turf community. All the proceeds from the day went to Dean Kerns to continue his battle with ALS.

Ohio Wee One attendees supporting Dean Kerns and his battle with ALS.

The event featured about 80 participants from around the state and region, including Adam Ikamas, CGCS of the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association and Luke Cella, CGCS of the Midwest Association of Golf Course Superintendents. Following golf and dinner, Luke Cella gave a brief presentation on the background of the Wee One and presented a check to Dean Kerns which put the total dollar amount donated by the Wee One Foundation over $1,000,000 to date. A silent auction and fundraising ball-drop were also featured on the day to help raise additional funds for the cause. This was a great event for the state of Ohio and the turf community as it was the first Wee One event to take place in Ohio. A huge thank you goes out to all those who worked so hard to make this event possible, including Brian Laurent of Propel Solutions and his team and Wedgewood Country Club and Joe Noppenberger for hosting. Thank you to the Wee One Foundation, which matched all funds up to $10,000 raised by this great event. This was an exceptional inaugural event, and I look forward to seeing it grow throughout the years!

COGCSA past President Carl Wittenauer, CGCS with Dean Kerns getting ready to select the 'ball-drop' winner.