Greetings – I am Chris Charnas, Vice President/Golf at Canal Shores, and this is your regular update on the progress of renovations at Canal Shores. The weather has been good with nice hot spells and some rain to help us grow in the grass on the holes where we have seed in the ground.
Holes 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10 all have been grassed and are being grown in by Brad Helms and the Canal Shores maintenance staff. Grass will continue to grow as long as the ground temp is 55 degrees and above. Warm days and occasional rain are our friends. Here’s an aerial view of #3, #4 across the canal (previously #9), and #10 (right to left, counterclockwise).
We are done with golf course construction in Wilmette and are working hard on the Evanston holes:
- Practice Putting Green: mass earthmoving is complete and final shaping is ongoing. Drainage dissipator is in. The #1 green was redone last year and should be ready to go when the rest of the course is playable. We are hoping that the First Tee and The Golf Practice will be able to use it next spring for youth instruction, even before the rest of the course is ready for golfers. This space is going to be spectacular!
- Hole 11 and 12: mass earthmoving, final detailing and pre-work being completed. Holes should be grassed by the end of next week. We are on pace to have all construction done north of Central by the end of September.
- Hole 13: mass earthmoving and final shaping is ongoing; drainage dissipator is in.
- Holes 14-18: tree removal completed. All holes have been rototilled. There are three dissipators on the east side of the canal on these holes and one dissipator on the west side.
The entire course south of Lincoln Street has been shut down for pedestrian traffic due to the amount of construction activity. We are working to create walking corridors for neighbors inconvenienced by the construction and hope to be able to open walking paths in two weeks for the balance of the project.
As the holes grow in, we’ll be highlighting the great new golf experiences coming to Canal Shores.
Here’s Hole #6, a par 3 135-170 yard punchbowl.
The 6th is the lead-in to a three hole routing change at the north end of the property, where the existing 6th and 7th holes will now play as 6, 7 and 8, but in a clockwise fashion. The impetus for this change is multifold: to improve safety with the adjacent houses, to replace the 1st hole which is now the youth training area, and to better celebrate the incredible Baha’i Temple. Now playing south to north, the green has been incorporated into the existing central mound. The new complex is a double punchbowl separated about one third off the way into the green by a strong ridgeline. The front, right bowl is the smaller of the two and partially blind from the tees, while the larger back bowl is more generous and more visible. Both are surrounded by kicker slopes that will funnel shots inward, or deflect mishits outward and require some deft recovery skills.
Please let me know if you have any questions on the project or would like a tour. If you prefer to be unsubscribed from this newsletter, please let me know. Finally, a huge thank you to all that have donated to the Canal Shores 2nd Century project. If you have not yet donated and are interested, you can email me to set up a meeting or you can access our donation site here.
We also have Special Limited Edition Murray Brothers T-shirts available For Sale.
Regards,
Chris
*** Photo Credit to Evanston’s Own Patrick Hughes, Jr.
