Canal Shores Construction Update
Volume 6
October 6, 2023
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. After what seemed like endless rains, the weather broke last weekend and Wadsworth kicked things back into high gear. The rain is good for growing grass, but bad for moving dirt. So it’s kind of a Catch-22 at this point.
Holes 2-11 all have been grassed and are being grown in by Brad and Andrew and the Canal Shores maintenance staff. This week we started cutting the grass on the northern holes (6,7,8). Grass will continue to grow as long as the ground temperature is 55 degrees and above (which might not be much longer based on the current forecast!).
Before I recap all the construction progress and highlight the golf experiences coming to Canal Shores (holes #9 and #4 are featured in this edition), I thought you’d enjoy watching two videos which really illustrate the great things happening here (thanks to your support!):
- Our 2nd Century Is Just Getting Started showcases the construction in progress across the course and nicely highlights some holes coming together
- Short video of Hole #11, a Biarritz template, with sightlines through the tunnel to #12.
Last, but not least, here is an aerial view of Hole #1 with the new 30,000 square foot putting green on the left side! This is going to be fantastic!
Here’s a recap of the construction progress:
- All tree work has been completed
- All drainage dissipators have been installed
- Practice Putting Green: final shaping is finished. The green should be drained by the end of the week and ready for sod and sand and seeding early next week. We have also worked with Space to develop appropriate infrastructure to handle future Out of Space Concerts (returning Summer 2025).
- Hole 11: finished this week, and grow- in has commenced.
- Hole 12: final shaping is ongoing. Should be ready for sod and sand and seeding this week.
- Hole 13: final shaping is ongoing. Should be ready for sod and sand and seeding next week.
- Hole 14: hole has been rototilled. Preliminary rough shaping has started.
- Hole 15: final shaping is ongoing for fairway and green; will be grassed after Hole 13.
- Holes 16: rough shaping has commenced for tee and green on both sides of this cross-canal hole.
- Hole 17: hole has been rototilled. Behind the 17th tee is a path used by neighbors to get to the Metra. We are working to reestablish that path in the safest way possible for golfers and neighbors.
- Hole 18: hole will be rototilled this week. 18 will be the last hole to be completed.
We are planning to be done with all course construction in mid-November. By that time, unless something crazy happens, the ground won’t be warm enough to grow grass. We still plan to drop the seed on these holes. This is called dormant seeding. The seed is put down and will be ready to germinate as soon as the ground warms up in the spring of 2024.
In the interim, KemperSports is beginning to plan for Summer 2024. We won’t have 18 holes ready to go immediately, but we may be able to offer a shorter routing at some point. Details to follow.
As the holes grow in, we’ll be highlighting the great new golf experiences coming to Canal Shores:
Hole #9 (old #8), a par 3 90-130 yards.
UPPER SHELF
The 9th is another shorty, but one that has plenty of bite. Major shade issues currently impact the health of the teeing area, so selective clearing and moving of the tee to the right will create a better growing environment. The green itself remains in place, with the corners of the original pad recaptured to their square footprint. At the midway point of the restored green, a sharp transition down leads to a new front pinning area, creating two distinct shelves. The right side of the green will be guarded by a deep, steep-faced grass hollow, demanding accuracy to score well here.
New Hole #4 (old #9), a par 3 105-155 yards (looking west from the tee toward the green).
CROSSING
The new 4th is the first of the two holes that play across the canal. With the moving of the 3rd green (existing 4th hole), the tees here are expanded back to provide much more space and some additional yardage. The hole plays across the canal at a diagonal, and the green has been positioned to match this angle. The original Bendelow green pad will be recaptured along the back and side edges, and then expanded to the front. The key feature on this hole is a new ridgeline that parallels the canal, starting short of the green and extending into the putting surface. Those landing short of this ridge will
funnel down towards the canal, ending up four to five feet below the green and requiring a tough recovery pitch. Choose the right carry over the ridge and most will find a birdie putt or a much easier chip from the bailout area right. From the forward teeing area across the canal, the approach is much more straight-forward with the ridge still in play, but more along the left flank.
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 Credits to the Original Lumberjack Patrick Hughes, Jr.