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Our Parking Lot Is A Parking Lot Again

By Joe Perdue
PGA Professional/Owner
Hidden Meadows Golf Course

I may have mentioned at one time or another that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that I get excited about different things than when I was younger. For instance, Christmas was a pretty big deal when I was a little kid. It’s taken on a different meaning now that I’m older, but when I was seven or eight years old, I was so excited about getting presents I couldn’t hardly get to sleep on Christmas Eve. It used to be the same for me when I was going to play in a state open or any big golf tournament.

I still feel that same kind of excitement, but nowadays it’s when I see grass starting to fill in on a new bunker face or putting green. Yeah, I get excited about watching grass grow! I think Howard Cosell (famous sports broadcaster for those of you too young to remember him) once commented that he’d rather watch grass grow than watch a baseball game. He’d probably roll his eyes knowing that someone actually gets excited about watching both.

As many of you know, the parking lot and driveway at Hidden Meadows has been slowly deteriorating over the past couple of years. It finally got so bad that a few cars disappeared when they were trying to negotiate the potholes. We had one section in particular that you didn’t dare drive through because the mud was so bad in the spring, although that didn’t stop one of our most exalted employees from trying to make a run right through it. That did not end well.

Rand, I told you this picture would surface at an opportune time!

Rand, I told you this picture would surface at an opportune time!

So I finally broke down and hired Street’s Landscaping & Lawncare to take on the project. This was not an easy job. They had to remove a lot of material, put in a lot of drainage, and bring in a lot of fill and gravel to make the parking lot functional again. And they weren’t working in the most ideal conditions. The day they were supposed to start, we got eight inches of snow. Then the temperature dropped to 18 degrees. Then it rained. And rained. And rained some more.

Getting the parking lot prepped and ready for drain pipe.

Getting the parking lot prepped and ready for drain pipe.

The weather did not faze these guys one bit. Jeff (the owner) and his crew were out there every single day, with all of their heavy equipment, getting the job done for us. They only had about a 10 day window to get the project finished before the golf course opened for the season. They worked through some really tough conditions, and worked through a few unexpected surprises, but they got the project finished on schedule and with a minimal amount of inconvenience to our patrons that were coming to the course to use the practice range and visit us in the pro shop. ParkgLotConst.15

Prepping for some major drainage!

Prepping for some major drainage!

So we get to the last day of the project, when they are going to put down the reclaim, and I’m out there first thing in the morning. One, I’m curious how they’re going to put down the reclaim. Two, I was really excited about having a parking lot, driveway and path around the clubhouse that I wasn’t embarrassed about. So I’m running around taking pictures of the whole process.

Jeff Street putting down the reclaim in front of the clubhouse.

Jeff Street putting down the reclaim in front of the clubhouse.

After they’ve got everything done, packed up all of their equipment and have taken off, I’m in the upper part of the parking lot, taking 100’s of pictures, and all of a sudden I started thinking about the movie ‘Caddyshack,’ and the scene where Rodney Dangerfield arrives at Bushwood Country Club for the first time. I stopped dead in my tracks, looked down at my feet, and just started shaking my head. ‘Joe, what’s with all of the pictures? It’s a parking lot!’

Thank you to all of our patrons for being patient with us while we got this work done. I know it wasn’t convenient, and I know it was no fun stepping around in mud and getting your shoes and pant legs filthy. And a huge thank you to Jeff Street, owner of Street’s Landscaping & Lawncare. You and your crew went so far above and beyond anything I ever expected, and did an absolute fantastic job. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your efforts. I will recommend you and your company to anyone looking to get this kind of work done. You have a customer for life.

And yes, these days I get excited about parking lots and watching grass grow. Oh how my priorities in life have changed.PrkLotDone.17PrkLotDone.11

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