Winter

Winter is here and in a big way.  Snow and now some colder than normal temperatures.  The Golf Course looks to be in good shape.  I went out and did a green inspection Tuesday.  What I found was a good cover of snow, no ice layers and the turf looks to be in great shape.  We will have to wait and see what the rest of the winter season has in store for us. 

The Maintenance staff has moved inside and started worked on equipment for the 2020 season.  Cleaning, servicing, sharpening, and any other details is all part of getting each piece ready for the next season.  Shown is our 1998 Bobcat, getting cleaned up and serviced for the next snow event. 

The first big snow event of the season was one to remember! 16" of wet heavy snow.  Always fun to show up to the course and see the front step area buried in snow. 

Happy Holidays From the Maintenance Staff at Mc3!
Enjoy The Season!

Ross

New Greens mower / tree removal

We were able to get the course fully winterized the last week of October. This is slightly earlier than normal, With the forecast it was time and didn’t know if we were going to get a break anytime soon.

Most of our time recently has been maintaining and cleaning equipment. When the weather allows we do get outside and trim or cut down trees.  Not many to cut down this year. There is always a few. Below is a picture of the spruce left of #12, it was basically dead, will be replaced.   

Monday we received delivery of a new greens mower.  This was a good purchase at this time of year as it is a demo with only 33 hours on it, there waas some good savings verse the new price. The old greens mower will be moved down to tees, collars and approaches.  

As shown the lights are installed and ready for the 2020 golf season.

Thank You for another great gold season. 

We are looking forward to 2020!!!

Ross

Winter Prep

It is starting to feel like the winter season may be here.  Forecast is for a few days in the 40's then who really knows what will happen.  This season has definitely been a trying season.  From spring flooding to wet conditions most of the year.  Everything seemed to be a battle.  Through it all the course was in great shape, I hope you enjoyed it. 

The last two weeks we have been preparing for the winter season.  The irrigation,wells systems and restrooms were blown out and ready for colder weather.  Greens were treated with a combination of Fungicide and anti desiccant, followed up by a heavy top dressing of sand.  This will give us the best chance of greens grass in the spring.  Leave chopping and blowing has been on going, I hoping by the end of today we should be done.  Temporary greens have been installed, for now the regular greens are open.  So yes the course is winter ready.

 These cold morning have created some great morning views. 

If you have any ideas for next year please let us know.

Thank You for another great golf season.
Ross

Not what we were wishing for

Well the snow has hit us.  Not sure of the exact totals, but we do have some accumulation on the ground.  The forecast looks to warm and get back to golf season soon.

Last week we were able to start our compaction relief program.  This year we are using a slicing tine on the fairways.  This style of tine allows us to go down to a depth of 8".  We are also using this program in the rough and cart traffic areas.  As shown below it is a tractor mounted machine.

We also started the collars and approaches last week.  The process is a little different here, we are trying to alleviate compaction and also build up the sand content.  By adding the sand it should help firm these areas up.  We start with a heavy sand top dressing.  Then we us a walk behind unit with 5/8" solid tines.  As shown below there is a good amount of sand that will be worked into the holes.  With any luck we will use the same process on the tee surfaces this up coming week. 

If Mother Nature allows we are planning on leveling and reseeding the tee surfaces on #4.  This tee area is one of the worst for bent grass contamination.  The plan is to get all the work done this fall and seed in the spring.  We will keep the current tee open as late as possible, then switch over to a variety of temporary tee areas.  The hole will remain open and very playable through the whole process.  If you have any question or comments please feel free to contact me. 

Thank You
We will see you on the course.

Ross

Enjoy some Fall Golf!!

Sometimes Mother Nature gives us a little break.  That was the case with our deep tine aeration.  The weather was perfect, even had a bonus .5" rain helped get more sand into the holes.  As shown below 3 days after completion the greens were back to normal playing conditions. 

         The rest of our compaction relief program will start happening as time allows.  We will be using our slicing aerator on the tees and fairways; this has the capabilities or going down to a 8” depth.  On the collars and aprons we will use a tradition ¾” solid tine machine; this along with a heavy top dressing of sand should give us some good results.  There will be very minimal disruption to playability.  If you have any questions about our compaction relief programs feel free to contact me. 

The golf course is great right now.  I hope you make time to come out and enjoy some Fall golf. 

Ross

Deep Tine Aerating Greens

Monday, September 16 we will be Deep Tine aerating our greens

Deep Tine Aerators penetrate deep into the soil to maximize water percolation, stimulate root growth, and improve air flow to the root system.

Please excuse the short term disruption to normal playability.

This is a much needed procedure with many needed benefits.

Thank You

Keeping up with The changing conditions

This year has been a year of ever changing conditions.  There has been a big variety of weather extremes, at times we are just hanging on to keep up.  The last few weeks everything has seemed to settle some, it definitely shows in the course condition / playability.

As shown in the pictures above there has been a good run of great playability the last few weeks.

As September approaches we will start looking into our compaction relief program.  Through the Fall we will be reliving compaction of all greens, tees, fairways and some of the high traffic rough areas.  Most of the practices we use cause very little disruption to you as the golfer.  I am not sure of the exact timing of these events, we will make every effort to keep the disruption to a minimum.  If you have any questions regarding the compaction relief efforts please feel free to contact me.

Enjoy!!

Ross

Tee Surfaces

Have you noticed the yellow spots on the tees?

It is a result of a herbicide we sprayed to help eliminate the bent grass contamination on the tee surfaces. It also controls crab grass and some broadleaf weeds. It may take 2-3 applications to totally eliminate the bent grass contamination. We will then start the process of seeding a new stand of blue/rye grass. Yes they may look a little funky at times, during this process, but should not effect playability. 

It’s never a good time to control. Heading into fall will give us the best chance to establish our new seed. 

As shown in the picture the yellowing areas are bent grass and crab grass. 

While out mowing on Sunday morning I hit something in the collar on #18. Yes it was a quarter!  This time I was lucky and did no damage to the mower, other times we have damaged the mower and had to grind the reel and bed knive. As shown below the quarter did not fair so well. 

Please pick up your ball marks. 

We will see you on the course. 

Ross

Range Bunkers Complete

This morning we finished the "visual" bunkers on the driving range.  It always rewarding to complete a project and see the final result.  Below are a couple of pictures of the process.  The final result will be very maintenance friendly, still providing the visual of a bunker. 

Cutting out the sod to a depth of 3"

On this particular bunker we had to cut out a mound to give us the proper look we desired.

It's that time of year we start to lose some of our seasonal staff members.  This year I had a great seasonal team.  There were many days where the working conditions were less than ideal.  This place is nothing without the dedication of all of the employees.  If you get a chance make sure to thank them.  Below is a picture of most of the maintenance staff 2019.  THANK YOU!!

Enjoy your course!
Ross

Rain Rain and More Rain

Rain seems like it just won't stop this year.  I don't remember the last time I ran a full cycle on the irrigation system.  It is starting to get to a point where we have mushy wet areas,  I sure hope we dry out soon.  As much as possible keep your carts out of the wet areas, we try to keep them marked and on occasion we miss one.  Thank You 

With all the rain the golf course has been in great shape.  Most new seeded areas are filling in nicely.  Keeping up with the rapid growth rate has been challenging at times.  I think most of the maintenance staff are getting tired of wearing rain gear on a daily basis.

The minimum maintenance areas on the course are on their second year.  The first year we received very little rain, the areas grew very little.  This year they have gone to the other extreme, lots of growth and filled in.  We are monitoring the areas and may have to make some fine tuning to them.  If you have nay suggestions please let me know.  Your input is appreciated.

One project still in the works is installing the sand looking agri material on the driving range, we have the material on site.  This will give the visual look of a bunker and be very maintenance friendly.  If all goes well we start on this project in the next week or so.  

Below are few pictures of the Course.  Enjoy

The course is great come out and enjoy!

Summer Is Here

First Happy Father's Day to all Fathers!!!

Summer has finally arrived, Mother Nature has also provided a few timely rains.  The Golf Course is in great shape right now.  I hope you find time to come out and enjoy. 

We are now fully staffed for the summer, last one showed up last week.  With a full staff we should be able to keep up with the ever changing conditions of our weather.  Speaking of Staff have you seen the new Maintenance Staff Shirts?  The blue polo shirts help our M-crew look and feel like a team. Take time to check them out.  Even with the full staff we will occasionally miss some items that need attention, if you see anything please feel free to contact me.  Thank You

Last week we took down the last of our docks.  Seems the water levels are receding and we should be in good shape.  It's always a good feeling putting them back in the cart shed!  Shown Below is Mikayla and Maddie removing the decking.

A little foggy this Father's Day morning.  I am sure it will be a great day once the fog lifts.

Enjoy!

Ross 

Rain / Native Areas

        The course is wet and soggy.  Over the past weekend we received 1.65" of rain, now the last two days we have another .88"  That's a total of just of 2.5" for the last 5 days.  Yes we will dry out quickly but really need some warm and drying weather to show up soon.  

Over the last two years we have been instituting some “no mow or minimum maintenance areas”.  Most of these areas are out of play. By not mowing we will help eliminate some costly maintenance and allow the staff to focus on other items that really need attention.  In some areas this will provide a nice seperation between holes.  We are not sure if we will just let the areas go or mow at a higher height of cut.  With all the moisture we have received this spring these areas are growing.  Please keep all cart traffic out of all tall grass areas, most of the areas are marked with pink flags or red penalty stakes.  As shown belown the cart tracks looks terrible!  Contact me if you have questions about our minimum maintenance areas.

We will see you on the course!
Ross

Mid May Course Update

Just when we thought it would warm up and dry out, it stays cold and wet.  I sure hope this pattern changes soon.  I hope you have taken advantage of the few nice days we have seen this spring. 

The golf course is looking good.  The greens do have a golden/brownish look right now.  That is a combination of few things.  First is we applied a growth enhancer to the greens, this slows the upward growth and encourages root growth.  Second is the cold weather is causing the plants to not uptake the nutrients like normal. And finally is we a bit of anthracnose happening.  This is a fungi that loves the cold wet weather.  So we need this weather to warm up and get some good growing weather.  As recommended we are treating with liquid nitrogen forms and fungicides on a 7-10 day pattern.  This should help us get through the stress period until it warms up.  This does not effect play, just don't have the lush green color.  This is what most of the greens look like as shown below, this is #13 green.   

The old bunker on #17 and the driving range bunkers were all seeded 2 weeks ago.  Seed is just now starting to germinate.  When we seeded these areas we used a combination of blue/ rye/ fescue grasses.  What you see germinating right now is the rye grass, soon the fescue will germinate with the blue grass coming up last.  Please stay off all new seeded areas until the grass is well established. 

Recently we installed 150 markers on all the cart paths on the par 3 holes, shown below.  This will give you a quick reference for approximate yardages.  Let me know what you think. 

We will see you on the course!!

Ross

Maybe spring will show up soon?

It's now May, we had a few good days of golf.  Now hoping the weather will straighten out and there will be many good days to play golf!

The golf course is actually in great shape.  We have very few winter kill areas to seed.  This is a good feeling after the severe winter.  The creek levels have also gone down, as of this morning there are only two crossings with water over them.  The light rain should not effect us much and I anticipate the levels to continue to drop.  With the warmer weather I expect the grass will start growing more consistently,  we will be out keep your course fine tuned for a great golfing experience.  If you would happen to see anything that is in need of attention please let me know,  there are many acres of  turf and we on occasion can miss items.

Over the next week we hope to be seeding the area behind 17 green, and the former bunkers on the driving range.  Once the seed is established, on the old range bunkers, we will be adding a agri material.  This will give us a visual of having a bunker there with the ability to pick up the range balls in a timely manner.

A beautiful sunset over the dike system on #17.

Hope to see you on the course!
Ross

The Melt is Here

Our Spring melt has started, it has been at a slow pace but progress is made everyday.

Wednesday we went out and checked the greens on the golf course.  What we found is some greens that the snow is mostly gone, others are still snow covered.  So we started clearing some drainage trails on the  snow covered greens.  This will acomplish two things.  First it will help remove excess surface water as the snow is melting.  Second it will also aid and speed up the melting process, this is done by exposing the grounds surface.  We may go back and cut more cahnnels as we see fit. 

As you cand see the drainage ways will melt off rather quickly.  The bottom photo is #11 green, the grass is mostly exposed and looks great. 

For now we will continue to monitor the course and take any necessary actions. 

And yes we will OPEN when new hole locations can be cut.  Soon??

Ross

Snow - When will Spring show up

Here we are in the Middle of March.  Yes Mother Nature has not been very kind to us.  This Is South Dakota the days are getting longer and things can change quickly.  I guess the main thing is we are waiting to see what the Spring brings, and being prepared for anything.  I am hoping that golf season will happen sooner than later.   

Last week Kenny, Matt and myself attended the SD Golf Course Superintendent's Association Conference and show in Sioux Falls. There were over 150 total attendees there.  It was a great three days with the main focus is on education, trade show and net working. At the show Kenny received Equipment Technician of the Year, a well deserved award for the many years in the Golf industry and job he preforms. 

Before you know it we will be out on the course again, in the meantime come out and enjoy some Sim golf. 

Think Spring!!

Ross

Ready for spring!!

Yes the last four weeks have been rather brutal.  Snow, wind and colder than normal temperatures have us hoping for a early spring.  The Golf Course's snow removal equipment is getting a good workout this winter season.  The golf course turf remains in great shape, there has been a good snow cover with little or no ice forming under all the snow. 

With the weather as such, we have been busy getting ready for the golf season in the maintenance facility.  One of our many tasks this year is replacing some hydraulic seals on our aging mower fleet.  The mower shown below is our verti cut unit, this model is 13 years old.  We have seen a few issues with this style of power unit start to drip hydraulic fluid out of a valve bank under the main console.  As you can see below replacing the seals in the middle of the all those pipes and fittings is not such a fun project, just ask Matt and Kenny!  On this particular unit we had to replace only 8 seals, one other just like it we replaced 12.  It definitely takes time and patience get the seals out and the new ones installed.  We will test the machine upon reassembly, the true test always is once the machine is out and running under full load for 2-3 hours. 

If you ever want to see what is happening at the Maintenance Facility please stop by, the coffee is always on. 

Think Spring!

Ross
 

Wecome to 2019

2019 is actually starting off with some snow cover, not everything is covered but will take what we have for now.  Through all this the temperatures have remained normal like, that is good with me.  Below is a typical picture of a tee area, the exposed  and covered turf all look to be in great shape.  This is common with all turf areas right now.  What will the rest of the winter bring? 

With the recent blizzards it has made it difficult to get on the course, there are many drifted in areas.  With that most days are now spent working in the shop, preparing equipment and accessories for the new season.  There are countless hours getting  the equipment sharpened and serviced ready for another season of golf. 

Next week Matt, Kenny and myself will be attending the Northern Green Expo in Minneapolis.  This event is held at the Minneapolis Convention Center.  It is a joint meeting of Golf Courses, Landscapers and Nurseries.  There is three days of education, trade show and networking.  There will many great education and equipment learning opportunities. 

 Have you tried out the New Simulators and Pub Grub??

Come out and enjoy.

Ross