Earth day 2013

It is now April 22.  No golf yet!!  I was on the course yesterday afternoon, there was some promising signs that the golf season is not far away.  

I checked several greens, for the most part the frost was gone.  On the fairways and tees there is a few grass spots starting to show and more each day.  As for now I am thinking there will be some golf this weekend in one form or another.  Lets hope so!! 

 

Today is also Earth Day 2013.  Did you know that 91% of acreage on an 18 hole golf course is green space that provides benefits to the Eco-system.  And 77% of all golf course have adopted practices to lower energy use.  I thought I would list some of the things we are doing at Moccasin Creek to be Environmentally Sustainable.

Water and Energy conservation.  This is done in a variety of ways.  On some of our fine turf areas we use wetting agents, this helps our irrigation water be more efficient.  Hand watering bad areas vs. turning bigger heads on longer.  Last year we installed energy efficient variable speed drives on our irrigation pumps.  Updating and cleaning irrigation heads on a regular basis.  And only irrigating on a as needed basis, not over watering. 

Water quality and Protection.  When it comes to pesticide usage we use the Integrated Pest Management plan, basically only apply pesticides in an efficient manner and only applying when needed according to our set threshholds.  We also use buffer zones around all our natural water areas, buffer zones help filter out pollutants in runoff, we try to prevent any and all contaminated runoff from entering these areas.

These are just a few of the many practices we are trying to accomplish on a daily basis to keep your golf course environmentally friendly.

We will See You on the Course Soon!!  

Where is Spring?

Went for an adventure on the golf course today. I say adventure due to the 5-6" of crusty hard snow that is still covering your golf course.
I have enclosed a picture when I was checking #17 green. The grass actually looks in good shape. Under the grass there was about 2" of frozen soil then thawed from the 3-8" range. If we could get rid of this snow it should not take long to get the course open.
I hope to see you on the course soon!!
Your comments are always welcome.

Golf Course Update

Well Mother Nature has given us another blow in delaying our golf season. 6" + of snow is not good for spring golf. I am hoping next week will be better and we will be golfing soon!!
As you can see the parking lot is cleared and ready for you. Come out and watch The Masters or enjoy some great dining.
We Will See You On The Course Soon!!

Course Conditions

Here we are April 1, no golf yet. The past few days the snow on the course has reduced dramatically. The pictures are from 17 & 18 greens. Where the snow is gone the grass is looking in great shape so far. The greens are also thawed out about 2-3".
So when will the course open? The answer is still unknown but we will keep you updated. I look forward to some great golf when we do open.
Think Green!!!

Office carpet and paint

A couple pictures of new paint and carpet in the Maintenance Shop Office. Not sure when the last time this was done but it was long overdo. We are also going through the Maintenance Shop cleaning shelves and discarding outdated parts.
We will see you on the course soon!!

Clearing snow

The days are getting longer, the sun has more intensity, spring time is almost here. This is a picture of the maintenance staff removing snow on the north side of the Clubhouse.

Water quality class

At the GCSA of South Dakota conference. Currently learning about irrigation water quality.