Conference Time

I was able to Attend the North Central Turf grass Conference over this week.  It was a great conference with speakers like Larry Divito from the Twins, Dr. Aaron Patton from Purdue, Matt Cavanaugh from Rush Creek, Mark Michalski from TPC Minneapolis, Larry Gilhuly a retired USGA Agronomist and Roger Stewart an independent Staffing Consultant.  The talks dealt with anything from renovation to purchasing new products to Leadership and Organizational staffing.  It was a busy fulfilling week. 

This up coming week we are heading to Sioux Falls for The South Dakota GCSA meeting.  Some of the Topics are;  How to live where Excellent becomes average, Irrigation Uniformity, Remote sensing to improve your knowledge, Advance in fine Fescue, Golf Course or Nature Preserve and Advancing Your Career.  There will be much to take in in a few days. 

We took a little time to trim the trees on #7 fairway and #17 tee.  This was a good time to achieve this with some snow on the ground to help protect the turf grass.  As you can see the after pictures provide a more open fairway and tee shot.  I am sure most of you will approve.

Spring is near!!
We will see you on the course!

Ross

Is spring near?

I guess that is a typical question this time of year. The days are getting longer and the sun just seems to have a little more warming power. We recently did have a few good melting days, it sure made a impact on the snow depths.  

This week were able to get out and work on some dead trees.   We plowed a trail to the left side of #12, where we had a willow and 2 smaller pine trees to remove.  As you can see it was a nice sunny day and felt good to be outdoors. If the weather allows we do have more tree work to complete. 

As you see the stump of the tree was really leaning and slowly falling over. 

When not outside we have been working in the Maintenance Facility.  One project we had for this year was repair a beverage cart. It had a minor meeting with a tree. As shown below there was some minor frame straightening with many of the front end parts to be replaced.  Now it is ready for another season. 

We will just have to see what Mother Nature has for us the next month. Will it be an early season? Only time will tell. 

We will see you on the course. 

Ross

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from the Maintenance Staff of MC3.

Thank You for a successful 2019.

As you can see I enjoy the sunrises on the course.

Wishing you a great year!

Ross

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