Mother Nature is in Control

Springs like this we are reminded of just how much we are not in control and just along for the ride.  We are having very cold spring.  Most areas of turf have barely started to grow at all.  

Above is a picture of #9 fairway.  This one, of a few, fairways we are having some issues with.  End of February we had some ice, ice during this time is not usually a problem.  This year is different as the cold weather and freezing night time temperatures have extended way more than normal.  As a result we have ice damage, some will be real slow recovering others will need to be over seeded.  The over seeding process will start as temperatures warm.  Please drive your cart around any of the brown or thin areas.  

Irrigation start up is real slow this year.  As of today we will have the main lines fully pressurized.  Through the process we did find a couple of hair line cracks on valves, so they were replaced.  Other than that we are dealing with the normal huge amount of hard water deposits, as shown below.  

Hoping for some normal May like weather.

We will see you on the course.  

Ross

Ready for The Season ??

 We had a brief moment of the golf season.  Now Mother Nature decided to give us some much needed moisture.  At this time we will take what moisture we can get.  Shown below is #8 green with a fresh coat of 4.5" of snow.  

This winter we purchased a newer product on the market, it is called the Turf Trainer.  This product was developed by a fellow Golf Course Superintendent.  The concept is really simple and effective, basically dragging artificial turf on the grass.  This will stand the turf grass up and give a better quality of cut.  I am not sure if this will replace verti-cutting or any other practices at this time.  We plan on using this mainly of the collars/aprons and greens.  There will be a slight learning curve, I am looking forward to some great success.  

WE ARE READY!!!

We will see you on the course!

Ross

 A few weeks back it really looked as if we would have an early start to the golf season, now we are looking to be much more on a normal schedule.  

On my recent walk around the course I found the greens to be mostly cleared off with little or no ice accumulation on them.  Each one I checked also had good moisture levels, even considering the dry winter.  

The fairways are partially covered in snow, many areas have ice accumulation on them.  This ice should not be much of a problem currently, as the it has been present for a brief period of time.  This really shows what a lack of surface drainage we have in many areas of the golf course.  It is no coincidence that the fairways that struggle are the few that drain the worst.  

We did finally receive one of our capital items purchased last fall.  It is a new utility cart.  This will be nice addition and upgrade to our ever aging fleet.  

The work in the Maintenance Facility continues on.  We are getting close to finishing up on the main equipment.  We will then move on to the golf course accessories; including benches tee markers and all other accessories.  When to time comes we will begin course cleanup, there may be additional cleanup with the amount of tree work accomplished this winter.   

When will spring break for the Golf season to begin?

We will see you on the course.

Ross

Time to grow some grass

As we close in on May we are finally starting to grow some grass.  April was a cool month, I don't think the ground temperatures changed for about three weeks.  Over the last week we have fertilized everything, now with the warmer temperatures I expect growth and color to happen.  

Some dew on #2 green

With the warmer temperatures we proceeded with over seeding the fairways.  Most of them had a few minor areas that needed attention.  #2 fairway had several areas, for now we are not allowing carts on #2 fairway.  All other fairways please drive around the over seeded areas.  We are just trying to give the turf grass plants the best chance to establish.  

Kenny over seeding fairways

Please keep all carts of #2 Fairway

The weather looks to be good.  I hope you find time to enjoy your course.

Ross

The season is here!

 The season is here.  The golf course is coming out of winter in good shape.  We will have some smaller areas in the fairways that will require some extra attention.  Currently we are working on getting the irrigation system up and running.  The main lines are charged, still working on going through and cleaning all the heads.  With weather looking to stay warm and dry this will be important with need to start watering.  

We are allowing Golf Carts at this time.  The frost is still coming out of the ground in areas, so please respect your Golf Course.  Below are few general rules. 

Golf Cart Rules-Really Important

       -Keep all four wheels on the paths

       -Stay on the path by Tee and green surfaces

       -Scatter at entrance and exits points

             Do not just drive straight on or off the

  Cart Path ends

       -Stay out of all soft / thin areas

        -Home Owners use the cart path when going             

        to and from your house

I hope enjoy the early start of the season

We will see you on the course.

Ross

When will the course open??

After our brief cold spell, the weather has really warmed. This is giving many the itch to get out and play some golf.   For now the temporary hole locations are open.  So if you want to walk around and hit some balls please use the temp holes.  

When will the regular green surfaces open for play?  Our current policy is we do not open the greens till we are able to cut a new hole location. This will require the frost to be out of the green for about 7” deep.  This allows the green surface a chance to firm up and dry out, activity on a soggy putting green surface can be very damaging.  Currently most of the green surfaces are thawed about 1" deep, as shown in the picture below.  Tee and fairway surfaces are thawed about 1/2".  Bunkers are froze and have some snow/dirt contamination in them.  Coming out of the winter most all the turf grass plants look to be healthy.   

On the course there are several areas that hold water,  One of the worst areas is #5 fairway.  there is not any drainage there, and with the ground froze the water just sits there and freezes.  With the warmer weather continuing  I do not expect an bunch of turf grass kill at this point.  At some point it would be nice to add some slight contours and drainage, this would help alleviate this problem.  

So at this time we are temporary hole locations, with no carts.  We will open the normal greens when we can cut a new hole location.  No date available yet!!

If you have any question please contact me .

Thank You 

Ross

Welcome 2021

I sure hope you enjoyed the course opening in December.  Now here we go with 2021.  The winter so far has been manageable, with the aid of some timely snow cover and moisture.  Now we are in January with highs in the 30's, I am not sure what we are in for the rest of the winter, so far so good.  As shown below we have some nice snow cover on #8 Green.

Late in the Fall we were able to purchase a slightly used sprayer.  We have been in the market for one for some time.  Our old model was a 2003 with a smaller tank and older technology.  The new to us has many nice features including; bigger tank, a separate rinse tank, clean water supply, hydraulic boom assist, a chemical mixing tank, diesel engine, a six stage pump with newer sprayer technology.  Thank you to the members for their support.  This allows us to make much needed capital purchases like this.  

The maintenance staff is in the process of preparing all the equipment and course ready for the 2021 season.  When the weather allows we will go out and accomplish some much needed tree work.  If not we will be working in the shop, preparing  the equipment for another season. 

Even though the course is covered in snow, come out and enjoy the golf simulators or some of Chef Jerry's great food.   

Thank You

Ross