January Course Update

Well here we are into January.  This winter has been way different than last years straight forward old fashioned winter.  Every winter winter is different and that always brings questions as to how the course is surviving this winter.  First off we started the winter cold and snowy, second we had a nice warm up and melted the snow off, third we had rain in December and finally we are back to cold.  

So how is the course surviving?  I think we were doing great until we had that rain in December. That rain caused some surface water in a few areas, mainly a few small areas in a couple of fairways.  Below is a picture of #9 fairway showing some of the surface water/ice.  The grass can survive under the ice a period of time, how long exactly in unknown.  What the damage will be, if any damage at all, is unknown right now.  We will just have to wait and see when that surface water melts or dissipates into the ground. I am hoping for very minimal damage.  The rest of the course looks to be handling the winter very well, I look forward to some great spring golf. 

The days are getting longer.  It never hurts to start thing about spring!!!

Ross Santjer

Golf Course Superintendent

Thinning some trees

The nice winter weather has allowed the maintenance staff to get out and thin some tree areas. We started on the east side of #7 fairway, then proceeded to east of #11 green. 

We are basically just cutting the unhealthy non straight trees. This will accomplish two main goals. The first is to allow more sunlight and air flow to the turf areas. Second it will allow the good trees to grow better and more upright. 

If you have any questions or would like to see the tree work please feel free to contact me. 

Ross

The Season of Change!!

Things can change in a hurry, we went from golfing to cold and snow in a very short time. 

I am glad to report that the golf course was fully winterized before the weather changed. What will happen the rest of the winter is unknown, we have done our part to have green grass next spring. 

Thank you for another great golf season!!

If you have any comments please feel free to contact me. 

Ross

Top dressing

The weather next week looks to be turning cold. This week we winterized the irrigation and well systems. We also applied the fungicide/anti desiccant to the greens. Now it is time to apply a layer of sand on the greens. This layer helps protect our greens from our extreme winter weather conditions. The main goal right now is to have alive greens next spring. We will start today applying today and finish on Friday. 

The greens will still remain open for now. 

If you have my questions please contact me. 

Ross

Tee Update 10-31

We had a great October for growing in the new grass on the tee project. Seed is growing in all the new areas, some of which is starting to fill in nicely. The sod has also started to root with the nice weather.  

This is a picture of this morning on #3 tee. As you can see the rough area is looking good and starting to fill in. I think our growing season is done with the cold temperatures last night. 

Golf course is still open!!!

Ross

Tee Project 10-27

Here we are late October, and still have grass growing. Most all the seed you see growing is rye fescue grasses. There is some blue grass starting to germinate but only on a couple of holes. For that reason the tee surface areas look thin, over 75% of the seed on the tee is blue grass. In the rough area there is 50% blue grass and the rest is rye and fescues.  If the blue grass does not germinate this fall it should come up in the spring. 

The sod has really started to root in the past few days. Again we have one tee sodded on each hole. We will start using the sodded tees some time next spring. 

We will see you on the course. 

Ross

Tee Project 10-21

We now have seed germinating on all 14 renovated tee areas. The nice fall weather has helped get this seed up and growing.   This week we started to mow some of the sod on 4 of the first holes completed. What will happen from here on is unknown, but we are hoping this weather continues for a bit longer. 

The course is in great shape!!

Come out and golf!

Ross