January Course Update

January has arrived, I can honestly say it has been a cold winter so far.  I am also not very impressed with the 1.25" of rain Christmas Day!!  The weather has dictated for us to focus on snow removal and working on equipment for next year.  I am hoping the weather will break, this would allow us to get outside some time soon.

The rain in December was definitely not a welcome event.  With the ground froze there was not any place for the water/run off to go.  So as a result we do have some ice on the golf course.  Most of the ice is in the low areas on the fairways.  The good news is most turf grass can survive 90 + days under the ice, that would put us to the end of March.  We will wait and see what will happen the next few weeks to determine if there is any mode of action needed to help alleviate any ice stress.  We can always hope for early spring and Golf Season!

#17 Green January 12

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

Looking forward to Spring and the 2017 Golf Season.


Ross

Winter in a Big Way!

The winter season has decided to show up in a big way.  After a mild and rainy November, December is here and Old Man Winter has showed up also.  The golf course was in great shape going into the winter.  One of the main factors going into to Winter is we need the ground to freeze before receiving large amounts of snow, that has now happened this year.  This should put us in good shape, what will happen from this point on is unknown.

With the cold/snowy weather most of our time is spent maintaining equipment is the Maintenance Facility or plowing snow.  Currently we are working on our large area rough mowers, theses two mowers take the longest of any other piece of equipment to do the off season maintenance.  Winter is also a good time to keep up on education, on Monday Brian and Kenny, our two assistants, attended a workshop in at the golf course in Pierre.  There was a group of thirty equipment managers, assistants and Superintendents.  The main focus was on off season maintenance and the maintenance practice for newer style reels and bed knives.  These one day workshops can be very good value and learning tool.  Other education experiences this winter will include State Pesticide Re Certification,  regional Turf Conferences and Golf Course Superintendent Association meetings.  There is always great value getting together with others in the industry, hearing new ideas / concepts others have tried is always one of my favorites whether they have worked or not.  

The Holiday Season is near I hope you find the time to relax with friends and family.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Ross

Winter Arrives

How quickly the weather can change around here.  Nice golf weather on Wednesday and now today winter conditions with a brisk North West wind.  Really only received about 2-3" of snow.  Not sure what the total amount of moisture was, but we will take it.

The snow is nice to get, but not ideal when the ground is not froze.  It is always ideal to freeze up the ground before you get a substantial snow fall.  When the ground freezes it causes the the turf grass plant to go dormant, once dormant you reduce the chances of snow mold dramatically.  As it looks right now most of the snow will melt off next week, this will put us back in good shape going into winter.  We will continue to monitor through the fall and winter.

Please remember the greens have been closed for the winter.  If you want to come out hit the ball around please use the temporary hole locations.  The temps are marked with an orange flag, most of which are 50 yards in front of the normal greens.

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

Thank You for a great 2016 Gold Season!!

Ross

November Course Update.

Here we are in November, the weather is saying it is more like September.  Still golf being played and the forecast looks like we are good at least for another week.  What will happen from there is unknown.  When the weather finally does turn we will switch over to temporary greens for the rest of the winter, stay tuned for more information as the month moves along.

Thursday we winterized the irrigation system, we should finish by Friday afternoon.  This is always a major job to accomplish, and feels good to be done with it.  It always a tough decision as to the right timing of this event, and there is no perfect answer.  We will continue to monitor moisture levels and hand water as needed.

If you have been out on the course you have noticed to grass is longer in our fine turf areas.  This is a normal practice going into the unknown winter season.  Having a little extra cove on the grass plant can be the difference of green grass next spring, or the other alternative! This is also true for the green surfaces, mowing right now would not be a good idea and could damage the plant as it prepares for winter.  Friday we plan on rolling the greens, this should help smooth the putting surface.  Next week we will start applying topdressing sand to the greens, we will apply this in two different applications.  After the sand is applied we will again roll it into the canopy, still providing a playable putting surface.

Come out and enjoy the extended Golf Season!!

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

Ross

Frost

This morning the temperatures were in the mid 20's.  This resulted in a heavy frost layer on the turf grass plants.  Please do not walk or drive on any frosted or frozen turf grass areas!  Any traffic on the frosted or frozen grass may result in injuring the plant or even killing it.  So please stay off all frozen / frosty areas.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

The golf course will remain open!  I hope you find some time to get a round or two in yet this season. 

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

Ross 

Compaction Relief

This has been a good week for the Maintenance Staff.  Compaction Relief has been in full force with the limited numbers of golfers on the course.

The fairways are receiving a 3/4" solid wobble tine relief.  This machine is pulled by a tractor and is going done to a depth of 4-5".  By the end of the week we hope to have all the fairways done.  Next week we will be hitting the Driving Range and Practice Area.

Next the tee, collar and aprons are all getting relief in the form of a 1/2" solid tine traditional aeration.  Once the relief is done we are applying a heavy coating of top dressing sand, this will be watered and rolled into the 1/2" holes.  This will be accomplished as of Thursday.  You will notice some softer areas here, this is a result of lack of roots in some of the grasses we have.  

The Golf Course is still in great shape, hope you enjoy some Fall Golf.

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

Ross

October Course Update

Well here we are on the first day of October.  It has been a great fall so far, the golf course is in amazing shape, it may be the best I have ever seen it!!  I hope you have found to time to come out and enjoy the beauty of your Golf Course.

Now that October is here we will begin preparing the golf course for the unknown winter season. Over the next two weeks we will be preforming compaction relief on all tees, fairways, collar and aprons.  This will be accomplished by the use of various solid tine machines.  The solid tine will give use the needed relief with minimal disruption to the playability of the course.  The tee and collar areas will also recieve a application of sand, witch will be worked into the profile, to help control thatch and puffy areas.  Getting some sand into the profile will allowing air and moisture to move better through the profile, creating a healthier plant enviroment.

With the growth starting to slow we will also start raising the height of cut on most fine turf areas.  This allows the plant to store up more carbohydrates, building a stronger more healthy plant going into the unknown winter elements.  Having a bit taller grass surface also protects the crown of the plant from winter dessiccation, giving us the best cahnce of having green grass next spring.

If you have any questions on any of our maintenance practices please feel free to contact me.

Come out and enjoy the great colors of Fall on your Golf Course!

Ross