August is here

To say the least it has been a busy summer!!  That is definitely a good thing.  I Just like  seeing all the families and kids enjoying the golf course. 

The season started off on the moist side, now we are dealing with dry conditions. We are constantly finding stuck or malfunctioning sprinkler heads. With the dry conditions we are also monitoring the soil moisture in our greens.  We have a soil probe meter that gives us instant readings.  Typically we like to keep our moisture level between 15 and 18%.  This gives us the best playing surface.  There is always areas we need to hand water to keep the moisture level up without drenching an already moist area. As shown below Matt is hand watering #9 green. 

One other practice we have been doing each month is needle tining the greens.  This provides some soil compaction with very little disruption to play.  It will allow moisture and air to move more easily through the soil profile. Once we mow and roll the greens are very playable. 

We will see you on the course!!

Ross

Pro Am Week

It is hard to believe but Pro Am week is here.  It has been a good year so far, and many of the golf course details have been taken care of weeks prior to the event.  It seems for now we are ready for the various activities to start taking place. Just waiting to see what Mother Nature has is store for us. 

Over the last month there has several days of wind.  I am not sure how many hours of debris cleanup we have.  For the most part nothing too major has blown down, just lots of small to medium sized branches.  I know there are a few aches and pains felt by the maintenance staff.  Maybe we can get back to somewhat normal maintenance practices for the rest of the year. 

Typical tree damage the last month

The Golf Course has been in very playable condition.  I hope you make time to enjoy!!

Photo Matt Osborne #9 Green

#8 Green

We will see you on the course!

Enjoy!

Ross

Fairways and Roots

So there has been four fairways roped of from cart traffic.  The fairways roped off are consistently ones that struggle, due to shade winter kill or high water table.  It is almost comical watching who follows the ropes/signage and others that think they can just drive around the roped off areas.  We do things for a purpose, to make your golf course better.  Yes it may be inconvenient at times, please follow any signage or directions on the golf course.  It is a proven fact that golf carts/compaction are the #1 cause of  wearing / thinning turf.  We now have started to remove the ropes.  As shown in the picture below the turf grass looks amazing with no cart traffic on it.  I am hoping by the end of next week to have all ropes removed and yes the turf grass quality will start to suffer.

Last Fall we did a deep tine compaction relief on the greens, to a depth of 10".  The greens were struggling to get  roots going.  I was changing hole locations on Sunday, and to my surprise the deep tine aeration is paying off.  I found good roots growing and and some were more than 7".   The deep tine was very beneficial and a program we will continue.

We will see you on the course!

Ross

Enjoy what you can

I has been some time since I have posted a blog.  Needless to say the last month has been crazy for everyone.  Good news is the course is open and is in great shape coming out of winter.  When you are on the course please strictly follow any social distancing rules that apply. 

Greens are off to a good start. 

Below is a few other general Golf Etiquette rules    

Fix all Ball Marks

Replace your divots- No Sand N Seed for now

Rake the bunker with your feet, do the best you can 

Stay off all steep slopes in the bunkers

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 areas

 -Home Owners use the cart path when going             to and from your house

Please leave this place better than you found it!

Please level with your shoe. 

Enjoy Your Course!

Ross

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