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

2020

Mother Nature has really had us on the move this fall. With the early snow fall, record lows.  The next week turned to record warm temperatures, now more normal like. I am happy to say the course is fully winterized and ready for winter. 

With that we have made the switch over to temporary hole locations. These “temp” holes are about 50 yards in front of the normal green. If it is nice out and you want to get out, please use the temporary hole locations on the front nine. 

The maintenance staff has started to clean equipment and getting ready for all the service work that is needed. That along with tree work and snow removal we will stay active this winter. 

This year has been a grind of a season. The course was in great shape all year.  It is only possible with efforts of the maintenance staff. THANK YOU to the maintenance staff for making the season successful. 

We are gathering any thoughts on next year. If you have any suggestions please feel free to contact me.  

Thank you for a great 2020 Season!!!

Ross

October 2020

October was one heck of a month.  We started out by finishing up our tournaments for the year on October 4.  The following week we hit the compaction relief. Greens, tees, collars, aprons, fairways and cart traffic areas all received some sort of relief.   This year we hired a contractor to come in and deep tine our greens.  We went to a depth of 9", this will give us some good channels in the soil profile allowing air and water movement.  As shown below.

The above photo is of a green on the left and the collar on the right.  Both the areas received a heavy top dressing of sand to fill the holes.  This will also provide a more firm playing surface.  

On October 19 the forecast really went crazy.  Predictions of snow and cold.  This left our focus on winterizing the course.  The irrigation and restrooms were fully blown out. This would be the earliest I have ever winterized the irrigation in my 23 years here.  I am still hoping to get back on the course.  There is leave cleanup, tree work and would sure like to get a heavy sand top dressing on the greens.  I am sure some would like to get a round or two of golf in also.  At this point who knows what 2020 will throw at us next?    

We are always looking to improve your course.  Let me know if you have thoughts.

We will See you on the course?

Ross 

Tee surface contamination

As our tee boxes age they have started to get some bent grass contamination. We try to keep the bent grass out. There is a chemical called Mesotrione to help us with that.  

Over the next few days you will see the grasses start to yellow. The bent grass should turn a whitish color, while the blue and rye grasses will yellow and recover to a green color. We may need to apply another application to get the desired results.  There will be areas that will require some seeding to get desired grasses established. 

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. 

We will see you out enjoying some great fall golf!!

Ross