April Showers

A busy week on the golf course as staff dodged rounds of thunderstorms to continue spring maintenance. The majority of winter debris has been raked and removed from the rough, and staff has moved on to bunker prep, mulching, sod work along with preparing the golf course for the fast approaching summer.  The course is beginning to shape up, and the weekend weather looks almost summer like, good news for golfers and turf alike! 

Light sand topdressing and brushing this week helped to smooth greens and fill un-repaired ball marks. 

Staff removed contaminates and verified sand depth in all bunkers this week. At this early stage of the season bunkers will be "raked by machine" to conserve labor.

Thin areas of rough were slit seed this week. As air and soil temperatures rise we expect a quick fill in of these areas.

Areas of rough were mowed for the first time this week.  Cold, wet weather has hampered both turf growth and mowing schedules.

Drainage repair and additions never seem to end. This area behind the 6th green is scheduled for additional work next week.

Opening Weekend Update

As expected the bentgrass greens, tees and fairways came through the winter in fine shape, and all playing surfaces have been mowed several times at this early stage of the season. The rough suffered some damage particularly in poorly drained and shaded areas but we are expecting full recovery as soil temperatures warm this spring.  This weekend looks to be a busy one for both golf and maintenance as perfect weather lines up with our opening Spring Sweeps!  

A new fountain was recently added to the 18th hole lake. Landscaping, cart path replacement, curbing and sod work will all take place this spring further enhancing the view from the clubhouse.

Another week, another 2" rain, and another game of finding the clogged drain. Mother Nature seems to be making up for the lack of snowfall this winter!

Goose dog Mick supervising pumping efforts.

Wet fall weather, lack of insulating snow cover, high winds, temperature swings, shade and poor drainage seemed to all play a role in thin rough early this spring.

Widely varying growth rates of different grass varieties are readily apparent early this spring. With a little TLC from staff and a little help from Mother Nature these small voids will fill quickly. 

Several rounds of fertilizer have helped to "jump start" the rough, but what we really need is the forecast of warmer temperatures to hold! 

Some rough areas were completely unaffected this winter, regardless from what we can seen we expect a quick recovery of 95% of the thin areas and the worst areas requiring some seed and sod work.

Greens weathered the winter in fine shape.  Today (4/7/17) marked the 4th mow of the season.

Fairways have been mowed twice to date with another mow scheduled for the weekend if the golf course dries enough.

Pothole repair on the granite cart paths as we prepare for carts on the paths this weekend.