Greening Up

With over an inch of rain yesterday, the course has a better shade of green this morning in the sunlight. During the rain yesterday, I ventured out to bring a few tee sign to install but was more curious to see the drainage in action. For the most part it was doing exactly as planned. The clean up will be necessary to make sure the water finds it's closest drain. As we dry out next week, we will get some clean up efforts not only from staff and volunteers, but from the high school students looking to log their community service hours. We still need about 2 days to finish the last of the trenching on fairway 7. Pictures will be included later.

The Good, Bad, and the Ugly

This time of year, the transition from winter to spring, shows us alot of  different sights as the golf course is coming to life. On a recent walkabout, here are a few things I was looking at.

The Good

This is the low area on #9 fairway where water has collected. We installed the drainage very late last fall. I'm happy to report that it is working nicely. It appears all other drain lines are working for the most part but clean up and catch basin installations will take place when dry.

The Bad
 Take another look at this photo. You see a nice green area and a brown area. Well, the green area is the 9th green and approach out in front. I sprayed for snowmold last fall and the results are wonderful. The bad part is that I must have forgot to spray the 9th fairway when I sprayed the others as you can see the damage showing. Upon closer examination, the turf is only effected on the leaf tissue so that means that as the turf begins to grow, the damage will be mowed off. This picture shows the importance of applying preventative applications in the fall.

The Ugly
Take a look outside. Enough said! The 10 inches of new snow isn't helping in opening the course. The forecast is all 60's and 70's the next week so there is a good chance we will be seeing golfers playing the course. Stay tuned.

Hold on a bit

Last week's warm weather did produce a lot of snow melt, but not enough to open the course. I was able to observe our new drainage working nicely and noticed an area to the right of the 14th green that could use a little more tile. Overall, the turf is in good shape. The greens that are clear of snow look clean of winter damage. The fairways have a little superficial damage but overall will have any playing problems.

The weather pattern looks bleak for opening this week when daytime temps will struggle to hit 40. By Easter Sunday though, the cold weather will be replaced by seasonal temps and I expect to open then. Stay in touch. Notices will be posted on our website and Facebook page when we will be opening.

Almost Ready

Didn't realize how long since my last post. It's not from napping or some tropical vacation but a " I'll get to it tomorrow" thinking. My priorities have changed these past 2  months as I have been involved in the financial management crisis that arose over the winter. But fear not, the course will open as soon as the snow melts.

The majority of the equipment is ready to go except for the Toro Fairway mower. I will be servicing that next. The snow still lingers here at a depth of about 8" everywhere. Some bare areas are starting to show. With temps this week hitting 60, the snow should disappear quickly. I have read reports of courses opening up in the Twin Cities so it won't be long before we will be able to do the same. I am anxiously awaiting the actual melt on the holes where we installed the drainage. It is good to observe the actual drainage but also the need to add if neccessary to the system to make it even better. There is still 375 feet to install before final cleanup, so any additions to the actual areas will not hinder completion.

I will try to add additional posts on a timely manner so until the next post, prepare for the golf season.