Final Clean up

With some help from some "Jr. Muscle" aka Luck-Frederic Baseball Team, we were able to remove branches and rake up debris along holes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. The boys did a great job for us which lightened up the workload for the maintenance staff.

On Tuesday, 6 "Sr Muscle" volunteers showed up to help our staff clean up the branches along 11, 17, and 18. I would insert pictures here and mention names, but my phone stayed in my pocket and thus the omission. Thanks to Roger Swanson to initiate and lead the charge.

The staff is working diligently to remove the final trees and branches this week despite the not so spring like weather.We will blow off the course and mulch the remaining leaves and branches next week. The course will open tomorrow April 1, no fooling! See you out on the links!

So Close

The title of this blog tells the story of several events that have taken place recently. The snow storm that hit this week was so close to dumping snow on us. Fortunately, we stayed clear of the wrath. But, if it had hit, we would have burned the last of the brush. We will have to wait until green up before that happens now. We may remove it from site or leave it until later. It all depends upon the weather and work load. So close to finishing that project.

We got real close to finishing all of the tree work. There is one oak left of 4 green that will have to wait until next winter. There is a chance that it could fall on the green. With it being soft, even if it does miss the green, a good chance there will be significant holes made. Waiting is our best option. So close again.

We are currently having Cal Haines do the hanging branch removal from several of the trees. These broken branches occurred over the past few storms. When they are on the ground and we will clean them up.

This is the tree behind #1.

Cal is also doing the trimming of several trees along 11. His bucket truck is very turf friendly and is not making any tracks. Now standing on the the 11th tee gives one a feeling of openness.

We will begin the final clean up next week. I have the baseball team out here on Monday for a few hours and on Tuesday I have some "Senior Muscle" coming out to lend a hand. Cal will also start stump grinding. This years project won't be near as big as last year. I'm thinking there are less than 50 to eliminate. The course accessories will come out of storage and after some cleaning and painting, they will be distributed accordingly. We will blow and mow greens, tees, and collars and then be ready to open. Yes, we are so close!

Work On

Good news is that the tree crew will be back to finish all the tree work next week. With the weather warming considerably, I'm thinking they will be working mornings until it is too soft. Cal Haines was able to drop the tree on 18, barely missing the rain shelter. My guys have burnt and cleaned up most of the limbs. I went back to my email from last fall when we toured the course, and I forgot about the tree on 13F to remove. There are also 2 dead oaks left of 17 by the pond that I will have taken down. I'm hoping that Dan Siefert will be able to leave a 6 foot stump on the pine right of 12 green so we can explore the possibility of having a chainsaw carver build us a logo man to oversee all those missed putts! As weather permits, we will get after the clean up and course prep promptly.

There maybe some courses opening in the Cities this weekend but we still have a solid 4-6 inches of snow covering us. I still anticipating opening around April 1. Gwen does start back on Monday and has a lot of things to get ready for the season. The grind continues in the shop and the equipment should be ready to go by then.

The golf season is coming!