Heavy winds, irrigation and golf boards.

It was in the 70's last week and it snowed today. Such is life when it's April in Ohio. None of the snow accumulated but when the front came in last night it brought heavy winds which scattered branches and even blew over a few trees on the course. However, the wind wasn't all bad, it has helped to dry the course out.... a bit. We are still pretty wet however, we are starting to head in the right direction. We have been able to mow fairways a few times and we brought back our rough mowers. If you keep your eye out you'll see Jim Burke enjoying his "retirement" while he helps us out mowing rough and fairways.

Serious wind.

Today we filled the irrigation system with water. Whenever we fill the system it always seems too early but we do so that we can deal with any problems that have developed over the winter, before we really need the system. So far, so good. We had one leak that was an easy fix and there are a few problems we have to iron out in the satellites (the green boxes on the course) but overall it's gone well. However, it's a big system and there are a lot of places where things can go wrong so, I'm sure we'll find a few more issues in the coming days.

Can you tell where the leak is?

Finally, a friend told me about GolfBoard. It's a single rider board that carries clubs and cruises around the course. I'm not sure what will come of this but, it's always interesting to see new products. What do you think?



Ian

Spring's things.

In the last few weeks the course has really started to green up, which means we are back to mowing and getting the course ready for play. We are also trying to finish up our projects as soon as possible so that you can enjoy all the nice improvements. The weather has been fickle but, we have been stubbornly working through it in order to finish as soon as we can.

If you have been to the club in the last week or two then you've noticed the driving range is in the middle of a cart path installation. The path is moving closer to the clubhouse and will swing farther around the back of the range tee where there will be an area for parking. This is the first step of the driving range improvement, which will eventually lead to a larger driving range tee. Right now it is still a whole lot of dirt and heavy equipment, but it's starting to shape up.

Range as seen from the entrance.

New cart path being cut in. Work stopped today because of rain. Dump trucks don't do so well in mud.

This week we were able to spray our growth regulation on greens, tees and fairways. This is a crucial step for us when getting the course ready for play. The growth regulation not only helps slow down the flush of growth in the spring, it also keeps the grass from going to seed. This not only keeps the playing surfaces (specifically greens) smoother, it also improves the health of the plant because, instead of putting all of its energy and resources into seed head production, it can store it for a more stressful period like the summer.

We had a representative from the Ohio Department of Wildlife do a site visit to help us with our goose control population. Considering the number of ponds and the amount of maintained grass(which geese love) that we have, he thinks we were doing a good job keeping population levels down with our harassment program . However, when asked about geese that come from off site (Heinen's, neighbor's property, woods, etc.) he said that the key is to harass the geese and goslings as soon as they arrive on the course. With that said, if and when you have any geese/goslings on your property that you would like harassed, please contact me and I'll be glad to come over and harass them. We never hurt any geese, we simply want to convince them there are greener pastures elsewhere and the ODW representative said that if you harass the parents as soon as they show up with their goslings, they generally go elsewhere to raise their young but you have to do it the first time you see them.

Finally, you may have noticed some dead fish along the banks of the large pond that borders 10 and 18. This is a result of the the long duration of ice cover this winter. It seems that the ODNR was expecting this to happen. Fish Winterkill May be Common. Last week we went around and picked up any fish that were within reach. We will continue to keep an eye out for them but, I think we have it pretty much cleaned up.

It looks like this weekend should be a good one for golfing. We hope to see you on the course!

Ian

The course will open Saturday, April 4.

As most of you may know, the course will be opening tomorrow for play. Today we mowed greens, put pins in greens and started to put tee markers out. It's nice to get out on the course and do some of the normal maintenance again, and I'm sure that everyone is ready to get out and play but please be cautious as you make your way around the course because it is still very wet and I'm sure will be even soggier tomorrow after the rain tonight. With that said, I hope that everyone that plays this weekend enjoys themselves.

First mowing of the season.

Things are starting to green up and look like a golf course again. 

This week we finished up most of the prep work at the clubhouse for the new beds. We ran all new irrigation, cleaned out old plantings, and prepped the soil for new plantings. The old beds were overgrown and blocked the view of the course. With these plantings, along with the crab apples that were along the back hill, removed everyone on the patio will have a much better view of the course. 

Work on the new cart path at the driving range started this week with the removal of the old cart path at the driving range. Once removed, the spoils from the old path were taken to the back of the driving range and used to fill in a low spot where water has been sitting for years. This low spot was full of dead trees which were removed last week. Once we are finished there will be nice mounding with trees, likely spruce or pine, on top. 

Old cart path gone. 

Spoils used to fill swampy area at back of range. 

We will continue to keep you updated on all our projects and please feel free to email, call or stop us on the course with any questions or comments you may have. Thanks!

Ian