Gearing up for spring

It looks like we'll be getting pretty warm over the next ten days so we're working on finishing up winter projects so that once we can get on the course, we'll be ready to go. One project we're wrapping up is the re-finishing of the benches on the course. We brought all the benches in, took the boards out and ran them through a planer. After a final hand sanding, the boards will have some teak oil applied to them and then we'll put the benches back together. The results are impressive. The benches will look as good as new when they are back on the course in a few weeks.

Finish sanding.

The mild winter allowed us to finish the tree work we had planned, which doesn't always happen because the property is usually buried in snow and we can't get around the course. We were even able to do some things in a few areas that we weren't planning on, things like clearing heavy brush left of nine fairway and trimming pine trees up a few feet to make it easier to find golf balls. Normally we aren't able to get this much work done so it's nice to have the time and crew to get these things accomplished. Once the weather warms up we will get right back to working on bunkers and getting the course ready for play. We're already starting the process of hiring a crew and bringing guys back from last year because it looks like it's going to be an early season and we'll need to hit the ground running to get everything finished.

Finally, our second assistant, TJ Roddy, is leaving Barrington. TJ worked here for nearly six years and has been a vital part of our operation, doing everything that was asked of him. He was also very involved in all the golf course projects and even took on most of the responsibility for the maintenance work in the clubhouse after we lost our maintenance man a few years ago. He will be missed and we wish him well.

Ian