Course Closing

The golf course will be closed for the winter starting on December 3rd.  The forecast is calling for some final "bonus days" for the close of the season so make sure to get out and enjoy the golf course a few last times this weekend. .  Closing now will allow us to blanket the greens with a thick layer of sand, which is our final process to prepare the greens and the course for winter. 

We close the golf course in the winter to protect it from winter damage and to provide the best possible playing conditions in the spring.  Obviously, the grass isn't growing, so any divots, ballmarks, or any other damage to the turf has no chance to recover until the course comes out of dormancy.  Also remember that when we have a mid-winter warm up, that is the worst possible time to be on the course.  The top inch or two of soil will thaw but the soil deeper in the ground stays frozen.  Water that is trapped in that upper layer of thawed soil causes the surface to be extremely soft and susceptible to footprinting and damage to the root system of the turf is possible. 

I look forward to seeing you all enjoying the last weekend of golf, and of course to seeing you all when we open the course again in the spring!

#5 Approach Drainage

There's an old superintendent's adage that states that the three keys to good turf are drainage, drainage, and more drainage, so that's what we have been doing over the past few years.  Our latest project is a new line across the approach to number five green.  This is an area that holds puddles after rains, and tends to be very soft and wet even in dry periods.  We have installed 200 feet of new drainage lines that will hopefully help dry this area out and help get surface water off the fairway faster.  We should have this project completely wrapped up by the end of the day today.

When the bottom of your trench fills with water, you hit the right spot!

Backfilling the trench over the new pipe.