Skip to main content

Winter Update February 2015

Well, we thought that we were in for a nice warm, calm winter...but Mother Nature changed that pretty quick in the month of February! We have received an incredible amount of snow this month, making outside work rather difficult, never mind that the temperatures have hovered around -20!
In late December our drainage contractors completed the work on #5, #7 and the Practice Range. All of the drainage systems were installed with only a minor amount of sodding and cleanup left to be done this spring. The majority of our tree work (removals, pruning and transplants) were completed before the weather turned. We do anticipate being able to get back out to do some more tree work prior to spring.
A few of our members have been asking about the condition of our greens this winter. In the aftermath of the spring of 2014 the concern is higher than usual. We are relatively happy about what we have out there right now. There is a very minimal layer of very "airy" ice on some greens. This is a result of the slush formation and freezing from back on January 5th. This type of ice is not nearly as worrisome as what we had last winter. At this point last winter we had a very heavy layer of solid, non-breathable ice cover on most greens. The situation right now is much better. However, there is a lot of snow out there. Our concern is that when the weather does decide to warm and the snow begins to melt, that it does not stay on the green and risk refreezing. A portion of our damage last spring was from this occurrence. Using our experience from last year, our plan is to monitor the weather patterns in the next few weeks and begin snow removal if a warm period is forecasted. The goal is to manage the snow depths and allow any melt to run off or at least be able to be pushed off by our team. Please continue to check in on this blog for updates as we move out of winter (hopefully) and into the 2015 golf season!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Practice Range Tee

Last fall we utilized a “new to us” method of revitilization for our practice tee. Our contractor TDS,  fraize mowed the surface of the tee to remove organic matter as well at to aid in leveling. The tee was then aerified and seeded to a new variety of creeping rye grass. We chose this type of turf grass as research  shows rapid recovery and a low growth habit. We were able to get some great growth in the fall, but the tee is still not ready for traffic and full use. The plan is to utilize the mats until growth has filled in some of the voids etc. We will then begin to slowly set up hitting areas on the grass tee. For a while we will alternate between grass and the mats with a 50/50 ratio of use. Once the grass tee is established and is in adequate recovery mode, the practice areas will be back to normal. As always our membership’s patience is appreciated as we try to improve these areas for use.
Post a Comment
Read more

Winter is here...

Happy New Year! The winter weather has certainly arrived with sub zero temperatures and snowfall  accumulating...We were very fortunate this fall with a balmy forecast, work continued right up to the Christmas break is steady fashion. Our most recent phase of drainage work was completed in due time. Dry and warm conditions made for clean and quick work. Areas of focus this fall were the rough, fairway and green on the 14th, some smaller rough areas on 11, 17 and the upper landing area of the 3rd fairway. Our tree management plan is in full swing with the removals of some dead Ash trees. An important part of our tree plan is to re-plant a more desirable species in these key areas. The trees have been tagged for delivery as soon as possible in the spring. Our winter greens preparation plan was completed in due time as well. We have performed all of our fall cultural practices and winter prep tasks to give our greens the optimal chance of winter survival. In addition to our ann...
Post a Comment
Read more

Golf Course & Grounds Department Update

During the winter months our department keeps busy with a number of tasks required to help ensure the upcoming golf season goes smoothly. Through the course of the winter myself, our Assistant Superintendent (Paul) and our Equipment Manager (Alan) attend a number of professional development opportunities to further our knowledge, techniques and practices. We are also required to submit all of our Chemical application and Fertility data to the Ministry of the Environment to conform to the Integrated Pest Management Council. Another substantial task is the complete refurbishment of our course accessories, benches and equipment. All of our course accessories are painted, cleaned or replaced to ensure a functional and aesthetically pleasing setting is presented for our membership. Every single piece of equipment is serviced, sharpened and gone over with a fine tooth comb for safety defects, etc. This winter has been far different than the previous two that we experienced. Fortunatel...
Post a Comment
Read more