2014
Another odd season slow to
start then cool moist conditions persisted
Water use was very minimal
36% below our 11 year average
(all 36 holes = 17.8 million
gallons used this year 27.5 million is our 11 year average)
The addition of a walk behind
Field and Brush mower made a big difference in our management of some key
natural areas on the course. Look for
that to continue.
Green expansion started last
fall on the remaining 5 Langford green (4,5,7,10,13). As with the other
expansions in progress these areas will remain at approach height until density
increases and a transition in turf varieties occurs.
Several greens damaged
(16/17-GW) from snowmold were a challenge to recover because of the early cool
temps but once temperatures rose, recovery was rapid. We were able to keep those greens open for
play but with obvious limited pins and 'recovery' playing conditions until
mid-August. We were very lucky to only
have those two areas damaged with the length of the 2013-2014 winter; most
course did not fair so well last spring.
An additional adjustment was
made this fall to our fungicide program on those two greens because it has
become an annual issue to some degree on both those surfaces.
UW once again is running a
very extensive snowmold fungicide trial on our 11th fairway of the
Heritage course. A great deal of
information was learned last season from our site and they are excited that we
continue to host them.
The door shut hard and early
this November with a 3 foot snow storm.
Being weather hounds we knew
this was coming and I had the guys kick it into hyper-drive. Working around wind, leaves, rain and
freezing temperatures my spraying and winter prep program went on every
available moment when condition were proper including several nights of
spraying. October and the first week of
November was a complete blur but the large task of proper winterization was a
success.
The early snow did eliminate
the entire late season project list that I wanted to complete but that is life
in Mqt.
Winter conditions right now
look fine as the majority of the snow crunched and settled during the last two
warm ups. I have found ice on several
greens that did not have deep snow pack on them before the two above freezing
event occurred. Winter monitoring will
continue.
Looking for an early spring
next year
Both courses continue to
shine and benefit from our long term sustainable management programs.
The Grounds Focus is always
on the game of golf and prioritized to our Greens-Approaches-Fairways-Tees and
playability of those areas as they relate to the game.
Rising costs without rising
budget funds continues to be a challenge and we continue to stretch for more efficiency
within our operation but as time goes on they become more difficult to achieve
because we are so dialed in.
A big thanks to my staff
again this season, they rock!
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