Blowing In the Wind

The weather is beginning to take a turn this week. Gone are the brilliant, sunny days we experienced earlier this month. The past few days have brought on clouds, rain, and blustery winds. Our staff is now reduced to 10 men, 5 of which will work their final day of the season this Friday. With the reduction in staff and air temperatures we have taken steps to reduce our on- course labor. We are now mowing the fairways, approaches, collars, and tees once per week. Greens are being mowed approximately once every 5 days and are occasionally being rolled. The biggest task is leaf and debris cleanup. When the wind dies down, you will see us out with blowers and mowers gathering the leaves into piles and mulching them up.

The cooler weather has also reduced the number of rounds being played. In response we have pulled some of our equipment such as: ball washers, trash cans, and water coolers from the course. When we have few people playing the course we will decrease the frequency of course setup. Subsequently, you may notice the hole locations in the same spot for a few days.

We have been able to make significant progress with some cart path extensions. This project will be a big improvement for years to come. Below is a picture of the concrete forms on #3. We have extended the path beyond the bottom of the hill and up the slope. During wet times we will be able to divert traffic to the path in an area that is not nearly as saturated. We buried a drain pipe underneath the forms so that drainage can be installed in the future without destruction of the path.

Here is a picture of the completed path on #6.

Below is the work done between 12 green and 13 tee. We have buried drainage beneath the path here as well. Once the area has been regraded and drainage has been installed we will no longer have to deal with the sloppy mess that occurs after heavy rains.