Maintenance Update 01/17/2012

Good morning and Happy New Year to everyone!  2012 is off and running and we have had some great weather to start the year.  We were fortunate to receive about 2.5 inches of rain with the last storms over the course of three days.  The creek rose quite a bit, but the rain was slow enough for it to fortunately stay in it's banks. 

Cart Traffic

Unfortunately, this time of year, any rainfall we do receive means we will need to be cart path only for several days.  While this was the case last week, I appreciate everyone's efforts in staying on the paths while we were on them and watching out for wet areas once we went off.  Cart traffic through wet areas can make a mess and the tracks can and will be evident for some time.  Just a few reminders concerning cart traffic over the next couple of months:

• Be aware of wet areas, either from rainfall or irrigation, and keep carts out of these areas.  These areas are primarily around tees and greens and fescue areas under trees.
• Please keep carts away from tee and green complexes.
• Holes #7 and #8 will remain 'cart path only' through the winter.  If you take the ropes down to play a shot, please replace it.
• Traffic control ropes are going up in many areas where necessary.  Remember the turf isn't growing this time of year.  Once an area gets trampled down, it will be that way until green-up.  Carts should use varying entrance and exit points to and from the fairway and not use the same 'trails' through the roughs.

As we head into the spring, Nathan and I will be discussing new traffic control methods as well as an alternating schedule of having holes cart path only during green-up.

Hole Locations

The Ultimate Scramble has been re-scheduled for this Saturday morning at 9am.  We will change one of the hole locations to the 'Ultimate' spot on Saturday morning for the event.  So afternoon golfers won't have to play these locations, the pins will be rotated to a normal spot at the conclusion of the tournament.  We will then change all of the locations on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

Weed Spraying

I started our annual winter weed control application on the fairways and roughs last week.  However, to continue, the wind can't be blowing over ten miles per hour to avoid any drift.  I will continue as the weather permits and plan on completing the project within the next two weeks.  I will also be making a separate application to the greens to control the small population of poa annua.

I hope you all have a chance to come out and enjoy the forecasted warmer temperatures coming up.  See you on the course!

Chuck McCaskill, CGCS