SPRING PREPARATION

Spring Reveal

Every spring after a long winter there is a feeling of satisfaction when upon revealing the greens from pulling the covers there is a healthy surface below.  Here #8 is shown, note the elk hoof skidding damage at the back of green left over from damage they made the previous fall

EQUIPMENT

 Fabrication and Storage

While our time on the golf course itself, in winter, may be basic, our mechanic, Steve Lowe, is busy repairing, maintaining and fabricating equipment.  As an example, when it comes to debris blowers we try to utilize "out front" equipment to maximize the comfortness of the operator and improve efficiency.  As such, Steve cleverly mounted a pull type Toro blower to the front of a Toro 3100 utilizing the hydraulic system to operate the turbine.  (The blower previously had been hard mounted to the unit complete with it's own gas engine, fuel tank, battery, frame with castor wheels)  This greatly reduced the weight and cumberness of the unit and shortened it's overall length dramatically.  Now the operator will be able to effectively complete the task much better without concern of castor wheels breaking off, running out of fuel, fighting the long length of the unit (the further away the unit was from the operator the more dust and debris the person would be exposed to) and is able to go places we could not before with the wheels.
 

This is a shot of what cart storage looks like over the winter.  Here our 80+ carts are stored in the cart area in the basement of the clubhouse.  We tightened up the parking of the units to add space to store additional maintenance equipment.  I know most golf courses face similar off season storage issues and we are not without our own limitations.  The photo itself is not glamourous but it does depict nicely what you need to do to protect thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

POND HOCKEY

Winter Rink Preparations

At #18 pond we continue to prepare the pond for a skating surface.  Here the skating path to the rink has been flooded and is freezing to help smooth the ice to a nice finish.  Rink preparations begin with ice thickness checks, clearing of the snow, boards and netting installation and final flooding of the surface.  We use a 2" trash pump and flood the ice with the pond water using a 1 1/4" canvas hose to  the water to the surface.  Note the hockey net placed out of the way but soon ready for action.  Right now the ice is between 6" to 12" thick with the thinnest sections being near the edges of the pond.  The upcoming cold weather and removed snow cover should accelerate the ice buildup to a thicker level.

WINTER PREPARATION PART 4

Turf Cover Benefits

Following a recent rain of 1/8" and the subsequent inspection of the golf course we proved out again the benefits of turf covers to minimize ice formation/damage.  Here on #1 green, at a tear in the cover, note the ice developed on the uncovered turf and the lack of ice that was under the cover.  (Noticeable where the turf cover was pulled back and photographed by my foot).  This is especially critical protection to have from winter rain events or warm snow melting events.  It is not a perfect protection but it does provide some confidence from the detrimental effects of ice formation.  We cover all the greens with permeable Evergreen covers, for just this purpose, every fall.  Last winter, the covers provided a critical barrier between the ice and the turf (heavy, thick ice up to 2" thick had formed on all the greens early in the fall of 2011) and allowed us to aerate the ice off the greens without destroying the greens.

WINTER PREPARATION PART 3

Drainage Tile Repair

Here at #18 green we began mapping our tile network at this site.  We had no knowledge of the exact location of the drainage exits other than the fact we had 2 catch basins in the general area.  Using the drainage camera we exposed a section of the drain tile at the front of the green approach and discovered damaged pipe along the exit line.  During construction the irrigation contractor had dug through the drain tile while installing the main line and never repaired the damage upon backfilling.  This helped explain why this area of the rough was always wet during rain or drainage events.  Note the orange "plug" in the drain tile that leads away from the covered green.  This was put in place to stop the water draining from the green from filling the excated hole.  (We had recieved 3/4" rain the day before)

After repairing the drain line we also added a vent access port to the drainage network at the back left of the green in the collar

WINTER PREPARATION PART 2

 Course Shutdown Programs

Here we begin the deep tine work on all greens this season.  It has been 3 years since we deep tined all the greens so it was time to go back to this process to assist with root deepening and moisture and nutrient penetration.  Here we apply the process to #10 green

 After a full, heavy topdressing of the greens to fill the holes in completely we install protective elk fencing around all the greens.  Here #7 green recieves the treatment.

In addition to cultural programs we continue with our drainage improvement program in the fall.  Here we are using the drainage camera to scope #5 green through an access port at the front of the green.  We found a full collapse at this point and also added a vent a the back left of the green in the collar.

WILDLIFE

End of Season Elk Damage

Almost as if leaving us a big send off for the winter the elk decided to tear apart #4 fairway the second day we were officially closed for the season.  This required 6 manhours to tidy up once the frozen turf thawed enough to manipulate the remaining pieces of the Elk "jigsaw puzzle".