Greens Mower Check

We double checked the greens mower today by mowing #18, everything looks great so the plan is to mow the greens Saturday morning before the course opens for the season. The chipping green is very saturated so we will skip that green, we will also not be cutting the putting green due to its rather poor condition in spots. There shouldn't be much if any snow left after the beautiful weather today. There were some bunkers that had a lot of snow when the crew made there way around today so they skipped them. Those bunkers will be addressed soon but should still be playable if you happen to find yourself in one.

It was kind of rushed to get the course ready for the opener on Saturday. Since we only had 2 days to prep I know we ran out of time and missed a few things here and there. The water coolers will be out early next week if we do not get them out over the weekend. The hazard stakes still have ice in the ground sleeves so they should be able to go out after some warm temps this weekend when that melts. Seed/soil boxes and mix will be out starting Monday if it does not get done on the weekend. And there is quite a bit of debris cleanup that will occupy a lot of our time over the next week or two, especially around greens and tees.

What A July, What A Wind!

How many days with 90+ degree weather so far this year? I think we are at 25 and counting. The month of July was something that is for sure. We had multiple days with soil temps at or over 100 degrees, it was a challenge keeping the turf cool. Collar areas took the brunt of the stress and there are quite a few poor spots to show it. We will be sodding a couple of the worst areas with bentgrass sod from the nursery area, and aerifying, seeding, and topdressing all the collars to help with a quick recovery. The recent cool down has been greatly appreciated that's for sure.

And now for the topic everyone has been talking about the last couple of days, the storm that blew through on the 3rd of August. Here are pictures to give you an idea of the damage and cleanup challenges we are facing right now. We hope to have 75% of the work done this week and the rest finished up by midweek next week. In all we will lose 17 trees due to the damage caused, some completely came down but many are so badly damaged that they need to come down. There are hundreds of hangers and fallen branches. Once the course is cleaned up and the hangers have been cut down we will start with the removal of the trees. A huge thanks to the members that showed up Sunday morning to help rake and pick up sticks, the effort is really appreciated by the staff. And a special thank you to Dean Geiger for the continued help he is giving us to load and remove brush from the golf course.

Not Too Much Cleanup Thankfully

One casualty from the storm last night. We got about .4" of rain and I'm not sure, but I think the wind gusts were in the 50 mph range.

Removing The Blankets

( 2010_03_22 - Removing covers from putting green )

We have started picking up the covers today, they are nice and dry and so far the turf underneath looks like it should. Not too long, which is good, and disease free from what we can tell. We should have the rest picked up tomorrow and then the major cleaning begins. Everything is proceeding ahead of schedule if you look at the average times we take covers off, get things cleaned up, and actually open the course for play. April 10th was day one last year and I am gonna guess we will be almost 2 weeks ahead of that date this year. If you were to ask me I would predict sometime next week we will be open for play, we'll continue to clean things up, get the course supplies out, and hope for good weather.

Stay tuned, the day is almost upon us...

Right Around the Corner

( 2010_03_19 - Hole #13 )

It is safe to say about 99% of the snow is completely off the golf course. There are still some pockets on some north facing slopes and a few bunkers, and the ponds are still iced over. If the weather gurus are close to right then we will probably be pulling covers some time next week, getting things cleaned up a bit, and start getting supplies out on the course. I predict we will still see some more snow, but that hasn't stopped IVGC'ers in the past that's for sure. A couple issues with an early opening: there are many places too wet to be playable and the turf is not actively growing so any damage done is not recovering. The more damage done at this time of year really lengthens the recovery time of the golf course as the temps warm up and the roots start growing, which in turns gets the grass blades going. It becomes a balancing act for clubs as to when that golden day is and the gates open for the season. Obviously for some it is strictly revenue driven and getting the money flow going. For others it is about making sure the turf is starting to be active and can start recovering as soon as it is damaged. And for a semi-private to private club, there are always the members needs to consider. There is no right or wrong decision when it comes to opening the doors, but it is unique to each individual club. We at Island View fall somewhere in the middle but tend to lean towards the latter reasoning, turf and members. Since we do cover some greens there is a little delay in opening due to that, from removing them to some extra cleanup because of the debris they leave behind. We do have some low areas that poorly drain which have not yet been addressed with the on going course renovation, and unfortunately those areas are very much in play. And my philosophy definitely leans towards letting the turf get a little active before the traffic starts and the divot flying begins.

In years past Dan and I have communicated with each other and definitely worked together in making sure our opener is timed right for the members as well as the course, 2010 will be no exception. This time of year I am just as anxious to get outside and start working as most golfers are in getting out and playing. So stay tuned, the IVGC opener is right around the corner...