Day 1

Well the season has officially begun for IVGC. And the picture here of hole 6 is what you can expect from a lot of the course. There are quite a few brown spots in the fairways, all of which can be attributed to the ice cover and water pooling from the winter. A lot of the collar and green edges show signs of desiccated turf, and number 16 has a couple of large turf areas where water collected and froze, damaging the turf. The covered greens (1, 7, 8, 15, 16, & putting green) are very green and the turf looks good, other then the spots mentioned on 16. All the other greens look typical for this time of year, some spots worse then others.

The biggest thing now is the need for warm weather. It will probably be a few weeks before we truly know how some of the brown areas will recover. Odds are many of them will come back in some fashion, probably thin and sparse. At that time we will be doing everything we need to do to get things back in shape. Aerifying, seeding, topdressing, fertilizing, etc... So here's hoping for some warmer weather very soon.

Quick Update

Well I think 99% of the snow and ice are gone (for now anyway). The warm weekend and the first couple of days this week have taken care of any ice cover we had on our greens. Dave and I have been out that last two days moving the softened ice and pooling water off the green surfaces. Even with 4 solid days in the 50+ range of temps we still had to chip through about 3 inches of ice on the front of number 18 yesterday. The whole exercise has given us a great understanding of the drainage issues some of our green complexes have. Thankfully we only have a couple of greens with spots where the water will pool if it can not drain through the soil profile. And we have also taken care of some drainage problems with the continuing bunker project.

Nice weather and little snow always creates excitement for the season to start and the course to open. During weather stretches like the one we are having now I always get asked by a few when the course will be opened. Well, if we can get a good couple weeks of this weather and dry things out good, it could be sooner then later. I think most agree there is still more snow to come, even if short lived, and that just means it will take longer to dry out. We are all hoping for an early spring this year and definitely a warm one, so we'll see...

March Melting

Greetings everyone, I hope your winter has been good and our spring is soon to come...

We have been monitoring the ice that has been around since January on some spots. There are a couple of areas that concern me, #2 being the main one. The ice has built up in the front of the green and caused some water back-up during the 2-3 days we have had in the 40's. We have chipped channels through the ice so the melting water has room to escape and not continue to pool up. It is the only green where this major ice dam has occurred, for the most part the rest of the ice on greens is an inch or so and when it does melt it has places to run off to. We will continue to create openings and places for the water to go so it does not sit on the green surfaces.

We have taken in a couple of turf plugs, from #2 & #4. The one taken from #4 is in fine shape and green-up has been quick. The one from #2 (pictured above) is in ok shape, the poa annua is slower to start which is normal and the bentgrass appears to be similar to #4.

With ice build up we are concerned with two major things, one being suffocation if it covers the turf for extended periods of time (which I have discussed before) and the second is during the freeze/thaw cycles we are now experiencing. If the turf warms up enough the plant can take in water, known as crown hydration. Our concern then is a hard freeze and the water in the plant freezes and shatters the cells. What we do to prevent that is to make sure the water has a place to go as it melts and does not sit on the green. Shovel snow, chip ice, squeegee water, and anything else to help get the ice & water off is what we are doing.

Obviously if there is any damage from the winter we will take all steps in making sure we get turf back as soon as possible. Aerify, topdress, verticut, seed, and even cover in plastic to create mini-greenhouses are just a few of the things that can be done to encourage quick recovery.

Greens Committee Meeting Highlights

We held our first Greens Committee meeting of the year last night. Everyone was present and most of the meeting evolved around the 2009 budget and ideas for planned projects. Nominees for the new committee member position where reviewed and a choice was made. He will be notified by the committee and upon acceptance his name will passed on to the board for approval. The 2009 meeting dates were decided and I have updated the list on the right.

The bulk of our discussion of the evening revolved around the bunker project for 2009 and also various other projects around the golf course. The golf course is going to start facing some interesting times with the economy in the position that it is in. The greens committee feels that even though we are going to be facing some tighter spending limits we can not stop progressing through updates and renovations to the golf course. It is important at a time like this that we continue to improve the golf club, the course being the committees focus obviously, and make sure we are a club that people want to be a part of. On that note we discussed holes #7, 12, and 13 for the bunker renovations this season. If we can fit it into our current budget, those are the holes that will be under renovation around July of this summer.

The other part of the project discussion had to do with tee boxes, from leveling to renovating complexes. We still have a few that are not very level and in need of some attention. We also have some aging timber walls that need to be replaced in the near future. So the committee has set a goal to discuss these areas and put together a plan of attack for them. The other lingering issues have to do with drainage, curbing, and landscaping. Overall it was a good mid-winter refresher about what the course is going to be facing this season and areas that we need to address.

The committee members are listed to the right of this page. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, etc. please make them known so they can be addressed and resolved if need be. And my ear is always open to any of the above, whether you call or email...

A New Year Begins...

Well, we are back at it in the shop. Maintenance on equipment, supplies, etc. is going along smoothly. Dave & I have seminars and a trade show the rest of this week in Minneapolis at the Convention Center and will be back in the shop on Monday. Brian is working on equipment and Frank McGinn III has been helping out in the shop over his holiday break.

The warmer weekend and rain brought about some ice formation on the greens. We walked all 18 today to get an idea of what we are facing and so far things are not very alarming. A couple of greens have a fairly thick layer on them in spots but most areas are under 1/2" thick and cloudy. Cloudy and full of air bubbles is the ok kind of ice because there is enough air there usually that the plants will not suffocate before the melting occurs. Clear ice is the stuff you do not want to see for very long because there is little to no air trapped there and that is when the plants can suffer. On average poa annua (annual bluegrass) is ok for upwards of 90 days under ice before damage, while bentgrass can go longer under cover. We will monitor the situation from here on out and make the decisions we need to make to make sure we do not have a problem with it... It just showed up for the most part so we have some time to watch what happens to the weather patterns and the ice.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

As many of you know or guessed, during the holiday weeks we take some vacation and there is almost nothing going on in the shop. Except for snowplow duty we are not around during Christmas and New Year's.

So here is a MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR for everyone from us in the maintenance department. We hope your holidays are safe and bring you joy & happiness.

See you next year!

Nice to see snow...

We just finished up some tree trimming, holes #1,2,9,13,14,15,16, and 17. The guys are done until next season. And there is a nice layer of snow on the course with more on the way. As many of you know the course is going with a new electric golf cart fleet next year and we have been ironing out the details lately. Besides signing the dotted line and waiting until delivery next year, there is still a little electrical work to be done in the cart shed to accommodate the new fleet. The plan is for all the member carts to be on the driving range side of the shed and the club carts to be on the other. Our current numbers show a few extra member carts that do not fit on the member side but, with some on the exit list and a few considering removing their carts, there should not be any problems with the storage situation.

Dave, Brian, and myself are now working on equipment and supplies to get them ready for next season. We have a lot of stuff that needs minor repairing and touch-up. Also, as of last winter, we handle the snow removal for the club. The three of us are on call for rotating weeks that go from Monday to Sunday throughout the winter months. With working in the shop, snow removal, seminars, and a little vacation we stay busy during the winter months. Before you know it the snow is melting and the clubs are swinging...