On The Course September 26th

We are mowing greens this morning and trying to get some other work done despite the wet conditions. We had 0.75" of rain over the weekend and the course is still wet. The wind is blowing and we have some sunshine forecasted for most of the week. We are hopeful to dry out over the next couple of days. We will remain cart path only today and will see how the course dries out today.

On The Course September 22nd

6 green top left and fairway under water

We had very heavy rain last night and have a total of over 5.5 inches. The course is closed until we get the water to drain off. More photos and video to come later.

2 green top left!

7 Green top left

View from above 2 fairway over to 10 green

On The Course September 9th

Finally dry enough to get a spray application on greens done

We are rolling greens in the rain this morning. We have some light showers in the area but should clear out for a little while today. It has been a really challenging week for aerification but the crew was able to get some work done this week despite all of the rain. We were not able to deep tine the greens or pull a core because of the saturated conditions. Our Equipment Manager Jeff Hall has spent a lot of time getting equipment set up and ready for the aerification process and didn't bat an eye when we had to change the protocol and change our process.

We were rained out on Tuesday. We were able to get out Wednesday to needle tine the greens with a 8mm tine followed by a Topdress on Thursday morning. The Greens are being rolled today and will be mowed tomorrow and should be in great shape going into the Club Championship next week. We will be discussing our aerification options for this fall at our Grounds Meeting on September 20th. The crew was able to get out on the short course with the deep tine and finished the greens on Thursday. We are trying to mow some of the fairways that are not too wet today but still have standing water in a lot of the rough areas. 

On The Course August 24th

Brian Volkenant working on drainage pipe along the cart path on 1 Tee

We are rolling greens this morning after a quick passing shower overnight. We received 0.35 inches of rain overnight and the course is a little wet. The weather over the past couple of days has dried the course out a little but the soil is still saturated. We will be looking at cart path rule for the day as the sun comes up. We are working on some projects around the Maintenance facility today. Nick began to deep tine fairways on the Executive Course and if the ground dries out enough we will start on the Championship fairways.

On The Course August 18th

Mallard nests have produced a few ducks this year

 We have had a considerable amount of rain over the past week and we have more in the forecast. We are mowing and rolling greens today. The course is still fairly wet but we will be allowing carts off the path today. Fairways are being mowed and Sheldon is trying to get as much as the dry ground rough mowed before the next storm arrives. The crew worked late on the Chilton steppers at the comfort station on 14 and we are getting closer to finishing that project. The new landscaping around the clubhouse has been finished with the exception of a little mulch around the fire pit area.

We have the Club Championship this weekend and Labor Day is right around the corner. We will be aerifying the golf course greens right after Labor Day. The process takes a couple days and with good weather we will be back in great shape quickly. We are planning on going with a deep tine before we core aerify the greens. We have completed a fairway topdress last week adding almost 350 tons of sand to the fairways and if the budget allows we will be doing one more application this season.

Toni, Tony and Ron mowing fairways

Tony and Ron mowing 11 fairway in the fog and heavy dew this morning.

Levy mowing 10 green

On The Course August 12th

The crew worked hard to finish the Chilton steppers on 14! 3.25" rain didn't help.

 We are mowing and rolling Greens this morning. The course is still draining after 3.25 inches of rain Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The crew will be working on bunkers later this morning after Greens and Tees are mowed. We are mowing some of the fairways that don't have standing water on them and will try to get the rest done tomorrow. The storm brought heavy rains but no real tree damage except for a few hangers that fell down.

We will be cart path only today as we get some of the standing water pumped off the course and we will keep updating the status later in the day. There are spotty showers in the area this morning but we should not see very much rain today. We have a great weekend of weather coming up and will be getting ready for the Men's Club Championship next weekend. Below are some photos from the Senior Men and Women's Club Championship last weekend.

On The Course August 5th

We are mowing and rolling greens this morning and will be working on getting the rest of the fine turf surfaces mowed today. We received almost 2 inches of rain yesterday and the course is still pretty wet. We will be cart path only for today and will monitor the course throughout the day. Rubiel is on the Sand Pro spinning bunkers this morning. The crew will be hand raking and fixing bunker edges later this morning. Nick and Kurt are changing pin locations and marking pin locations for the Club Championship this weekend. The weather looks very good for the next couple of days with some nice cool nighttime temperatures.

On The Course August 3rd

Heat Stress on some Fairway edges over the past week

We are hand watering greens this morning and will be doing a late morning roll. The greens were topdressed yesterday and will need some time to dry today before rolling. The crew has been detailing bunkers this week and will be working on projects throughout the course. We have started working around the Banquet area getting ready for the new landscaping that will be installed next week. The crew will be working on some of the grading around the comfort station on 14 today. We will be hand watering areas of the fairways that are showing signs of heat stress. The Poa Annua along the perimeters of the fairways are looking a little stressed from the heat as we are trying to manage the firmness of the middle of the fairways.

On The Course July 29th

Great Morning On The Course!

 We are mowing and rolling greens this morning. The bunkers are being hand raked and the course is starting to dry out. We still have some wet spots in some fairways and we will be 90 Degree rule today. We are hosting the Champs swim meet at the Club today so the parking lot will be busy. We have roped off some areas where we do not want cars pulling on to the turf areas. The swim meet finishes up on Saturday and the ropes will be pulled on Sunday.

Good luck to JD today as he will be announcing players on 18 late this afternoon. The course received some rain last night and might make scoring a little better today. Excited to see Jd represent Medina on a national stage!

Reynaldo rolling 7 green

Mr. Tony leading the fairway mowers

On The Course July 28th

Japanese Beetle feeding on a Thistle Plant

We are mowing and rolling greens this morning. We received almost an inch of rain yesterday and we will be cart path only most of today. There is a chance of rain later today but it looks like the weekend is shaping up to be very nice. We are mowing fairways and the crew will be working on bunkers later this morning. We have a few bunkers that are washed out and will need some sand moved around. Kurt was working on some drainage on 14 near the comfort station the past couple of days. The crew will start to work on the walk path to the comfort station on 14 now that the drainage is installed. We have to haul in some topsoil to the area and will be working on that as the weather allows.

On The Course July 20th

We have been having snake issues in one of irrigation controllers. This guy was not happy to find the sticky trap!

We are rolling greens this morning before the hot and humid heat wave starts. Kurt and Nick will be hand watering and checking irrigation heads this morning. Junior golf off the Back nine followed by some regular play before the 1pm Guest Day Shotgun. We are starting all golf off #10 today ending with Ladies League on the back night late this afternoon. The crew is working on mowing rough, collars, approaches and raking bunkers.

We are seeing more Japanese Beetles this year than we have ever seen.

Member/Member Tournament

Troy Johnson with his approach to 18 green during the Member/Member

Congratulations to Chuck Lund and Larry Trochlil for winning the Member/Member Tournament! There were a lot of swings on the back nine making it a very exciting finish. Troy Johnson and Dan McLean had a great tournament and finished in 2nd place in the playoff.

Larry Trochlil on #18

Dan McLean hitting his approach on 18

Chuck Lund putting on 18

Troy Johnson's putting for birdie

Larry Trochlil makes a putt on 18!

On The Course July 16th

Rubiel Dorantes mowing 6 green

 We are mowing and rolling greens this morning. If you look at the details in the picture of Rubiel you can see he is mowing where there is no dew. We are doing a back cut on greens. The mowers mow a pass across the green then return back on the same pass. Essentially double cutting the green for our Member/Member preparation. Alfredo is blowing fairways off this morning and then he will be rolling approaches. Nick and Brian are setting pin locations for the tournament and will be pulling tee markers later this morning prior to the 1pm shotgun. The weather looks great for today with a slight chance of late evening rain.

The crew will be heading back on the course later this morning following the last tee time before the afternoon shotgun. They will be rolling greens and checking bunkers. The rough was mowed early in the week and we have skipped mowing the rough Thursday and Friday so there is a chance of some thicker rough over the weekend. Have a great weekend and Good Luck to the participants in the Member/Member.

Luis Perallta mowing 6 green

Alfredo working on some copper wire art for the shop

......more of Alfredo's work!!

On The Course July 12th

Nick Walters throwing a light topdress down on greens today

We are mowing, rolling and topdressing greens today. The fairways mowers are out and the crew will be working on bunkers today. With the heavy rains last week the sand has moved around in the bunkers and the crew will be working on getting the consistent depth back. We missed most of the storms yesterday and Kurt will be watering tees this morning. We will be checking irrigation and working on some problems this week as we prepare the course for the Member/Member this weekend.

On The Course July 9th

Very nice sunrise this morning

We are mowing and rolling greens this morning. Kurt and Reynaldo are setting pin locations. The weather looks to be really good today. We are spot watering some areas of the course that were extremely dry last weekend. The crew has been working hard this past month. We will finish up some more projects this next week. Alfredo has done a really good job with the grading work around the comfort station on 14 and we will be adding some topsoil next week and will work on the drain tile around the building pad. We hope the stone we have on order for the walkway arrives this next week and we can finish the walk paths to both comfort stations. Enjoy the great weekend!

On The Course July 8th

We are mowing and rolling greens today. The course has dried up fairly well and the greens will be getting a little more speed back today as they firm up. Fairways and intermediate rough is being mowed today. The crew have most of the bunkers back in shape and will continue to move some sand back up on the edges this weekend. The weather looks to be shaping up very nice for the weekend. We will be venting and topdressing greens on Monday with no outside event and regular play starting at 12pm.

On The Course July 6th

Few larger branches but no big trees down

 We received 2.25 inches of rain in last nights storm. We have a lot small debris on the golf course and some standing water. There is a spruce tree tipped over by 3 Tees but we escaped the storm without any major damage. The crew is working on cleaning up the greens, tees and fairways and will be working on pushing up the bunkers later this morning. We will be cart path only for the day but the course has drained off fairly well.

Minor Debris on #18 fairway

On The Course June 30th

 

We are rolling greens and changing pin locations this morning. Nick and Reynaldo are topdressing fairways on the front nine today. The crew is working on raking bunkers and hand watering spots where the irrigation coverage is not great. The crew sodded the area around the comfort station on #4 and the front of the Maintenance facility. We will be working on the landscaping around the comfort station on #14 next week. The weather has been very good this week to get some work done and we are starting to finish off some landscaping projects. We are keeping the golf course as dry as we can and will be starting to irrigate more unless the rain moves in later today. There is a slight chance of some weather moving into the metro around lunch time but the system isn't supposed to develop much.

 

 

Sod has been placed around the comfort station on #4

On The Course June 24th

Ron Mielke mowing #5 Fairway as the sun peaks over the trees

 We are mowing and rolling greens this morning. Reynaldo is setting pin locations and Nick and Kurt are spot watering areas of the course. The fairway and rough mowers and enjoying the great morning. We are going to be working on getting the course for play and then getting the crew a much needed short day. The course is going to be busy today and the weather looks perfect with a chance of showers overnight. We get asked a lot if it is tough to work in the early morning hours. If you were on the course this morning watching the fog burn off and the sun peak over the top of the trees. You would enjoy My Office! The hustle of the crew getting everything mowed and ready for play as well as a number of wildlife sightings (Some good! Some not so good!). Enjoy the day and hope the weather stays like this for at least 3 more months.

Great start to the weekend with a little dew and fog.

Erik De Labra mowing #7 Green

On The Course June 22nd

Fairway turf looking good

 We are rolling greens this morning and setting the course for Junior Golf. We are hosting the University of Minnesota Goal Line Club today. The crew is working on getting some perimeter areas cleaned up and seeded. They are working on the Property Boundary on the west side 2 approach and will be moving on to the area to the west of #11 green. We are slowly getting some of these areas checked off the list. We have a slight chance of some early afternoon showers but the system seems to be breaking up at this point.

Chilton Stepper walkway being installed at the Comfort Station

Thursday Invitational Photos

Course is ready for the Invitational!

#9 Fairway

Pretty good look from above #11