On The Course October 31st

With the humidity and passing showers yesterday we came in to see some very heavy frost this morning. The forecast has been moving all over the place over the weekend. We are going to start spraying greens and fairways today with our snow mold protection. We will continue to watch the weather forecast and look at making a decision on covering greens later this week.

Watching the weather forecast over the past two weeks and looking at  the re-emergence of the "La Nina" effect we are in for some cooler than normal temperatures and above average snow. Currently looking at several different websites for weather forecasting and Accuweather has next weekend in the upper 40's and low 50's but Weather.com has the weekend colder with rain and possible snow. I will continue to monitor the forecasts and make sure we have enough time to properly close the golf course for the season.

As I write this we are preparing to spray some snow mold fungicides today and tomorrow. Tuesday night we will look at determining if we will be covering the Back Nine greens Wednesday or try to keep the course open through the weekend. It will be a day to day decision from here through the weekend. Get out and play some golf while we are still open.

On the course October 29th

It is pretty cold this morning at 26 degrees, we have frost and will be getting out on the course as soon as it lifts.  It is going to be a beautiful fall day warming up to 50 degrees.  We will be out setting the course up this morning for golf, blowing leaves and getting ready for the hayride and bonfire tonight.

On The Course October 27th

The forecast has changed a little with the cold front stalling over us the last couple of days. The weather system coming out of Colorado that was forecasted to blow through yesterday has stalled a little and has change the long range forecast. We will continue to monitor the forecast through the weekend and make any necessary changes to our closing procedures. It is a very difficult task to exactly predict what the weather will do tomorrow let alone next week. We were fortunate enough last year to get all of our work done and the greens covered before the snow and cold weather closed us down. It is more important to get the covers down and protect the greens for next season than it is to stretch this golf season out one more weekend. If we see we have a few really good days after next weekend we can wait to cover but I want to see what the forecast changes to once this current weather system rolls through later today and into tomorrow.

Today we are working on some projects and blowing leaves. We might start to spray our snow mold fungicide if the spotty rain showers are done for the day. It is important to get our snow mold down and give it a good chance to dry on the leaf tissue.

The decision to spray and cover will be day to day which will enable us to keep the course open as long as possible. Please check foretees and continue to watch the Blog for current daily updates.

On The Course October 26th

At the Grounds meeting yesterday we looked at the long range forecast and have made the determination we could be covering greens early next week. The forecast right now for the weekend of November 5th and 6th looks for high temperatures in the upper 30's. We will be monitoring the forecast and will be making some final decisions going into the weekend. Right now the forecast has given us enough time early in the week to get all of the covers down and get the course closed up for winter. We would like to keep the course open for as long as possible and will make any necessry adjustments if the forecast were to change.

Today we are going to be working on #14 tee and will start pulling golf course accessories. Ballwashers are starting to freeze during the colder nights and therefore need to be pulled from the course. We will continue to blow and mulch leaves today. We are planning on spraying our snow mold pretection on fairways, tees and greens Thursday and Friday.

Please email me with any questions on the golf course and closing procedures.

On The Course October 25th

Mowing Range Tee.

 Warmer this morning with a temperature of 47 degrees which means we should be able to get right out on the course. We are mowing greens with triplexes this morning at a higher height. We will be hauling fill material to the new forward tee on #14 and working on blowing leaves. There are still a lot of leaves on the trees and some of the Hybrid Maples are in full color. The true Silver Maples still have yet to harden off and turn to a fall color. We will be dealing with leaves on the course for some time and it might take some snow fall to bring the rest down.

We will have the framing for the bathroom on #4 done this week and will finish the sides in the spring. We have planted a few Amur Maples around the structure for screening and will be adding some more Serviceberries later this week.

Grounds Meeting Today at 2pm

We are starting to work on the screening for the bathroom on #4.

On The Course October 24th

A little frosty on the course this morning with a temperature at 35 degrees and clear skies. The range is closed for the season and we will be working on aerifying the range floor this week. This week we will be completing some important winter preparation for the golf course and wrapping up a couple of projects. We are looking at the forecast closely and will be getting the course ready for closing. We want to keep the course open as long as possible but we will still need several days to cover greens. To ensure that we have everything ready to go we will start putting away golf course accessories later this week. We will also start our final winter snow mold application later this week.

We will be letting the height of cut on all of our finer turf areas grow to our winter height and once our snow mold protection is sprayed we  will no longer be mowing any turf areas. We will continue to have leaves to clean up and mulch. We will be cleaning drains and checking irrigation this week to ensure everything is working properly before we blow the system out.

On The Course October 22nd

It is currently 35 degrees on the course and we do have some frost setting in.  Golf will be delayed this morning, hopefully with the temp slightly warmer than yesterday morning the frost will burn off a little faster.   We will be updating the Pro Shop all morning to get play started as soon as we can.  The guys will be out as soon as possible to prepare the course for the day, we will be rolling and blowing off greens, reseting the course, and raking greenside bunkers.  We will also be blowing a few leaves around.  Once the frost burns off it should be a great day for golf with temps in the upper 50's.

On The Course October 21st

We are currently sitting at 28 degrees and the course is frozen. We are expecting to have a significant frost delay today but the temperature should warm up to middle to upper 50's. Warmer night time temperatures for the weekend are expected. Today we will be working on some frost projects and will be getting the course ready for play as soon as we are able to get on the turf.

 We can do a lot of damage to the turf if we get a lot of traffic on the frozen leaf tissue. When a glass window shatters and you are left with a bunch of little pieces that is basically what the turfgrass plant does when we put traffic on frozen plants. The last thing we want to do is have a bunch of damage going into winter.

On The Course October 20th

Very cold this morning with heavy frost and the temperature is currently 33 Degrees. It will be a slow warm up today but the rest of the weekend looks to be very nice with slightly warmer temperatures. We will be working on some frost projects this morning. We have planted several trees behind 3 green and near 4 tee where the bathroom will be located next season. We have also replaced a couple of in play spruce trees with several Northwoods Red Maples.

Winter is upon us so try to get out and play those last few rounds of golf before the snow flies. We will be formulating a closing plan at the Grounds Committee meeting next week and hope to keep the course open as long as the weather allows.

On The Course October 19th

Justin tilling in an area on the short course prepping it for reegrassing.

We are in project mode with the colder temperatures coming quickly. Jake will be out later today planting a couple more trees. We have moved most of the spruce trees from #2 that we needed to and have left a couple for later this fall or early next year. We are blowing leaves and spraying greens this morning. This is our first preventative snow mold application which we are targeting Pink Snow Mold. We are looking at the forecast to get the greens ready for winter. We are planning on covering greens this year with Excelsior mats. We are utilizing the same program we have for the last two winters. Next week we will continue with some drainage holes  on the greens and start cutting drainage paths off the edge of the greens. Accessories will start coming off the course next week and we will be leaving pins and flags out until we cover greens.

We are going to be spraying our final snow mold preventative November 1st and blowing the irrigation system out November 3rd. All of this of course depends on weather and what we are seeing in the upcoming forecasts. The Range will close October 23rd for the golf season so we are able to complete some projects on the range floor.

We are having a Grounds Committee meeting on Tuesday, October 25th at 2pm and will be discussing Course Conditions including closing procedures for 2011.

Jason and Fernando working on the drainage on #16 approach.

Coach Bobby Knight and Richard Childress at the Joe Foss Charity Hunt last week.

KODA finding some Pheasants last week.

On The Course October 18th

Today we will be rolling greens, mowing collars and approaches, and cutting cups.  We will also be working on projects around the course today including drainage on 16 fwy, roto tilling the new fairway on the Short Course, and planting a few more trees.  Please pay attention to where the guys are on the course while projects are ongoing.  We will also be verti-draining fairways today.

Covering the range tee

#5 white tee

We will be mowing and rolling greens today, along with cutting cups, raking bunkers and mowing collars and appraoches.  We will also continue to blow and mulch leaves.

Yesterday afternoon we had our first significant rainfall in over 7 weeks.  We ended up with .8 inches which was enough rain to create some very wet areas on the golf course.  Because the soil is so firm from the dry conditions a lot of the rain ran into low areas and also collected in irrigated areas which means fairways and irrigated rough areas.  Until the course drys out we will be cart path only, please abide by the cart restrictions.  Today on the course we will be rolling greens, and fixing bunkers from yesterdays rain.  We will also be blowing and mulching leaves in areas that are dry enough for equipment.  We got our tractor back from the shop yesterday which will now allow us to control the leaves a little better.  If the area around #5 white tee drys out today we will continue work on the tee and surrounding area.

On The Course October 12th

It will be another nice day today with a chance of some shower activity moving into the area maybe later in the morning or this afternoon.  This morning we will be rolling greens and reseting the course, mowing tees, fariways and approaches.  We will continue blowing and mulching leaves today, we hope to get our Massey Ferguson tractor back from the shop today which will help out a lot with controlling leaves on the course.  Jason will again be working with our tree mover today on trees along #2 fairway, hopefully that will be wrapped up this afternoon.  We will also continue work on the White tee on #5 and try to get the rough grading finished up today.

On the Course October 11



Started work on #5 white tee yesterday



We are single cutting and rolling greens this morning.  We will also be resetting the course, mowing collars and appraoches, and blowing and mulching leaves through out the day.  Also, Jason will be working with the tree mover, replacing trees along #2.  They were able to get a few trees done yesterday, including a new Northwoods Maple placed along #2 fairway.  Yesterday we started the re-leveling of #5 white tee, we will be working on that today again, you will be able to find the black, blue, and white tees placed on the forward tee today.

On The Course October 10th

It will be another warm day today with temps into the 70's.  There is a chance for rain later in the day but it will most likely be spotty showers.  We will again be blowing and mulching leaves today to get caught up from the weekend.  Fairways are being mowed this morning and also approaches.  We are starting the #5 white tee project this morning and will have it wrapped up by the end of the week.

On The Course October 8th

We are mowing and rolling greens this morning. We have a lot of leaves and debris on the course with the wind that blew all day yesterday. The wind is still blowing a little this morning but should subside with the incoming spotty rain. The crew will be working on picking up branches and blowing leaves later this morning.

The radar is showing some good rain in western Minnesota and appears it could stay to the west of the Metro Area. There is a pretty long trail stretching into Nebraska so when it slides east we could be in for some spotty showers over the next couple of days.

On The Course October 7th

Busy day of golf yesterday with some great weather. October continues to be about 20 degrees above normal. We do have some rain entering Minnesota later today and there is a chance of rain later today and into the weekend.

Today we are mowing and rolling greens. Troy and Justin are setting the course up for the Ming Scramble today and we will have a pin sheet available in the Proshop later this morning. We are blowing and mulching leaves. Troy, Jason and Justin are playing this afternoon in the scramble and they might need a rules clarification on exchanging a 60 degree wedge for a backpack blower?

Next week we will be moving some more trees and will be starting a couple of fall projects. The projects are pending the amount (if any!!) rain we get this weekend. We need to improve some irrigation on #12 and may also be adding some drainage on #16 approach. Over the next couple of weeks the staff will be working on leveling #5 white tee and adding the new forward tee on #14.

On The Course October 6th

We are mowing and rolling greens this morning. The weather looks to be in the low 80's again today which is perfect for October golf. We are topdressing some approaches this morning and should have them brushed in before lunch time. We will continue to blow and mulch leaves and with the wind speeds increasing the leaves are going to start to fall.

On The Course October 5th

Fountain on #13

Today we are rolling greens and will be setting the course for a nice steady day of golf. The leaves on the course are falling and we will be blowing most of the day. Fairways will be mowed today and Rubiel will work on blowing leaves. We will be hand watering greens later this afternoon with the high temperatures forecasted for today. The range tee has been seeded and topdressed. We will be covering the range tee when the night time temperatures cool down. Please stay off the turf portion of the tee and only hit off the mats. As we get farther into fall and the temperatures fall please remember to replace divots and fix all of your ball marks to help us get a great start for 2012.

Great fall colors this year.

On The Course October 4th

Rubiel Blowing Fairways.

 Today we are mowing and spraying greens this morning. The leaves are falling throughout the golf course and we will be blowing and mulching leaves most of the day. The weather forecast looks very good for the rest of the week with mid 70's today and low to middle 80's for tomorrow.

Jake was able to get 4 trees moved in along #2 to replace the Herbicide damaged trees. We will continue to move some trees next Monday and Tuesday. We will be staking spots for new trees to go over the next couple of days.

Jason helping Jake spade in a Blue Spruce.

On The Course October 3rd

Amani helping Jason with Pin Locations.

 Busy weekend with great weather. We are going to be working on some projects through out the course today. We are mowing and spraying tees. Fairways and approaches are going to be mowed as well as the intermediate rough. We are going to start working on moving some trees from the roadside on #2 today. We are going to spade out the Imprelis damaged trees and replace them with some blue spruce. Jason will be working with Jake and the tree spade truck to get the trees removed and replaced. We will also be bringing in some trees later this week to plant on the golf course. The turgrass porion of the range tee will be closed for the remainder of the season. Troy will be working on aerifying, topdressing and seeding the range tee. The range will remain open utilizing the hitting mats until later into October.

No rain in the forecast so we will be running some roller bases in areas were we do not have irrigation.

 We have been in a pretty dry stretch of weather that has turned some of the areas of teh gofl that are not irrigated a little brown. We will be running some roller bases in some areas to keep the grass growing a few more weeks. Over the next couple of weeks we will also be testing and checking irrigation heads throughout the golf course in preparation for winterizing the system. We are scheduled to blow the irrigation system out the first week of November.

The forecast is calling for above average temperatures and dry weather of most of October. Great time to get out and enjoy the golf course. Just remember as the turf slows down all of the ballmarks and divots that occur over the next month do not heal as quickly so it is very important to repair ballmarks and fix your divots.

On Friday someone decided to take a nice divot out of the middle of # 7 Green.

On The Course October 1st

Beautiful weekend for golf and outdoor activities. A little cold this morning with some frost on the course. We are currently sitting at 33 degrees but it should warm up quickly. We are mowing and rolling greens once the frost lifts. Course will be set up by Jason and we will also be blowing some leaves. The fall colors are starting to peak through and should be in full swing this next week.

We will be blowing leaves most of the morning and getting the rest of the sticks picked up from yesterday.