On The Course March 11th

Drainage pipe on #7 is starting to flow

We recieved just over a half of an inch of rain over the weekend and we are starting to see the snow pack settle down. The weather forcast for the next couple of weeks looks to be a slow but steady increase in temperatures. Our plan with the current forecast is pull covers the first week in April and look at a opening date sometime during the second week of April. We will see if we get any more significant snow before that time. The course still has a heavy blanket of snow and alot of moisture on the surface. The blanket of snow will help regulate the soil temperatures and keep the frost in the ground longer. The slow melt is a good thing for the turfgrass plants. We want most of the free moisture to leave the surface before the frost comes out of the ground. This will inhibit the freeze and thaw cycles that can be damaging to the turf.

Soil temperature since the begining of March. Still below 30 degrees!

We will be out on the course monitoring the melt really closely over the next couple of weeks. We are watching the soil temperatures on several greens as shown in the image above. The temperatures have not risen above 30 degrees all winter but I would imagine we will be seeing some warming soils in the next couple of weeks. We will have some employees starting the end of March to start getting the course ready for the season. Look for more frequent updates over the next couple of weeks and when the snow leaves we will be adding some videos and more pictures.

On The Course March 5th

We're starting our first full week of March with a pretty substantial snowfall.  So far we have picked up around 7or 8 inches of snow and are expecting some more throughout the day.  We know the winter is beginning to get a little long but this added snow on top of our current snow pack is only going to help with additional moisture this Spring which will be much needed.

Jason, Brandon, and Bryxton are out this morning plowing and removing snow.  We will be busy all day trying to get all the snow cleared from the lots and entrance.

On The Course February 1st

Never thought we would be setting pin locations on February 1st, on ice, with an ice auger and at minus 15 degrees.  

 We have been out on the course looking around over the past couple of weeks. We are seeing some porous ice above and within the excelsior mats. The soil temperatures have not thawed out enough to get any ice formed on the surface of the greens. I think the greens are still in great shape for this point in the winter. The fairways have a few solid ice areas in some of the low areas. We have a lot of winter left before the big spring thaw and we will be monitoring the course very closely over the next couple of weeks.

Tim's Tree Service has been in a few days this week getting some much needed pruning done on some of the larger trees. We will be working on clean up and trimming more trees over the next couple of weeks. We have done a couple of tree removals and will be taking care of several trees that died this past season.

We will be making more blog posts as we get closer to spring to keep everyone informed on the conditions of the golf course. We had a Grounds Committee meeting this past Tuesday to discuss winter projects and to start the discussion on spring projects. We are also updating our Standard Operating Procedure Manual for the maintenance of the golf course.

Troy putting the finishing touches on the pin locations for the first annual MGCC Bockfest

Bockfest Hole #1

Tim's Tree Service trimming on #1 fairway