On The Course January 13th

We ahve been getting a lot of tree work done this winter with the lack of snow cover. We have removed a few hazardous trees as well as been working on the left side of #14 fairway thinning out some areas that are overcrowded with trees.

We were asked to look into developing a skating rink on the pond between #9 green and #5 green. We have been waiting for the right weather and the past couple of days have given us some colder temperatures to start to smooth the ice. We are working on an ice shaving system to help smooth out the humps and bumps that are currently on the ice. The next week looks to be good ice making weather and we should have a pretty good smooth sheet of ice by next weekend. We do lack some of the snow removal equipment that might be needed to clear the skating rink efficiently but if we get enough interest in the skating rink this season we can look at expanding our operations next season.

The winter has started off really mild and we even had a couple of golfers on the Executive course early this week. The greens on the championship course are covered and we have been monitoring the soil temperatures and have not seen the soil temperature above freezing. This is important to watch when the air temperatures get into the low 50's and upper 40's. At this point in the winter I believe the course to be in great shape and hope for a little snow cover to help protect the fairways and tees. Typically the middle of January is our coldest month. My biggest concern right now is getting a lot of really cold temperatures with no snow cover. Our greens are protected with the excelsior blankets but the fairways remain exposed to winter.

If you have any questions reagarding the golf course or our newest effort at making a skating rink please feel free to contact us at anytime.

On The Course December 23rd

Greens are looking good under the covers

 What a difference in weather it has been this winter compared to last year. Last year at this time we were buried under a very healthy blanket of snow. We have only seen small traces of snow so far this year. The course has taken the rain and weather very well and as long as we get a decent coating of snow before the really cold weather sets in we should be in great shape for spring. The rain events that we have had in the past couple of weeks have soaked into the ground and the turf grass plants have hardened off for winter in great shape. Our biggest concern right now is going into January with no snow cover. The snow cover helps insulate the turf and prevent decication and a potential for cold temperature kill. The excelsior mats on the greens will protect them from decication and from cold temperature kill. The fairways are open right now but I would anticipate we get a good coating of snow before the cold weather starts. We have not seen any really cold nights yet because of the lack of snow. Once we get some snow covering the course we will see the colder temperatures set back in.

We have been working on some tree removals on #14

We have made some progress on our winter project list. We have begun trimming and removing some trees on #14 with the goal of opening up enough areas to help with turf grass growth in a few of the bare areas in the left rough. We have the ski trailed marked and ready for snow. We have been busy in the shop working on golf course accessories and equipment maintenance. We take time in the winter to rebuild all of the reels on our mowers and replace bearings. The reels are then put on the reel grinder and sharpened. With four fairway mowers, four triplex mowers, four tee mowers and 7 greens mowers this will take us until the middle of February to get this work all completed. We also need to do general maintenance on the rest of the equipment which includes oil changes and cleaning.

Very few frozen puddle on the fairways after the recent rain. Most have soaked in and we are waiting for a nice coating of snow.

We will be attending some educational conferences over the next couple of months. We have a pretty good selection of seminar topics for our annual turf conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center in January. This is also a good time to get Superintendents and staff together and talk about the past season.

Lena showing one of her pups how to bring the pheasants back!

Have a Great Christmas and New Years!!

Jason's pup Amani during her first trip to South Dakota.

On The Course November 18th

It has been an up and down week with temperatures on the course.  Yesterday morning the temp was 14 degrees and this morning it is 37.  The low morning and evening temps have allowed the ground to begin freezing and have also helped the ponds to begin freezing over which has been nice for goose control.  The dogs have been working hard this last week keeping the large flocks of geese passing threw off the course, there favorite landing spot is 7 pond.  We are expecting some sort of precipitation this weekend with the weather front moving in, we have heard everything from rain and sleet to 2 to 6 inches of snow.  Our snow removal equipment is ready for any sort of snow fall we may see.

The snowshoe and cross country ski trail has been marked again with 6 foot fence posts. We will be marking the post tips with blaze orange paint to better help guide the trail users this winter.  We will open the trail as soon as there is enough snow on the ground to groom and maintain it.

We have installed a snow fence behind the black tee on #14 to keep out snowmobiles this winter, there are a few other locations that we will be adding fence to also.  Last winter we had a small issue with snowmobiles getting onto the course from the woods on 14.  Hopefully this winter with the addition of the fences and no trespassing signs we can keep them off the course.