Winter Weed Application

Now that the weather has cooperated and the course has dried up a bit, we are out dilligently spraying the winter weeds on the course.  Currently we have sprayed over 32 acres in the past few days.

This application is different from our pre emergent app. Our summer weed prevent will begin around January 15.

Also, we have been pruning most of the plant material on the course. We are starting an agressive tree pruning projet that will take place after the first of the year and continue into February.

Hopefully the course will remain dry and the weather will be mild so we can all enjoy being out on the golf course.

Winter Update

Within the next few weeks, our department will be publishing our winter update. This update will detail the projects and progress we anticipate this December through February. We will email this update to the membership and also post it to the blog once its complete.

Over the past few weeks our staff has been completely consumed with leaf clean-up on the course. Heavy winds have brought down the majority of leaves but many more remain on the trees.  We anticipate the leaf cleanup to continue over the next month.

The greens, practice facility, and par three tees have been painted for the winter season. The paint came out wonderful and mimics the rye grass color from the past. We are going to make a second application to the greens in the upcoming weeks and will also be painting some additional areas to the course.

Wesley Michielsen
Golf Course Superintendent

Fall Greens Prep

As the temperatures start to wind down we have to keep in mind that our greens need to prepare themselves for winter. During the next month, we will be raising the greens heights in order to provide the greens with a longer leaf blade to help provide a decent surface during dormancy.

We will be appliying topdressing to help smooth the greens out, along with raising the heights, so as a whole you should expect them to slow down a bit over the coming weeks. The greens will speed.up throughout the winter as the leaf blade shrinks through dormancy.

Many people have asked why we didn't continue with the aggressive topdressing schedule after Member Guest and the answer is fairly simple. With the amount of events we had stacked on top of us after opening,  such high volumes of sand  would not have allowed us to keep the tournament speeds in the greens for all the events.

Tomorrow we will be applying more sand, now that we have a small gap in the events, and the greens should have time to recover even though the air and soil temps are starting to drop dramatically. We will continue to hand topdress small areas also throughout this time.

Contact me if you have any questions and I will see you on the course!

Wesley Michielsen

Bunker Sand Redistribution

We are working on the course redistributing sand in the bunkers. With all the rain this past summer, we had a difficult time keeping the sand at the correct playing depths.  This is normal maintenance we do throughout the playing season and we appreciate your patience as we make our way around the golf course.

Men's Member Guest

First round of the Men's Member Guest is underway. The course is playing very well and the greens are rolling true. What great weather for such a great tournament at our club!

Prep for this tournament is such a great time for our crew. We work long hours and well into the night for days but the smiles, handshakes, and accolades make it all worthwhile. There is nothing better than seeing members and their friends enjoying themselves on the course!

Course Care and Appreciation

I wanted to take a moment to thank one of our members, Randy Holmes, for using his valuable "off time" to help us on the course. Randy came to the course, last week, and hand topdressed all twenty greens in order to fill in the small areas on the greens that were still slightly depressed. We really appreciate Mr. Holmes donating his time to help us on the course. Help like this saves us so much time as a crew.

On a related note, many members have asked about the proper protocol in repairing ball marks... It's the same procedure as with the bentgrass greens, pull all material towards the center of the ball mark and tap down with a putter. The finished product should look like the greens surface. Unrepaired ball marks can take a month to heal. By properly repairing them, they recover in 24 hours. Amazing, isn't it!

Thanks for everything and I'll see you on the course!

Wesley Michielsen

Opening Day

Saturday morning, I stood out on the patio of the club, talked with a few guys that passed by,  and wore the biggest grin on my face. To see everyone back out and excited to play is such a great feeling. As the day closed, I could have hung out all night listening to the stories of who shot what, what putts were missed and made, and all of the wonderful comments that were showered on myself and my staff.

Thank you all for making this club such a great place to be a part of. I can't wait to continue to move forward with the greens and the course over the next few weeks and months.

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves and I'll see you on the course!