January is rolling right along with some really nice spring like weather.  Our crew continues to prepare for the coming season but great weather shifts our focus to mowing greens, raking bunkers, changing hole locations, and rolling greens!  That's crazy!  No complaints here though as there is still plenty of winter ahead.  We've had quite a few guys sick the past few weeks.  In addition one of our guys broke his knee and will be out of work for a while so we are a little short handed.  With most of our crew taking vacation at this time an early spring could hold up some of our winter projects.  

Spring like temperatures are promoting some nice color in our fairways.

January 25th and daffodils are beginning to emerge.

Raking bunkers in January at the fifth green-usually the coldest spot on the course.

The new sod continues to peg down nicely with the mild temperatures.

Over an inch and a half of rain on Monday and we are playing golf on Wednesday-in January!  Lots of branches down throughout the course but no trees.

This fencing was put over the steep slope at three lake to prevent erosion until the sod has successfully rooted.  After the heavy rain everything was still in place!

Relocating tee signs and ball washers that will include memorial benches encompassed in the same mulched bed.

Crows have been a royal pain in the rear.  Here our headless hitchhiker scarecrow keeps watch near the first green.  

This guy reminds me of the scarecrows from the original Planet of the Apes movie.

Happy New Year! What a nice surprise we had today.  Seventy degrees on January 12th is an unexpected bonus and we were happy to see so many golfers enjoying the course.  We have been able to accomplish quite a bit so far this year.  Taking advantage of the frigid temperatures we contracted some tree removal on Monday and Tuesday before we thawed out.  Pond and creek work continues as well.

Part of our crew cutting back brush on the fourth hole.  We are well ahead of this work compared to 

last year.

Removal of a dead oak next to the sixth tee and pretty tricky with power lines and the tee nearby.

Finally some wood has been split from the removals.  Free to our membership it may be picked up in the woods near the twelfth green.

Monday was an "interesting" day where not much was accomplished thanks to losing power right at start time.  Without power and no heat our crew only worked a half day.  At one time we had nine Dominion Power trucks at our shop.  It was finally restored at 3:30.

The newly sodded areas are rooting in nicely.  Here nice white roots are beginning to peg into the soil at the 17th tee.

Crows have been a real problem recently.  Hundreds upon hundreds have descended on our property  eerily reminiscent of Hitchcock's The Birds.

Crow damage to the first green.  

Merry Christmas! As the prime rib cooks I thought i'd give a final 2016 update.  Seventeen tee is done and just in the nick of time.  The complex turned out beautiful and makes the course more playable for all.  Our crew is just about sodded out as the last bit was installed on maybe the coldest day of the coming winter last week.  We have an new lawn around much of the clubhouse which should add to your enjoyment during summer activities.

A brand new lawn to be enjoyed in 2017.

An almost completed 17th tee.  Added length from the gold and shorter from the forward tees should be appealing to all. 

In need of golf balls?  Check out the newly cleaned creek on seven and eight.  The guys wrapped this  up on Friday before Christmas.

"Winter Red" deciduous hollies starting to show their berries for the first time since installation.

Winter arrived early and slowed down some of our projects.  Weather permitting the construction of the 17th tee and coinciding lake work will be completed this week.  Cold weather has shut down greens 3,4 and 5 for the season.  These will be covered next week.  Final fungicide applications to all greens, tees and fairways were applied last week ending any mowing until next spring.  The course is finally moist from the recent rains so the irrigation system has been drained and will be winterized soon.

The end wall form is set and ready for concrete.

Placing topsoil around the new tee.  Irrigation will be installed Tuesday followed by final grading and sod installation.

Our staff adding some long overdue drainage by the 7th green tee.

No more puddle!

Blowing leaves from fairways before spraying.

The last major leaf work of the year on Monday.

Temporary green and leaves!

Rain and cooler weather have finally arrived.  Most of the leaves are down so we hope to wrap them up this week. Haha! It seems the leaves are never done.  Windy conditions have tested our staff as well as a welcome rain event.  We laid almost half an acre of fescue sod around the weather.  The 17th tee project is going well.  With rain forecast for much of the coming week it will be interesting to see what gets accomplished.

Before tee construction began we chose to relocate the birch tree to the other side of the pond.

Sod from the 17th tee now on the 4th forward tee.  This will be covered for the winter and remain closed until spring.

Tee construction underway.

The majority of the soil for the tees was generated from the 4th hole.  A new concrete end wall will be added to the existing drain pipe.  This entire area will be sodded and maintained at rough height.

Preparing for new rough on the 17th hole.  Weather will dictate how much more we can do.  So far we have laid nearly two acres!

Leaf work is a daily chore.  The wood chip areas are ideal for moving leaves into and then mulching.

Ducks have arrived in our ponds but no sign yet of you know who.  I'm gonna give Jack credit!  I counted 36 mallards and nine hooded mergansers the other day.  

The spectacular fall weather ended abruptly Saturday and it feels like winter is here.  It continues to be extremely dry and we are in need of some rain.  It is rare to see the lake so low and sprinklers flying but   that is where we are at.  Leaf work has been relatively straight forward this fall and we have been able to keep up.  Sod work is going well though we are watering more than usual.  The biggest news is the Board approved the renovation of the 17th tee which begins on Monday.  Three sets of tees will be built and locations are flagged.  In addition the collapsed end wall in the lake inlet on #4 will be repaired.  The soil generated in this area will provide the base for the new tees.

Ten creek before we worked on it and…

After! 

Another view.  We still have some work on the green side of the ditch.

More work on the 14th hole.

Flagged area representing the area of disturbance at 4 lake inlet.

Championship tee location.  The mound close to 16 green will be removed and the birch tree will be 

relocated.

Shared blue and white tee location.

Green and red tee location.

The level of our irrigation lake is low.

Overseeded bermudagrass in 16 rough with some "check plots!"

Lots of late fall fertility on most of the course.  This is probably the most important time to fertilize cool season turf as the food is stored in the plant for next season.

Roses blooming on November 15th!!!!

The beautiful fall weather continues benefitting both golfers and the course as we motor along towards Thanksgiving.  This week looks like another mid-October special!  Sunday featured our first killing frost so there goes the last of our summer annuals and in come the tulips.  We have used an unusual amount of water this fall as we are quite dry and temperatures have been running above normal.

The day after Lentz's Revenge featuring a nice sunrise.

The remnants of a fun day.  Thanks to my staff for a great tournament and a great year!

Bulb planting is now in go mode.  If you have bulbs now is the time to plant.  Remember to water them after planting and keep moist if it remains dry.

Heavy winds on a Saturday knocked down a white pine next to the pump house.

Irrigating the 17th green and pretty unusual for November. 

Preparing for new sod on the fifth hole.

Working on the tenth hole.  We softened the creek bank for better playability and aesthetics.

Just about ready for sod.

Laying the sod is the easy part.  This is the best time to lay sod as it readily roots in and requires minimal watering.  Even though top growth has stopped roots continue to grow.

Fall color has been late arriving and short lived.

One of our honeybees pollinating a begonia behind 18 green?  Could be as one of our colonies made it through the season.

Groody's Groomers posing after their last divot patrol featuring Board member Bob McNamara!