One month of winter is over, two more and spring arrives.  Meteorological spring begins March 1st which sounds a whole lot better!  We have been busy prepping the course for the golf season.  Most of the creek and pond bank clearing is complete.  Tree pruning with accompanying chipping went well.  Trees on holes 3, 8, 11-15, and 17 were pruned extensively.  Next up will be more tree removals scheduled to begin on Monday, January 30th.  This is weather dependent as work has been rescheduled once already.  It has been a relatively mild winter so far and the course is fairly soft.  Last week greens were rolled and mowed which is pretty unusual for January.  The course looked like early March last week!

Mild weather has the course looking like early spring.

A frosty start before opening.

Some green-up on the putting green with winterberry hollies showing off in the background.

A nice prune on the willow oak on hole eight.

Raising the canopy of the oak grove behind seventeen green.  

An improved oak on hole seventeen.

Everyone's "favorite" willow oak on hole twelve.

Our guys chipping around outdoor tennis courts.  We have a nice size crew this winter doing plenty of improvements around the club's grounds which should be noticeable as you venture out this spring.

The new forward tee on hole fifteen after rolling and beginning to look more defined.

 

 Happy New Year!  What a turnaround in temperatures we are experiencing.  Just a week ago we were frozen solid, now we are raking bunkers, rolling greens and maybe mowing.  Crazy!  The nice shift in the weather is allowing McDonald and Sons to wrap up their work.  Expect sod installation later this week and that's it.  Fortunately, rebuilding the 16th tee complex was pushed till next fall.  Starting this construction in that wet, shaded area would have been a mistake.  Sometimes the best decision is doing nothing.

The biggest news is the failure of the main spillway on the lake at the fifth hole.  The good news is there does not appear to be a leak in the lake floor.  We are gathering information and ideas in ways to repair this as efficiently as possible.  It looks to be a logistical nightmare getting concrete to the site, but we will figure it out.  Never a dull moment on the course.

Saving the worst for first.

Another view.  Pictures don't capture the damage very well.

Tarps were placed right before the cold arrived.

The new forward tee on fifteen.  Notice how it flows directly into the fairway.

Winterizing the irrigation system.

Cutting back growth and opening up the view of the creek on the fifth hole.

Another view.

Dormant seeding bentgrass into weak fairways.

Happy New Year!