It doesn't get much colder than this in Springfield.  We are breaking low temperature records dating back to the 1800's so it is beyond cold.  Though we are not yet climbing the walls when the guys prefer to be outside in these cold temperatures you know we are getting close!  We are actually very productive in our own way as we prepare for the coming season.

 

Friday morning cold wave.

 

 

A fortunate snow event to insulate the turf from the winter freeze.

 

 

We leave ornamental grasses up as long as possible as a safe haven for our birds.

 

 

The gazebo is gone!

 

 

Eliminating a collection of pallets and a major fire hazard.

 

 

Making mincemeat of pallets and then into the dumpster.

 

 

Soaking course signage to get...

 

 

a like new appearance!

 

 

Might as well paint the living quarters at the turf care center while the snow melts.

 

 

Ice Station Springfield

 

Lincoln's birthday is here and winter is more than half over.  We have been fortunate not to have too much snow so we have been steadily working on the course when the temperature allows.  We just completed some contractual tree work and have plenty of split oak available to you on a first come first serve basis!  You may pick it up in the woods adjacent to the driving range near the 12th green.  It looks like there is plenty of winter ahead so enjoy the warmth of a nice fire and dream of spring.

A nice pile of oak that should be ready to burn once split.

Several days later a six foot mound of split wood.  Come and get it!

Leaning oak at the sixteenth tee ready for removal.

Carefully removing it in pieces and then...

hauling to the chipper.  These guys don't mess around.

Feeding logs into the chipper.  Most of the wood is fed into the large chipper by the rubber tracked loader, limiting hand work.  The chipper minces logs up to 24 inches!  We use the chips throughout the course.

Chipping a large log on our property near Rygate.

The only remaining white pine on the fifth hole is now gone.  It had a major crack between the twin leads and was determined too dangerous to leave standing.

More chipping between the 11th and 12th holes.

Plenty of fresh chips to use on the course.

Erik is a pruning machine.  I know he is happy this work is almost complete.  It has been a long time since we have done such large scale pruning.

The crew clearing the creek on the 7th and 8th holes.  This is the last large area to complete before the golf season

A picture from Halloween not that long ago.  Take a bow Billy!

Not surprisingly Mr. Groundhog saw his shadow and called for six more weeks of winter.  Out of over a hundred years of forecasts he has only predicted an early spring seventeen times.  Hopefully he's as talented a meteorologist as the weatherman and we might yet have an early spring!   We continue to prep for the golf season working outside when we can.  Tree pruning is going well and should wrap up this week.  The work continues inside too. One improvement that is being implemented is changing the color of our ballwashers and some other accessories to match our tee signs.  This involves removing all the old paint and then spray painting with a primer and enamel coat.  They look like new and should help the appearance at each tee complex.

 

Before, during and after pics of our refurbished ballwashers.

 

 

Ballwashers ready to be reassembled.

 

 

Tee marker production line.

 

 

We have done some repair and maintenance in our pump house recently.  This six inch check valve failed late in the season and is being replaced before spring start up.

 

 

We also replaced the large stainless screen that filters irrigation water as it enters the sprinkler system.  We started to have some problems with sprinklers running without adequate pressure and found this to be the culprit.  There is a failure near the top of the screen which can be seen when enlarged.  This screen is inspected after every season and was last replaced in 1998.  Divers were hired in September to clean the intake and found an accumulation of leaf debris near the intake.  This was cleaned but will require more intense maintenance in the near future.

 

 

More snow last week. Fortunately the storm just glanced us.

 

 

A red tailed hawk keeping an eye on things. No sign of nesting yet.

 

 

 

 

One month down and two to go as winter marches along.  We continue to proceed with our winter maintenance knowing time is getting short.  We finally experienced some milder weather this week that allowed us to open the back nine albeit on temporary greens and tees.  Unfortunately it doesn't look like the mild temperatures will last.  It is January after all!

 

It sure is nice to see some winter golf but we must wait for frost to burn off first.

 

 

The fifteenth hole this morning covered in frost.  Our crew has almost finished clearing the growth from around the lake.  The fourth hole is complete.

 

 

Pruning is taking place throughout the course.  Here Erik works on a willow oak near the sixteenth green.

 

 

Lots of branches to chip!

 

 

The crew continues to refurbish course supplies.

 

 

More sanding!

 

 

Oscar working on a triplex mower.  All the hoses are being replaced on this unit.

 

 

Daffodils beginning to emerge and a sure sign of things to come.

Good morning from a very frigid golf course.  Most of our work has moved indoors during this extremely cold period.  There is plenty to do as we prepare for the coming golf season.  As stated before this is a very busy time for our mechanic Oscar Garcia and his assistant Francisco Carranza.  Currently they are spending the bulk of their time performing preventive maintenance on our fairway mowers.  This involves replacing bearings and seals in the cutting units and then sharpening the reel and cutting bar.  We also replace all the hydraulic hoses after so many years of use to prevent possible failures.  Hydraulic hose failure means dead grass and I am sure you have seen the results when this occurs.   This season we are replacing all the hoses on our third mower and it is a big job.  Thirty-four hoses are carefully labeled and removed.  The old hoses are taken to the hydraulic hose fabricator and new hoses are then made to order.  The new hoses are actually better than the original and we have yet to have a failure!    

 

Yep its cold this morning.

 

 

A fairway mower without hoses and reels on the lift.

 

 

Hoses on the way to the shop.

 

 

Winterberry looks great with snow.  This plant is actually a deciduous holly.

 

 

The crew did a great job with the snow on Tuesday.  Here is our new plow and canopy on our Kubota tractor.

 

 

Francisco running the John Deere loader.

 

 

One of the last snow events for our 1989 Ford F250 plow.  Twenty-five years makes it an antique!

 

 

The rest of the crew shoveling.

 

 

Oscar sharpening fairway cutting bars.

 

 

Hazard stakes being prepared for the upcoming season.

 

 

Preparing broken tee boxes. The move to plastic tees was awesome and may make these obsolete.

 

 

An impressive Nellie Stevens holly in front of the clubhouse.

 

 

Some snow fencing added to discourage sledding onto the fifth green.

 

 

Several cedars were removed to reduce a shade issue on the twelfth tee.

 

 

Quincy enjoying a snow day.  He has had several seizures and is back on medication.