Winter Work Begins...

It's almost Christmas and there is snow on the ground which means it's time to reflect back on the year and evaluate our programs.  The constant evolution of our operation to continue to become more and more efficient is at the forefront of my thoughts at this moment.  How can we better get the maintenance jobs done on the course?  How or what projects need to be done to provide an even better golfing experience for our membership?  I believe any competent manager should be evaluating constantly to be better in all areas.

We have removed a few dead small pine trees along Glenwood avenue during a brief break in our weather, but now our attention shifts to our equipment and course accessories as far as the staff goes. We are currently going through all of our equipment to perform any maintenance practices while the  weather is bad outside.  This includes oil and air filter changes, grinding and sharpening all cutting units as well as addressing any issues that each individual piece of equipment may have.  When Spring comes, we do not have time for any problems to arise with the equipment so now is the time to ensure it's functioning properly.

We have also been cleaning, pressure washing and sanding and painting any foot cleaners, divot buckets and any and all course accessories such as tee markers that go onto the golf course.  The picture above shows our Equipment Manager grinding and sharpening bedknifes for our step-cut mower.  The other picture shows the prep work that goes into preparing the natural wood tee markers we have.

I hope everyone has a very merry and happy holiday season!

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Snow Mold Application Down...

Part of the many tasks we do every year to put the course to bed in the fall for the winter is to spray all short cut areas (greens, tees and fairways) with a fungicide to prevent snow mold disease.  The disease, if not treated before the disease appears can be very devastating.  We spray in November on the calmest day we can, and the spray typically gets us about 3 solid months of control over the disease.  Like the snow mold component of possible winter damage, we have to monitor the ice accumulation on the greens even closer.  The damage from last winter on the 6th and 16th greens was a result of the ice accumulation and duration of coverage.  We were out on the greens last March with our tractor loader removing snow and ice but the damage had already been done.  We will be paying close attention to those greens and do everything in our power to prevent another damaging winter like we experienced last winter!  In the end, mother nature is always in the driver seat with regards to how the golf course withstands the winter!