Opening? Eventually!

The question we hear the most this time of year, and rightfully so, is: "When do you anticipate opening?"  This is when I keep an eye on the long range forecast, course conditions and the timing of our maintenance activities such as aerification.  First, forecast - looks like the next 7 days will be highs in the 40's and lows in the 20's, while the sun may be out, it isn't exactly grass growing or golfing weather.  Second, course conditions - the greens have not started to grow yet, therefore we have not mowed them and they would be unable to recover from any traffic during the next week.  Third, aerification - we are scheduled to aerify greens on Monday, March 30 if the weather permits.  We might also aerify fairways next week if we stay dry.  If these activities happen, it will be more efficient for us to leave the course closed for a few more days, get the work done, then open the course and be ready for the season. Right now, I would say we will open in early April.

 

With that being said, I know there is an itch to get out there, if the weather turns warmer and the greens start growing, we may open sooner.

 

To be honest, a few of our greens look like junk - they really took a beating this winter due to some ice cover, cold temps in high winds.  Here is what 12 currently looks like.  The great news is that there is plenty of green grass underneath and they will all be green and healthy in a few weeks as they start growing.  On typical winter damage - if it's brown it comes back, if it's white it's gone.

Our major task this week and into next is cleaning the course from the winter winds.  We rake up any debris and pick up any stick that is pencil size or larger.  With 150 acres and thousand of trees, this is a big task.

One of the last small projects that Wayne has been working on is a shelving unit for our reels.  He did a great job putting this together last week, helping maintain a clean and organized shop.