With tomorrow's reopening of the golf course, Blackhawk will officially have been open for 10 out of 12 months in 2012. Who needs to go to Florida or Arizona to enjoy golf in December anymore? According to a recent article in the newspaper, Madison is on track for the warmest year in recorded history, and given the extended forecast, things will have to change drastically in the last three weeks of the year for this to not happen. Although not yet having the covers on 3, 11, and 17 greens makes us a little nervous because of how quickly Wisconsin's weather can change, the warm weather has allowed us to comfortably tackle some outdoor tasks.
Yesterday, Chad, Omar, and I finished going through the inner workings of the green and tee sprinklers. The guts of each of the 147 sprinklers were removed, cleaned in the shop, inspected for worn parts, and reassembled. Although it is a relatively time-consuming process, it keeps the sprinklers in good working order and greatly reduces the odds of a "stuck" head flooding an area come next year.
Last weekend, I received an unexpected Thanksgiving surprise while checking the hillside lift that transports golfers from the 9th green to the clubhouse. One of the emergency brakes apparently deployed late in the previous afternoon, and rather than stopping the lift, it snapped off due to an undetectable, deteriorated weld. While it will be an inconvenience for the remainder of the season, the fact that it broke now is much better than breaking at the start of the next season. Thus, the lift has been closed for the season for this and other repairs.
The asphalt pavers were here this week to lay down the gravel base for the cart path by 18 green, and it is now passable. We found out that the previous path was over 40 years old and was essentially laid directly on the native soil; this explains why the paver broke through the path in its initial attempt to overlay the existing asphalt. The path will be finished as soon as possible next spring.
Work in the shop continues to progress nicely, and the majority of our heavily-used vehicles have been washed and serviced and are ready to go for next year. In the weeks to come, Dave will turn his attention towards the many mowers that have to be cleaned, sharpened, and given an annual check-up. We have also started refurbishing and staining/painting the many on-course accessories (ballwashers, divot boxes, tee blocks, etc.) that take a beating throughout the golf season.
Although I've probably said this three times this year, we hope that you're able to enjoy the course for what might be the last playable stretch of weather.
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