Strange Sights

The rollercoaster weather pattern has continued this week, and after reaching a high of 45 degrees two days ago, the windchill dipped to -8 degrees last night.  The precipitation throughout the winter has been above normal and that's a good thing when considering the vast amount of soil moisture that was depleted during the 2012 drought.  The days are getting noticably longer, and I, for one, am getting antsy for the arrival of spring.  Last year at this time, temperatures were already consistently in the 40s, and the course was unknowingly three weeks away from opening.  That doesn't look to be the case this year, but you just never know.

The standing water that was pictured in the previous post allowed for an unusual sight...someone ice skating on the 7th fairway.  A picture of this gentleman skating on the course was also featured on the local news.

No offense to him, but we hope that this individual doesn't have the opportunity to ice skate on the 7th fairway in years to come.

Due to the relatively deep pond that had formed in front of 3 green, we also dusted off the trash pump in an effort to remove the free water from this area.  The drain tiles that we installed in this area were still thawed out, and by sticking the pump intake into the catch basin, we were able to move most of the water to the rough area between 4 tee and 4 fairway.

Unfortunately, there was nowhere to move the water that settled on the beginning of 7 fairway, and we have already ordered bentgrass seed in the event that this area doesn't survive the winter (although it still may).

In other news, Chad and I have been busy interviewing candidates to fill our summer crew.  Four employees from last year have graduated college and moved on and that means that we have a few more openings than normal.  But, we've had a lot of people apply and are confident that we will have another great group of employees this summer.

Dave, Omar, Angel, and Chris have nearly completed the maintenance on the many mowers that are needed to groom the course, and they will soon be moving on miscellaneous pieces of equipment that also need attention.  If time/weather allows, we are hoping to tackle a few minor shop projects before the course opens for the year.