Winter Warmup

Seems like we've been spending time at the Great America of Weather!  What a rollercoaster.  Last week we seen a substantial warm up with temperatures topping out in the 50's, but didn't last for long.  Thursday through Saturday we seen rain and mild temps but that came to a halt as the cold front moved in, freezing things solid.  Winter like temperatures have returned for the week and hopefully that will allow us to get back on track.
Over the last few weeks we've continued our busy work with getting things ready for the season along with doing our annual winter duties.  Tree work began but had to be stopped due to warmer temperatures and thawing ground.  Equipment needed for tree removal and pruning is quite heavy so having a solid frozen ground helps us protect the course.  Last Monday and Tuesday we were able to get some of the poor health and dangerous trees removed but still have some cleanup to do.  Our goal is mid-week to have the crew back out here cleaning up from the removals then begin pruning. 
Equipment maintenance continues to move along.  Believe I had mentioned before that our maintenance needs would be reduced greatly this winter with the replacement of a large piece of our fleet.  That is true, this is allowing us to really look into our equipment that we are keeping and make the necessary repairs to help the machines last a long life.  Blades have been sharped, oil and greasing of machines are taking place now along with fine inspections of each item.  Not only are the guys doing a great job of repairing the equipment but we've been working on a log system to help document repairs and costs associated.  Tracking of such items were never done in the past and I feel it is a necessity to know what we've done to each piece of equipment and how much it has cost us. 
Lastly, the nice weather has allowed myself to get out on the course and look things over.  The golf course is looking great!  Ice build up was very minimal as of the end of last week.  Rains though later in the week have now frozen over but any ice prior had been melted which is key in allowing gas exchange.  Greens look to be as expected, wintering very well.  It's amazing how the bentgrass can handle the cool weather and ice.  The turf is obviously dormant and won't get going again till spring but I'm much more relaxed and comfortable in knowing we have the A1/A4 bentrass on the greens.  Unfortunately, we've had some play out on the course and people don't seem to accept the fact that the greens are now closed for the year.  I am quite baffled at the complete disregard to protection of the course and very poor decision making on the part of whomever was out playing this past Wednesday.  It's fine to come out and hit balls around to keep the swing in tune but please do not hit to the green, walk on the green, and DO NOT HIT THE BALL OFF THE GREEN!  I'm including photos that were taken on Thursday, January 10th where somebody damaged the 12th and 15th green by hitting a ball from them.