Latest Member Notice

Winter work has started for the Grounds Department, well somewhat.  Weather continues to ride a roller coaster, some days are spent inside while other are spent outside.  Everything has been put to bed but it’s nice to have some “bonus” days to work on other outside tasks.  It does appear the bottom is dropping out again towards the end of the week; this will bring us back inside.  Often we are faced with a common question this time of year; “what do you do during the winter?”  Winter is a very busy time for us, not as busy as mid season but keeps us going.  Over the duration of the golf season equipment, accessories, as well as staff accumulate a great deal of wear and tear.  Winter is used to revive everything and get ready for the next season. 

Equipment maintenance is a major task taken on over the winter.  Our staff takes great pride in the equipment that you provide for us to do our job.  At the end of each season each piece of equipment is cleaned thoroughly, then waxed and detailed.  Detailed cleaning assists our mechanic when he begins his inspection and maintenance, makes it easier to see any issues with the machine.  Throughout the golfing season our mechanic is busy with daily needs but winter is where his work becomes busiest.  Going through each piece of equipment with a fine tooth comb and getting it ready for next year is time consuming.  Not only is he preparing that machine for the next season but for the long term.  Preventative maintenance is the key to any operation, catching stuff before it becomes a problem helps keep the machine running and increases efficiency.  With most equipment being relatively newer major maintenance will be minimal.   Our biggest task at hand this winter is replacing the reels of our greens mowers.  The reel is one of the key mowing components on the greens mowers and use and sharpening over the years have worn them down. 

Greens mowers being taken apart for reel replacement as well as annual winter maintenance.

   

Along with equipment maintenance we have repair and refurbishing of golf course accessories.  Sun can wreck havoc on items such as ballwashers, tee markers, benches, etc…  Each winter these items are gone through and refurbished for the next season.  Over the last few years a good amount of our accessories have been replaced with different materials.  Material was selected that would help reduce the detail needed to refurbish ithem but to also give a cleaner and classier look.  Use of an exotic wood that only needs oiling has allowed us to take on different projects over winter to bring on a new fresh look.  Over this winter we are tackling our ball washers.  Years and years of paint have built up on them as they’ve been repainted each year.  After thinking about and trying new methods we found a quick and cheap method to remove the built up paint and are doing so.  I’m quite amazed by the nice fresh look the old/new ballwashers now have.

Newly finished ballwasher.  To the left we are stripping years of paint, middle photo shows powder coating, right shows finished product.  Green was chosen to blend in more with surroundings.

The above mentioned tasks are all worked on when it’s bitterly cold outside or if we have deep snow.  Recently we’ve been lucky to receive some slightly moderate days and have been outside doing work.  Luis has been working hard and has finished up all landscape bed cleanup.   Grasses were left for over the winter as I like the look they present, we’ll burn in the spring.  Other guys have been working on tasks such as:

• Cleaning debris out of native areas so we can get our winter herbicide application down
• Cleaning out bunkers
•  Pulling buckthorn out around larger Oak trees so that the Oak doesn’t get choked out
•  Fencing off greens for winter activities 
• We do see activity over winter from cross country skiers and snowshoers.  Years previous people would track right across the greens so we are preventing this from happening by fencing them off.  Please use caution if you do come out as wire was used since rope is always destroyed by coyotes.  Wire is highlighted with orange ribbon as you can see in the picture.
• With the greens being fenced off we do ask that skiers please don’t ski across tees as well.

Photo of 15 green with posts and wire.  Wire as you can see is highlighted with orange ribbon.

Lastly, winter is a time for Grounds Department staff to repair and refurbish themselves.  April through October is very busy for us and long hours are put in.  We keep in mind our responsibilities to take care of over winter but catch up on time missed from family and friends.  Vacations or just a day off from time to time help get caught up on outside things from the golf course.  Education events are also a big part of winter.  Events are hosted around the area as well as nationally where we have the opportunity to learn more about research, technology, and new products.  Time is taken to attend events of such nature so that we can continue to elevate the conditions of our golf course.  Updates will continue to be sent out over the winter to keep you informed with what’s going on at the club.  Communication is key in any successful operation and we want you to know what’s going on with your course and equipment.