A Snowy Spring

As I write this the bountiful amounts of snow we have received in April are starting to melt and there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel as we near opening day take 3. One would think with the late opening and the many days of inside work I would have had time to update my blog weekly. Sometimes life does not work out that way. So what did we do all winter?

Our main project was a complete update in the men's bathroom. Not a sexy project by any means but one necessitated by aging cast iron pipes in the floor and some ugly tile and features from 1985 the last time the room was worked on. We did most of the work in house including digging up the concrete floors and removing the old pipes. Hundreds of labor hours were put into the project that has been well received. Special thanks to Jeremy and James on our staff. Jeremy provides the construction expertise while James is our designer and we all dig, pound and paint.

The old floor and features

The new floor and features

The new sink area

Many customers have noticed the crane near our pump-house behind 11 green as it stands out with no leaves on the trees. Our high capacity well is being re-rehabilitated. The well was drilled to 850' and the pump is set to 600' to fill our irrigation pond. After 24 years our pump was still working but our 600' of 6" drop pipe  had developed holes causing a loss of water being pumped. Naturally occurring bio-film forms on the pipe and actually feeds on the carbon in the pipe causing corrosion and holes.
The pump and pipe were pulled, the well inspected with a camera and it was decided the well would be blasted with 15 one pound charges of dynamite to remove bio-film, mineral incrustation and small particles in the well and allow water to flow fully. After blasting the the particles are allowed to settle to the bottom and then pumped out to return the well to 850'
Our well has a 16" well casing to 400' that not only prevents sand and ground from collapsing into the well but it also prevents water in aquifers above 400' from entering our well. This is important for the area homeowners who have wells in the upper aquifers.
When the pump is reinstalled  the first 200' of pipe will be steel but the next 400' will be a new style of PVC that can withstand the weight and torque of the well pump and water. The PVC will reduce the chance of future holes in the pipe from bio-film.

The well pipes on the left are rusty but in good condition, the center a little bio-film
but the black ones on the right are fully corroded from the bio-film. As a note, the bio-film
stinks and does not come off your hands despite multiple hand washings!

Winter is a time of education and I was able to attend a few educational events put on by the Wisconsin Golf Course Superintendents Association, The Northern Great Lakes Golf Course Superintendents Association, The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and The Wisconsin Turfgrass Association in conjunction with UW-Madison and our great UW Turf Team of professors and staff.
The continued theme in many of the talks is how to maintain quality turfgrass with less inputs of fertilizer, chemicals and water. Less inputs reduce costs and labor. The goal is healthy grass that tolerates traffic and damage from divots and ball marks but yet does not grow too fast requiring extra mowing. 
Honey bee hives are becoming popular on golf courses although I am not sure our team has time to develop the hives I know many residents around Fond du Lac have. Honey bees are crucial for crop and food production through pollination. 1/3 of our food production depends on pollinators. Bee's have been in the news as their numbers have reduced due to mites, bacteria and misapplied insecticides.
Our conference topics range from bees to fertilizer to social media to irrigation technology and employee management to what color flowers work best in different situations. Feel free to track me down and ask me what I have learned!

Our projects from last fall (and my last post) are still in progress. The grass around hole 14 bunker should be germinating soon and we will get the drainage and sand in the new bunker as soon as we are able to drive in the area. The freeze thaw periods and plenty of snow and rain should have helped the new silver tee on hole 14 settle so we can start shaping it in early May.

Hopefully in two weeks snow will be a fleeting memory it will be time for a spring update and what we are doing on the golf course this year. Until then, keep I look forward to seeing you on the links!