The golf course was last clear in Mid January after rains and a few warm days melted what snow we had. But since then we have had 8 to 12 inches of snow on the ground and plenty of rain and snow melts to give us a good ice layer under the snow. Snow is great for the golf course, ice can be damaging depending on how long it stays and how it melts off. We are not worried yet but if we see a stretch of warm weather we will do what we can to clear the snow and help get the ice off the greens quickly. We will use a mix of Milorganite fertilizer and dye to darken the ice and increase warmth from the sun to melt the ice before it causes problems. (we use Milorganite because it is dark, non-burning and actually a very good slow release product.
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| Snow and ice can be annoying but yet beautiful at the same time. |
After 2 winters of rebuilding bathrooms and digging up concrete floors in the clubhouse it is pleasant to just have staff work on equipment maintenance through the winter. It allows Jeremy our mechanic more time to go over each piece and find/fix little problems that could become larger problems during the season. We have 60 reels to disassemble and grind both the reel and the bedknive so that takes some time to get done with only one set of grinding machines.
In the clubhouse, we made a major change and moved from a year round full time employee Golf Professional to a contracted Teaching Golf Professional. Unfortunately, a good person and a friend lost his job. On the other hand another good person gained an opportunity to teach without the hassle of worrying about tee times, leagues and outings. This change was driven by budgetary concerns and the seasonal basis of our operation.
What does it mean for you, our customer? Not much. Mike and Terry and the rest of the staff will still provide great service in the clubhouse. Don Du Chateau and his staff will provide valuable player development services in the form of lessons, clinics and club fittings. Tiffany and her staff will still provide great service in the 28th Hole Bar and Grill.
I will still be the General Manager / Superintendent only now I will be based out of the clubhouse, not the maintenance building. James and Jeremy will take on more supervision in the maintenance department. James has run the day to day crew assignments for over 5 years without any issues and I am confident he will continue to do so.
I will be in the clubhouse more but still plan to regularly:
- Change cups because it allows me to see the entire golf course on a regular basis.
- Help with fertilizer and plant protectant product applications because we have a big property and it is all hands on deck to spray fertilizer every other week to greens, tees and fairways. Through light targeted applications we provide better growing and playing conditions with less overall fertilizer.
- Help with the maintenance of the irrigation system because most of it is antiquated and takes a little extra TLC and inspection to keep things going. Changing cups is a great way to see how the irrigation system is performing.
Changing Cups is my favorite job because I get to see every hole on the course.
It has been a interesting winter as I refresh my knowledge of golf club specifications, the rules of golf, apparel trends and which golf ball really does fly further. They say change keeps us young, so I should have a new look by Memorial Day.
These changes, although not ideal, are made possible by the great staff we have who can step up, work together, and get the job done. I am looking forward to getting this season going, and hope the cold and snow now means a decent April / May for our local golfers. As I write this on February 26th I have the spring fever bug and cannot wait for golfers taking those first shots of the year soon.
As always, if you have any comments or questions feel free to reach out to me at davidb@rollingmeadowsgolfcourse.com .
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