NEWS FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

News from the Superintendent

Wow, what a month we had to start the year. January started with temperatures in the 70’s, 2 separate snow events adding up to 5+ inches and will end with the coldest temperatures of the season. It sure has been a tough month for the maintenance team.

I must give thanks to all the members that have helped with putting on and taking off the cover on 16 green. We had to cover it twice in January to prevent desiccation from the cold temps. I usually cover when the nighttime temps drop below 27 degrees and the following days temps do not get above 45 degrees. Number 16 green has been covered for a total of 16 days this month. Fortunately, this has not disrupted play as temps were generally too cold for golf.

I will be putting out pre emergent weed control by the 2nd week of February. It is dependent on the amount of soil moisture in the ground. This will be the first step to keeping weeds off the golf course this year. I will have follow up applications later in the spring.

My only complaints are the use of the grass driving range tee and practice around the course. The driving range has been on mats since November 1st, but this has not stopped people from destroying the top grass tee. I once again implore all of you to help me protect what turf is left and stay off the grass tees. Practice around the course after normal hours has increased significantly over the last few months. This has created bare spots in fairways and around greens where people have not been using sand to fill in divots and increased ball marks on greens that are also not being repaired. This has been a constant frustration of mine. My staff and I continue to fix areas that should not have damage.

I am asking that every member help me with these problems. I created an area on the side of the driving range tee and 14 rough for people to hit off grass. However, this has still not stopped the problem. Please teach other members, your children, and our guests that using the grass tees during winter only results in turf loss and weeds to invade into the beaten areas. The more we stay off the grass the better the tees will be to start the spring and we will have less intrusion from weeds on the tee box.

I thank you all for your help and assistance resolving these issues and helping to keep the golf course in great shape for all to enjoy. Have a great month and hopefully the temps will warm up for more play. 

Sincerely, 

Kevin McCamy, GCS