Winter Preparations Continue

Compared to last October our preparations for winter are progressing at a reasonable pace. For now. I don't trust long range forecasts at this time of year and that is why we will continue spraying until we are finished. The weather is always unpredictable during the transition periods of spring and fall so we need to take advantage of the pleasant weather. Also the new chemicals we are using can be applied earlier than others used in past years so the days of waiting until "the last minute" appear to be over. Of course as I've always said nothing is 100% but we can deal with the unforeseen if and when the time comes.

• The fairways and approaches were completed on Tuesday. You may have noticed that the brass fairway yardage plates have been removed. We don't want them stained by the fungicide and they need to be cleaned up over the winter. 
• Tees will be sprayed today. The yardage plates on the tees are difficult to remove so they will be covered to prevent staining. 
• Greens will be treated on Thursday.
• Greens surrounds and areas of the rough that remain shaded well into the spring will be sprayed on Friday.
• All of the above is weather permitting.

On The Course

• Irrigation blowout was completed late last week and went according to plan.
• All of the roughs will have been solid deep tine aerated by the end of the week.
• Several sodding projects are underway to cleanup some issues from the Women's Canadian Open, repair a few areas damaged by poor drainage and to fill small patches of rough that have been devoid of turf for several years (beside the fairway bunkers on #13 and #14).
• We are making headway with the leaves and with each nice day we get a head start on next spring's cleanup.
• Many of the tee surfaces are showing excess wear and tear due to the dry weather, lack of irrigation and no recovery from divots. As a result the tees will be placed in areas that I feel can sustain play until we close. That means they will be moved forward on all the par 3's. Considering the alternative this is a fair trade off. 
• Surprise. The gold tee on #12 is open for play.

A few members have asked about covering the 6th green. Yes we will be using the same system as last year which will involve blowing air under the tarp / bubble wrap every 2 weeks. However it is far too early to cover the green. The ground must be frozen for several days so that plant respiration is very low. A few weeks at least before we work on that green.

All for now,

Wade