April showers were lacking in Edmonton this spring but we did receive some welcome precipitation late Saturday afternoon. A long period of using the irrigation system is always helped out by natural rainfall that "perks" up turfgrass with a flushing of minerals that accumulate over time. That is a very simple explanation of why turf always seems a little greener following a rain event.
The golf course is coming along very nicely with minor turf damage from overwinter and spring. It is obvious that we'll need to reroute the cross country ski trails so that we can try to eliminate any set back to our fairways. I knew this would eventually occur but the membership that uses the course in the winter will now see why changes are in store for the winter of 2016. There are also two small spots of ice damage on #15 and #17 greens that will be repaired or spike/seeded in the next week. The greens that were covered with the bubble wrap/impermeable tarps came out great. The testing of this procedure is finally over. The covers for the remainder of the greens have been ordered and will be in place this fall.
As mentioned in the last blog there is considerable renovation work underway next to all the new paved paths. The good news is that the warm weather in April has allowed the curbing contractor to finish their work this past Friday. Turf Care has also been able to begin the edging work and sodding should begin soon. We didn't think we'd be able to get started until early May. My thanks to the limited number of staff that have prepared the course and managed to begin project work in advance of the remaining team that will be arriving this week. The driving range tee surface work will begin Wednesday (weather permitting) with complete closure of the range for an entire day and then some early morning closures for fine tuning and sod installation. That notification will be sent out by email tomorrow.
The road across the 9th fairway will be the last area repaired because Answer Asphalt still needs to add the extension to the path at the bottom of the first tee. Winter arrived before this 30 foot section could be started. They will be in later this week to pave that section.
The first tee attendants from the Golf Shop have been explaining why the sand seed containers are no longer on the golf course and have been encouraging member focus on repairing fairway divots instead. So far so good for all involved including Turf Care. One consideration: please use your sand seed bottles for fairways only. Don't worry about the tees. Turf Care is filling divots on all tees every morning and the seed in the bottles is specifically mixed for fairways only.
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| These bins are no longer in use on the par 3's resulting in a cleaner less cluttered look. |
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| If you look closely you can see the faint outline of the past winter's ski trail at the start of the fairway. They are more pronounced on fairways 9 and 17. |
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| The irrigation startup in April went well and Turf Care has been fine-tuning sprinklers over the past 2 weeks. |
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| Val and Helga are cleaning beds and getting ready for planting season which is still a few weeks away. |
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| An example of the edging repairs required and some truck tracks that will be renovated. |
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| The crew from Curb Craft working at #8 tee early last week. |
One last note. There are still some of the old benches down in the Turf Care area. They're free to any member who wants them. They are heavy and a standard sized truck can accommodate 2 in the bed or 4 if stacked. Please call my cell (available through the Club) to arrange pick up.
See you on the course and whoever is unlucky enough to be golfing with me in the Men's Opening this coming Saturday.
Wade and the Turf Care Team
