My Thoughts For What They're Worth And Other More Relevant Notes

As I work on this blog entry on a Sunday evening I'm watching the rain continue to fall. The entire staff was scheduled to work this evening in order for us to get some extra prep work done for the Member/Guest events beginning on Tuesday. I'm also fretting over losing an entire day of mowing as well. I decided to bring them in tonight anyway and get some of the "dirty work" (for lack of a better term) completed. Weed whipping, pruning, general cleanup, etc. They all showed up and not one of them uttered a word of complaint. At least within my earshot. In fact most of them seemed very upbeat. I'm proud of them and it shows their commitment to the Royal Mayfair and the desire to see a successful week of showcasing the facility. However I'm sure they'll be less than cheerful when we end work at 8:30. Monday will be a very busy day as we pump water, readjust the bunker sand and hopefully get some extra  mowing done in addition to all we had planned otherwise. By the way they all have rain gear supplied by the club.


I've had 24 hours to reflect on the Score Magazine Top 100 ratings. I'd be lying if I said it doesn't matter to me that we were removed from the list. It stings a bit and the ego is bruised. But as my wife so eloquently put it: I look after The Royal Mayfair Golf Club for the members, not the readers of Score Magazine. I came back to the club late Saturday, went for a tour, checked the speed and roll of a few greens and generally felt very pleased with what has been accomplished over the last 2 seasons. So on that note I congratulate Blackhawk and Northern Bear for their rankings but tomorrow is another day and we carry on. For myself, The Royal Mayfair is #1.


On The Course

• The short game practice area turf height of cut will be lowered slowly over the next month in order to eliminate the risk of scalping as we develop conditions that reflect the golf course. The greens height will stay as it is for this season but will match the golf course in 2013.
• The driving range grass surface will open for regular use on Tuesday. We will move back to the artificial surface if required. Those requirements being aeration, topdressing or possibly after heavy rains. The goal however is to use the turf as much as possible.
• Beginning next week we will be testing the process of lightly topdressing fairways. The thought being what can we do to increase the health and playability of our fairways? Yes they are in excellent condition but we would like to increase the maintenance frequency to bring them more in line with the greens and tees. We picked  what I consider to be 2 fairways that have different issues. #2 is a fairway that sees a lot of traffic in a tight area. #9 is a fairway that has some minor drainage problems. The practice of frequent, light topdressing has many benefits over the one heavy application we put down on the fairways in the fall. We also want to measure the inconvenience, if any, for the membership. Stay tuned.

All for now,

Wade