The first changes to the course since the renovation are underway. The "winter" weather has been fantastic and it has allowed us to make great progress. The four new bunkers have taken shape and drainage and finish work is the next step. We will continue to work on these as the weather allows, which appears to be a few more days.
Hole 11
The bunker on hole 11 was the first one shaped. As the bunkers we dug on holes 10 and 11, the soil was [.....]
For many of us as we head into the Fourth of July, a feeling of good fortune should abound. Temperatures have saved us from almost complete disaster after all the precipitation we have received. Many people will have noticed in the news that June was the wettest June on record in Illinois since records began in 1895. If you didn’t get washed away or notice that carts were not in use as much then you were not at the golf course! Fortunately, temperatures for many of us were [.....]
We were spared by the weather patterns last night. We received no new rain and very little wind. The excess moisture that has persisted for several days is beginning to recede into the soil, and firmer playing surfaces are beginning to present themselves once again. A good chance of rain exists tomorrow night, but then dry weather is in the forecast until next week.
The staff has done an excellent job of keeping the bunkers in good shape through all of the rain. Our next task will [.....]
By Bob Vavrek, agronomist, Central Region The entire hillside was seeded to fine fescue. Notice the wispy, sparse turf in the dry soil that surrounds dense, weedy grasses in a wet spot caused by a single drain tile that exits an adjacent housing development.
Many areas of the Central Region have been inundated with heavy rainfall during the past few weeks. The acute effects of severe flooding with respect to fatalities and property damage are usually well documented in the nightly news. The immediate impact of flooding [.....]
1.8" in each of the last 2 days has transitioned our focus from maintenance to clean up. Our 4 day total has reached 4.22" of rain since Friday morning. It will take a few days to dry down the course to allow us to fine tune our maintenance practices again. It looks like we could have a couple of days with no rain, but it is back in the forecast for this weekend. We will start the day with NO CARTS, and will re-evaluate at noon to see [.....]
A week that promised quite a lot became a week that rapidly fell apart and put rootzones into an awkward situation. The high temperatures created problems for turf and this combined with reported deluges of over 1" in under 30 minutes particularly on the southern side of the city that resulted in some very stressed turfgrass. The heavy damage to bunkers and undermining of cart paths will require some time for repair and of course some expense incurred. These intense storms while building up the monthly rainfall total [.....]
The flowers are displaying the unfortunate consequence of dealing with a variety of weather conditions. The hail from Monday night has left the flowers tattered and torn, but they will survive.
We are will be planting the flowers around our flag pole today. However, the first step is to remedy a soil problem that has developed through the years. Every winter when snow is removed, the circle drive receives a large pile of snow. Usually, the snow has salt mixed in with it from the previous time [.....]
We were fortunate to miss the bulk of the storms on Sunday, but did get a quick shot of rain, wind and hail yesterday afternoon. This picture from yesterday afternoon shows the sun shining with the storms moving through. 0.46 inches of rain yesterday afternoon and 0.67 through the day on Sunday was a nice set of rains to replenish the soil. We were ready for some rain, as things were beginning to get a bit dry.
The hail we received with the storm yesterday was impressive. [.....]
March 27, 2015 Scouting Report
The initial green shoots of the spring and the golf season are almost upon us. As I write this we are still shaking off winter however with snow still on the ground after a 5" event at the Midwest Golf House. Of bigger importance however, is the impact that winter has had in general on local courses. In comparison to last year the general sentiment is that we are at least 99% better on greens and even tees and fairways are in superior [.....]
With the preferable weather forecasted for Friday and Saturday, we will have the greens in play for those who would like to take advantage of it. The greens will be slow and a little bumpy while we work to get them back in shape. Carts will not be available and no other amenities will be on the course. The practice areas will also be closed. We will not have anything other than the greens mowed. It will be March golf, but come on out and dust off the [.....]
I said we would be back to seeing grass at the end of the week. Well, we made it!
Monday, 3/9
Friday, 3/13
Most of the snow left on the course resides in the valleys and will likely realize its inevitable melt this weekend. The course is beginning to dry from the abundance of moisture left from the snow. There is still a frost layer on the soil, but it is shrinking daily as well. The amount of ice on the pond is [.....]
If you have been craving some golf during the tail end of the winter season, next weeks forecast likely caught your eye. Some great weather is in the forecast for the next 10 days. This stretch should melt the snow we have, and begin drying the moisture that is left over. Historically, we are golfing 3 weeks from now! Who knows what else mother nature may throw at us between now and then, but the next few days look promising.
The snow is still quite deep on [.....]