End of May Updates

The Story of the Month was... Bucks Lost.  :.(   Foursomes  (Fivesomes) with Mr. Webbed Feet.  :) "That's All Folks". The course received just under 5" of rain in May which seemed as though it didn't stop raining.  Typically, June is a great month for golf as rain forecasts tend to be less in June, but the key word is "typically".  Luckily this course was built on a hilly/rocky base and the property overall drains great, thus allowing carts out on the course sooner and faster than most courses in the Greater Milwaukee Area.  I must admit though, I'm not used to players, I mean player, golfing starting at 6:25am and finishing around 7:30-8am.  That's speed golf!

Does a Hole in One in a 5-some count?  Mr. Webbed Feet sure thinks so!

Course Updates

This month we have been able to work on some key projects with one of them being the task of filling in tree stumps with soil, leveling and compacting, and squaring for sodding.  We were lucky this last week of May to get some sod and have begun sodding these tree stump areas.  We will look to finish these areas by next week and then keep them watered to establish them!

Another project our team worked on this Month was to figure out why a light pole wasn't working in the parking lot.  Smokey and I then planned to run a new power line to the pole by renting a trencher and placing conduit to ease any future digging if we'd have to run new lines out to the pole from the cart path by #1 tee.  We did hit a small plastic tube for some irrigation heads but were able to fix that quickly.  

May also was a great month to hold the Club's Opening Day's!  Luckily our team was working that morning prepping the bunkers for the Saturday shotgun and found two rocks in the bunkers.  I have been told since starting here in November that the bunkers have some rocks in them, but I am perplexed how to hit this shot...

I happened to hit my shot in the shop and my Blue Noodle stopped there.  Chuck, I need a lesson!

Thankfully, those "rocks", I may call them boulders, were on the faces of the bunkers on #4 and #10 respectively that morning.  Crazy!!!

May is another great time to start planting annual summer flowers, so Terrie and I went to select this year's plantings.  They should all turn out great if our wildlife doesn't decide to snack on them like they sometimes do!  Think they would obey the "cart signage" that we put out on the course???

Another issue we saw this month was there were certain plants and, in my mind, possibly some trees on the course that were directly impacted by the harsh Winter and early Spring seasons.  We have seen a few trees on the property not leaf out at all and may no longer product leaves on the branches.  We will give these bigger specimens some time this summer to see if they do in fact rebound in some way.   Another strange thing has happened on a certain type of bush called a "Burning Bush".  We have a few of these near the front Club Entrance and also which divide the parking lot to the range tee.   

I reached out to a well known arborist for his input on Burning Bushes and the feedback was that naturally, some species within the Burning Bush family are more tolerant to harsh winters than others.  The arborist believes that these bushes were greatly impacted by the winter and tough spring that we all experienced in 2019.  There are a few recommendations, which the Greens Committee has suggested to cut the "dead" looking bushes down to about 1-2' off of the ground and see if these bushes will "rebound" and grow again into the plants we all knew they looked like years ago.  Naturally, doing this will take time for these plants to fully mature like the bushes that were not affected.

Another item that happened in one of the rainstorms was a cedar tree between #7 green and #8 tee was largely affected by either lightning or straight line winds...

At this point we are looking at options for this area and deciding whether this should be removed, pruned more from the damaged areas, or left alone in its current state.  More to come here...

Lastly, the course has done a good job in keeping up with unpleasant weather patterns in May.  I was able to work on a few May cultural practices for the greens and look to continue some more in June.  We also are looking forward to our 4 high school team members starting in June to help us out in these main golfing months in June, July, and August.  Next week, we also should see some new landscaping by #10 tee.  A landscape company was contracted to do this work and with the May rains, there projects took a back seat and the course was pushed back in their timeline.  I have been really working on them to come in and get this area presentable and look forward to next week for that to happen.

Sequel to Last...  An oldie but goodie...I spent over 11 years growing up on the golf course caddying at Merrill Hills Country Club.  This forward from my Father In Law was one I just had to pass along.  I definitely never said any of these, but wish I could have to Mr. Lacy.  :)

Number :10

Golfer:    "I think I'm going to drown myself in the lake."

Caddy:    "Think you can keep your head down that long?"

 

Number : 9  

Golfer:    "I'd move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course."

Caddy:    "Try heaven, you've already moved most of the earth."

 

Number : 8

Golfer:    "Do you think my game is improving?

Caddy:    "Yes … you miss the ball much closer now."

 

Number : 7  

Golfer:    "Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?"

Caddy:    "Eventually."

 

Number : 6    Golfer: 

Golfer:    "You've got to be the worst caddy in the world."

Caddy:    "I don't think so … that would be too much of a coincidence."

 

Number : 5

Golfer:    "Please stop checking your watch all the time. It's too much of a distraction."

Caddy:    "It's not a watch - it's a compass."

 

Number : 4  

Golfer:    "How do you like my game?"

Caddy:    "It's very good - personally, I prefer golf."

 

Number : 3   

Golfer:    "Do you think it's a sin to play on Sunday?

Caddy:    "The way you play, it's a sin on any day."

 

Number : 2   

Golfer:    "This is the worst course I've ever played on."

Caddy:    "This isn't the golf course.  We left that an hour ago."

 

And the Number   1   Best Caddy Comment:   

Golfer:    "That can't be my ball, it's too old."

Caddy:    "It's been a long time since we teed off, sir."

 

Bonus

An old favorite about the Golfer who has been slicing off the tee at every hole.  He finally gives up and asks his long suffering caddy:

Golfer:    "Can you see any obvious problems?"

Caddy:    "There's a piece of sh*t on the end of your club."

Golfer:     He picks his club up and cleans the club face.

Caddy:    "       . . . other end."

Early May Update

Greetings from the Greens and Grounds Team,

I hope all the Mother's out there had a wonderful day celebrating Mother's Day.  From the Greens and Grounds Team, Happy Mother's Day! (a few days passed - in my opinion it never ends - each day is Mother's Day!)

Happy Mother's Day

Since last update, we've been very busy working on the property and grooming playing surfaces for regular play.  I've been able to meet a few of you already and look forward to meeting more of you this month.  My plan is to be around the practice tee on Saturday to meet a few more members here at the Club.  The month of May in my mind is another time of the year that signifies that the season has begun.  We will soon be getting a few more teammates on the crew, the plants begin to really take shape for the summer, the projects begin to wind down, and the course detailing ramps up.

Some general course updates are...

We placed a few flag indicator markers on the tees for the classic one color system flags on the course.  These indicator markers are located on the white tee blocks and signify where the flagstick is in relation to the green.  These markers are on holes #5,9,11, and 13.  The colors of the indicators are as follows:

• Red - front third
• White - middle 
• Blue - back third

Indicator Markers - Red = Front 1/3; White = Middle 1/3; Blue = Back Third

Some of the highlights over the last few weeks have been; getting dry enough soil (that took awhile :( ) to fill in those unplayable tree stump areas.  This week, we have been working on squaring them off in preparation for sodding.  The bathrooms on #12 are completed with each of the rooms freshly painted and updated.  The snack room has also been updated and will be great upgrade.  We have also been assessing the bunker depths on a few holes to add adequate sand to those hazards, which we are finding have low amounts of sand in them.  Another key task we've been working on is the irrigation system.  I have continued to fix and repair irrigation bodies and internal assemblies to working order.  The list has slowly been trimmed down to around 12 more heads to work on.  I'm looking forward to getting through these as it's been a tough inherited Spring task to take on among other items this Spring without another trained professional like an Assistant.  Lastly, we have started our Spring health program on the greens and begun light verticutting and topdressing which may take place weekly through May and early June.  This process helps keep the grass growing vertical, thins out the canopy (= quicker speeds), and allows the grass to be a little healthier.  We then supplement with topdressing sand to fill in the areas and smooth them out for firmer surfaces over time.  

The Tree Stump Map - ~75 in Total

Replaced a broken Sprinkler Body - Nice work Eric on the Excavation!

The upper 3 pictures show the process of verticutting - removing material, gaining speeds, working on plant health standards, and brushing in topdressing sand for smoother and firmer conditions over time.  All done on Monday.  The Leatherman (not for sale) in the middle picture is a valuable Superintendent tool.  I use it 30 times a day.

For our teammates; the weekends have been filled with team training of new high school students who look to start full time in early June.  They have been given training on mowing greens and bunker maintenance.  I'm looking forward to these team members as I feel they will be a part of our team for the next few years.  We also have added a key returning college member this week named, Aidan.  Aidan has worked on the course for four seasons and will be a great help getting key tasks completed this summer.  I have thankfully hired an Assistant Superintendent and he should be starting within the next two weeks.  This gentleman has agreed to help OGC for this coming season through November in which OGC will be looking for a long term fill for this position over the entire Winter "off" season.

Jake and Jacob working on Mowing Greens - Great Job New Teammates!

Morning Sunrise - Look who also came to see it...

No 5:15 am Tee Times Bambi...

Try Deer Haven!

End of November, I mean April Update

April Snow Showers, Brings Ogre Owls to OGC!

This picture is a microcosm of Spring 2019.  Right when we think the weather has turned for the good, we get a face full of snow.  I'm beginning to think that the GolfNasium is a year-round consideration here at the Club.  In any event, the Greens and Grounds team has been prioritizing Spring projects and have worked diligently throughout the roller coaster Spring.

This week, the team worked on getting 3 of the bunkers on #12 fixed.  Our initial plan was to have an outside company come in and help us with these bunkers, but upon seeing the bid, we decided to tackle these bunkers ourselves (we were way more expensive?).  Not likely...

The problem with the bunkers on #12 happened, in my opinion, over a couple years time.  The bunker drain lines were plugged with sand and they were too shallow to begin with which over a few years, the drain lines have heaved out of the ground, especially on #12 this year.  We also noticed that the pitch to work with in the bunkers was not great, but upon adding new drain tile and close to 6" of sand, we will have those bunkers play nicely.  It's obvious with that much "mucho" sand added, the playing surfaces on #12 will be soft.  We have also noticed that many of the bunkers on the course are in fact low with sand and we will be coming up with a plan to add sand in this year's budget or next.

Over the last month, I have also been wearing a few extra hats without an Assistant Superintendent as our Assistant left in the end of March and we haven't been able to find a qualified individual over the last month.  The Assistant opportunities nationally are being left unfilled so courses have had to be creative trying to fill these voids.  Currently, I'm working on some contingencies and hope to have someone available during our main 2019 growing season.  Otherwise, I may have to find a corner in the shop to camp out in. :(  

I've been working on getting the facility organized, and the irrigation system pressurized and fixed with any broken irrigation sprinklers or pipes, and beginning our course detailing and mowing schedules.  As each week passes, I am getting closer to having the course ready for this season.  I have also begun to apply the course's plant health programs on the greens, tees, and fairways too.  I hope to fertilize the greens a little this next week to get them healthy going into the main golfing months.  I may even apply a thin coat of topdressing to them (sorry Smokey) to smooth out the greens and get them ready for a great month of May!

The pic on left - new mechanical seal in Pumpstation.  The one on the right was the leaking seal.  Could have been a big problem if left unnoticed or unfixed!!

The pic on the left - the plugged drain tile.  Middle - Ruben and Jake working on pulling the old plugged drain tile.  Pic on the right, preparing for the new drain tile! 

Pic on the left - Salvador helping the team with adding sand to the bunker.  The finished look.  Fluffly, but will be a much better product with the drain line fixed!

Team Effort - Eric pumped in making these bunkers better for the members!

Bunker #2 on #12 - Prep and Drain tile Removal - Mike (not pictured), Me (definitely not pictured), Jake, Ruben, Salvador, and Eric teaming up on the bunker repairs on #12.  Planning out new lateral lines as this bunker didn't have any.  Possibly why this one didn't drain well (from what I've been told - Thanks Mike).

A good pic showing the amount of sand needed to cover the pea gravel and new drain pipe

Who said it was going to snow on Saturday morning.  Thanks Eric, Jake, Salvador in helping me add sand with no one on the course to see us!!  Where were the golfers Saturday morning????

An Irrigation Repair - work of art by Smokey and Steve H!  This is right by the cart path going down to the chipping areas.  I've only seen a Michigan Alum down there this Spring!! (Go Blue)

KISS - Keeping it Simple.  The irrigation parts room before I started was in two areas.  One being at the shop in a small room with a bunch of other course setup items and the other location at the pumphouse on #13.  Not very organized...  So I decided to streamline the irrigation supplies and store them in a nice cleaned out area in our "South Shed" aka (the other side of the member shed).  This area needed a few crates but will keep all the irrigation supplies clean and ready for use!

Course Facility Show Off Tour - Starts Now.  Come and See our Facilities.  They are OCD... Organized, Clean, and Detailed.

The next few weeks, I'm hoping to switch our focus to the tree stump holes and work on the damage on #1 from the vehicle visiting the first fairway.  For the tree stumps, our process will be to add soil and prepare for sodding and seeding.  This should go relatively quick as compared to digging out the tree stumps but our goal is to finish these up now when the weather allows.  We have a few stumps to touch up but will be ready to go soon!  We are also planning on a new design by the 10th tee.   We are working with a few contractors ideas right now and will be selecting a plan soon.  Stay tuned for a nice update to the 10th teeing area.

The bathrooms on #12 will also be finished this coming week with some painting and hopefully a new cooler in the "snack room".  We will keep you posted on that great update to the building!

Quote of the week:  If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?  

ans...  no cheating...  One thousand