OGC Poll

Welcome to the Greens and Grounds Department Blog for Oconomowoc Golf Club. Our team intends to educate, inform, and update members about golf course maintenance procedures as well as post timely information throughout the year.

Friday, February 20, 2026

Winter Update

 


Winter Maintenance

This winter we kicked off maintenance with restoring course accessories. This entails cleaning, sanding, staining/painting, and repairing course accessories.  Course accessories include range equipment such as bag stands and ball crates, as well as ball washers, trash cans, benches, tee markers, flagsticks, pins for the practice facilities, bunker rakes, and stakes and signs of all types.

Why do we do this?


Well glad you asked, getting a fresh coat of paint gives almost everything that sharp brand new look that we all love, and with the elegance that we strive for at OGC, we don't want it to be tainted with a weathered eyesore. But looks aren't everything. We make sure as we go through every piece of equipment that everything is operational, as well as, aesthetically pleasing so that we can focus on maintaining the course and you can focus on your round of golf.

 


This winter we also introduced two snow fences as a new method of snow maintenance. We intentionally set up the two snow fences where we get the most drift onto the lot to see if it reduces the amount of snow drifts, plow and shovel time those areas would typically require.

 

Did it work?

Yes. despite it being unaesthetic and sagging from raging winter winds it actually did an excellent job at keeping the snow drifts at bay. This was our first iteration of the fence and overall it was a huge success eliminating drift onto the parking lot almost entirely. And although tweaks to the design may be made to ensure it stays tall and tight the function proved beneficial and something we will continue.



Now with time being on our side we were also able to clean, paint, and reorganize the main shop as well. The reorganization is important for finding the most efficient setups we can. With morning jobs being so time sensitive, efficiency is what matters. All of us being on the same page on what equipment we have and where it's located allows effective setups and smooth task transitions. And with the shop having equipment from wall to wall unloading and reloading the walls with equipment is a requirement for paint. The paint we were able to get up gave the shop a great facelift making it look brighter and clean.

Winter is all about prep so we can put our best foot forward and give this course the care that it deserves when spring arrives.






Thursday, February 19, 2026

Fall Bunker Project

Welcome Back

Welcome back to the OGC Blog.  We felt it would be a great addition again here in 2026.   What to look forward to is... 

  • Updates to the Bunker Project
  • Meet the Staff
  • Articles about Turf.  Hip Hip Hooray
  • Pictures, Pictures, Pictures
  • Surveys
  • Course Information
  • Latest Trends
  • And so much more.... 



Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Course Photos







Aerification Updates September 24th




c
 

Aerification Updates


Dear Oconomowoc Golf Club Members,
Last week, we finished greens aerification (Sept. 16th). The crowd roars... Thanks for your patience this month and understanding with Mother Nature. We also aerified the green collars on Tuesday and Wednesday which was done to improve the health and reduce the accumulation of sand on the greens edges. Some in the industry call that "sand dams".
This week, we have started fairway aerification. This process will take time and very important to the health of the fairways. Our plan is to aerify early each week (Monday through Wednesday's) if weather allows. Yesterday, our team was able to aerify the practice tees and #1 fairway. Today, we plan to work on #9, #10, and possibly #18 (unlikely). Wednesday most likely #18 and/or #16. We do not plan to close these holes any of the days but we ask to keep carts in Rough to avoid squishing those soil plugs into the ground. I'll post our plans each day on the putting green so you know our plans. Next week we will plan to do a few more if Mother Nature cooperates. Another project update is the work done on #16 tees. We are in the process of converting the naturalized area to a fescue blend. We have closed the upper men's tee for that reason. Our goals are to seed this area within the next week.

e
Aerification of the Greens Collars

g

a
#9 Green and Fairway Vista

b
#14 Looking Great!
 


Friday, September 13, 2019

September Rain

Right after Labor Day, the Southeast part of Wisconsin has been hit with generally normal rainstorms but they have happened at the worst times.  Typically on Monday's and Tuesday's which has not been good timing for our aerification goals.

September 3rd      .25"
September 4th      .06"
September 9th      .06
September 10th    .71"
September 11th    .13"
September 12th    .94"
September 13th    1.34"

Total to date:        3.49"

Pinterest


Nonetheless, our team was hard at work showcasing the fine layout... Check out our teams mowing... Fantastic!





Aerification Update


8th Hole Final
 

Aerification Update


Dear Oconomowoc Golf Club Members,
If you've been trapped, under a rock, or even recently in Italy, you may even know the weather hasn't worked in our favor for our greens aerification. Yesterday, we aerified and sanded the greens on the front nine including the putting green. Last nights rain has halted our plans to close the back nine and finish the greens aerification.
We have rescheduled the back nine greens aerification for this coming Monday or Tuesday. For an educational background on the process, see the fantastic photos taken from our photo journalist.

a
Deep tine aerification of putting green

b
Blue flag inserted into one aerification hole...

c
Creepy hand in picture or reading the tape measure ~9" down

d
Sanding the greens...

e
Result after brushing sand and ~0.75" rain. Looks great!
 


Winter Update