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!