2-5-17

This past week I have been busy continuing to work on a tree grant for kids through the Iowa DNR.  This grant will also include an educational session to better inform our youth of the many benefits of trees provide to our community.  Tree diversity, proper planting, utility benefits, storm water runoff, and other environmental benefits will be covered.

I am planning on getting a group of middle school students to participate in the planting and educational session of this project.  I have been in discussions with Laura Wagner, with the Iowa DNR, to choose a date that fits both our calendars.  It will most likely fall in the early part of May.

There is still a lot of work to complete on this grant.  It includes a completed site map, i tree design, and application covering all aspects of the proposed planting date.  I am currently waiting for a response from the middle school.  If there is minimal response then I will move up to the high school and pursue one of the athletic teams.  In the end, the golf course will benefit from a diverse addition to our tree inventory and the youth in our community will gain in a rewarding experience.

My off season maintenance program has continued for yet another week.  I was able to service the sprayer and completely go through the unit completing all the necessary repairs.  I need to order new nozzles then calibrate the sprayer and it will be ready for the season.

I will also be applying a snow mold application to the golf course greens in the near future.  The snow mold application is a fungicide application that protects the turf, on the greens, from this fungus that thrives under the snow when temperatures start to rise.  The temperature change in the snow acts as an electric blanket and creates an ideal environment for snow mold.

This fungus shows up in the early spring in pink or grey patches that ultimately kill the turf grass.  There is minimal snow cover on the greens but still a fair amount of ice is present.  Hopefully some of the sunshine and warmer temperatures will help eliminate the majority of the ice and allow me to spray very soon.

Lastly, I spent a lot of time working in the clubhouse ordering inventory for the upcoming season and doing a lot of cleaning.  Our pro shop inventory has been ordered along with new embroidered beanies.  We will have Bridgestone and Titleist golf balls, Foot Joy socks, logo clothing, and the hats for our customers.