This past week I continued to work on the irrigation system wire connections in the valve boxes. I was able to complete three entire holes. There are four connections in every valve box including the main electrical source, the decoder, and the solenoid. The computer sends a current to the decoder on a specific valve which sends a current to the solenoid, which pops open the valve and the irrigation heads throw water.
The majority of the old DBR’s (this is the tube that seals around the wire connection) are filled with water inside where the wire connection is supposed to be protected. This causes the wire shortage once the computer sends the signal to the decoder. It is a lengthy and time consuming process but I will make it through all the valve boxes by the end of the season.
The 17th green has almost 400 plugs added in the poor winter kill areas. We have continued to topdress this green every few days during the week. The topdressing helps give the bentgrass something to grow into and eventually cover the bare areas. This coming week we will be spiking this green multiple times followed by an overseeding. We will then top dress the green again. We will not mow this green for a while in order to allow the new seed to establish.
We have also continued to topdress the collars on several other holes. The worst area is number eleven on the back side. This coming week, this area will be removed with a sod cutter and new sod will be cut from our chipping green and placed in this area. We will address some of the other collar areas as well.
There are a number of beaten up areas, from cart traffic going through standing water during the season. Staff and I will be addressing these areas in the upcoming week as well. We will cut sod off the practice tee to fill in the damaged spots.
Crabgrass has been a major problem this season. I will be spraying tee boxes and some of the worst fairway areas this next week. A broadleaf herbicide will also be added to the tank to control other weeds present in these areas.
Another project we have started is the refurbishing of the yardage markers on the tee boxes. We have removed the markers on five holes and brought them into the clubhouse. They are cleaned, the old paint is stripped, and the correct lithochrome paint is applied to give them a brand new appearance. Once completed, they will be returned to the appropriate tee box, placed at ground level, and sand added around the perimeter. This will give them a beautiful new sharp looking appearance.
Equipment repairs have been plentiful these past several weeks. There has been so many repairs necessary it has made it very difficult for us to stay on top of the mowing patterns. It has also kept me in the shop playing the role of mechanic a lot more than I would like to play. We have pushed through and the majority of the equipment is operating again. We still have a couple of rough units that need some work.
There have been several complaints from some of our golfers at the course. If you have phone calls or conversations with people please ask them to call me so I can provide them with the proper information. These email updates are meant to inform each of you of what is going on at the golf course each week. If you don’t know the answer to someone’s concerns please direct them my way. I am more than happy to have a conversation with our golfing public rather than let them speculate.
Spencer Municipal Golf Course 