6-9-19

Good Morning,

Another week is completed and the weather has been above what we have experienced this season.  Staff and I have been very busy trying to catch up with our mowing and weed control.  I also lost one of my part time staff members due to health issues.  We are currently two people short since Tiffany is at the hospital, in Iowa City, with her brother.  It has been a busy weekend.

The irrigation system has been challenging again this year.  There were technical issues with the new pump control panel as well as an electrical short Friday morning.  The electrical short has been repaired and the pump technician was on site Friday morning completing programming for the computers in the pumphouse.  The system worked quite well the past few nights with only one irrigation line break in #11 fairway.

This is the first time in a couple of years the irrigation system will be functioning at full capacity.  I will be able to leave the pumps in automatic mode and the system charged during the day.  I will also run all programs with my phone from any location.  Once I go through a few nights with everything operating correctly I will rest a lot easier.

With the technical issues, it was necessary for me to irrigate the greens manually during the night on Tuesday and Thursday.  I was able to keep the greens saturated and in pretty good shape until the rest of the problems could be resolved.  I monitored the irrigation cycles during last night’s programs and everything appears to be functioning properly.

Our herbicide applications have been going smoothly.  Over 95% of the course has been sprayed and the broadleaf weeds are dying.  The dandelions and clover have been the biggest weed issues.  The dandelions are dying rapidly and the clover is either dying or completely suppressed.  Any clover that is not dying will at least be suppressed to the point where no white flowers will appear.

We still have a lot of string trimming to complete as well as stay on top of normal mowing practices.  The warm weather has really kick started the grass.  The good news is we are finally starting to dry out.  Even the parking lot has firmed up with no signs of water.

Last Sunday we hosted 154 golfers in the June Carl Spackler golf outing.  We also hosted our annual two gal triple treat on Tuesday morning.  Both events had great golfing weather and went well.  These events are not only fun for our golfing community but a big part of our success at the muni.  We have had league golf and open play the remainder of the week with good numbers.

It has been a very difficult start to the season for a third year in a row.  The weather has really wreaked havoc on us and it seems to be the worst this season.  Our season passes and green fees are down.  Currently I am setting up lists of fees that are due for cart storage and season pass payments.  It gets tougher each year trying to collect these fees in a timely manner.

Enjoy the remainder of the Flagfest weekend taking in some of the fun activities and enjoying the sunshine.  Please contact me with any comments, questions, or concerns so they can be addressed in a timely manner.