3-29-2020

Good Morning,

This past week I spent a lot of time working in the maintenance facility.  I finished the reel sharpening and almost all repair work on equipment.  All the golf course amenity items were cleaned and painted.  It almost felt like a normal spring work week at the muni.

Enough of the small talk for the week.  The moment all golf fans have been waiting for is going to happen tomorrow.  The Spencer Municipal Golf Course will be open for the 2020 season.  There are provisions in place with the opening and we are not asking you to do your part.  We are telling you to do your part and follow the provisions.  It is imperative we all continue to follow social distancing, wash our hands for 20 seconds, and keep our space from one another.

https://conta.cc/2WPQWmv

The golf course will open at 11:00 AM tomorrow morning.  Please call ahead for a tee time.  You must check in prior to playing.  The provisions are for the safety of all staff and our golfing customers.  We will remain open under these guidelines unless something changes with the Governor, our City Manager, or elected officials.  Be safe and remember six feet.

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. Please contact me with any questions or comments.  See ya soon!

Brian

3-22-2020

Good Morning,

This past week has been a week of adjustment for everyone in the City of Spencer.  I want to thank our elected officials, City Manager, Department Directors, and members of our community.  The teamwork and communication has been amazing.  It’s definitely a period of time to think before you take a step.

It’s been a week of planning ahead and thinking in advance.  The greatest gift we could be granted is if nothing ever happens with the COVID 19 in our beautiful town.  It’s been an ongoing discussion for days on end.  Everyone is doing their part to keep everyone as safe as possible.

The past week I have done a lot of research on golf course operations across the State of Iowa.  I have talked to quite a few courses and been involved in a lot of online discussion with people across the Nation.  I will continue to monitor other golf courses on a daily basis and have conversations with people at golf courses that are open to the public.  Everything changes hour to hour and day by day with these uncharted waters.

This coming week the clubhouse will be cleaned thoroughly during the time of closure.  Equipment maintenance will be completed and the remainder of our amenity items will be painted and prepped for the season.  Education will continue to be at the top of the list.

Please stay safe and think about the health of others in our community, not just yourself.

3-19-2020

Good Morning,

The Mayor, elected officials, City Manager,  Department Directors, and key figures throughout the community have met at length multiple times a day to prepare and protect our community from the COVID 19 pandemic.  The amount of shared information and educational sessions has been overwhelming for everyone involved.  None of the decisions made to date have been done without extensive conversation.

Our City officials and City Manager continue to prepare for this virus by planning ahead two weeks instead of dealing with what happens when it hits us, because it will “hit” us.  It is projected that all 99 counties will be infected within two weeks.

With a two week in advance planning strategy it was agreed at the special city council meeting on Wednesday, March 18, to close all city buildings.  These closures will allow our officials and city staff to gather more information, become more educated, and continue to protect our community.

As of Thursday, March 19, the Spencer Municipal Golf Course clubhouse will be closed to the public.  2020 season payments can be made online at www.spencermunigolf.com.  We will continue to gather information and decide how to safely serve our customer base in a safe manner.  To begin with we will provide range balls, free of charge, available on the driving range tees weather permitting.

The biggest fear of the unknown is simply it is unknown.  If nobody in our community ever loses their life to this virus than everything that has been done was successful.  Please be patient.  Please be smart and considerate of those who might have a susceptible immune system.  Please stay home.  Please follow these five points to remember:

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Again, these safety measures are to protect us now and let us evaluate so we can make educated decisions moving forward.  

 

3-8-2020

Good Morning,

The warm weather has been a welcome change this early in March.  The driving range opened yesterday which was actually the earliest that has happened.  We greeted quite a few golfers with open arms as they hit the driving range throughout the day.  Several individuals also paid their season passes and cart storage fees for 2020.

I went around the golf course this morning and everything is looking very nice.  The majority of the snow has melted.  There is some saturated areas but overall it is as good as one could hope for coming out of Winter.

It doesn’t appear the extended forecast is going to provide us with these warmer temperatures.  I guess a person learns to take what they can get in the golf course business.  I’m hopeful we will be able to open the golf course sooner than later.

Our golf simulator was reserved a couple of sessions this past week.  I had a group in on Thursday night and another one on Saturday afternoon.  The simulator has not received a lot of use this off season but the people that have stopped in have enjoyed themselves.

The upcoming week will consist of final equipment inspections and the completion of the reel sharpening.

3-1-2020

Good Morning,

The warm weather definitely has given us all some Spring Fever.  The snow is slowly melting around the golf course which has limited the amount of ice in the poor drainage areas.  The areas of concern fall into the front of #3 green, #8 green, #10 green, #17 green, and #18 green.  These holes have low spots and/or receive heavy winds that cause havoc on the grass.  Right now they all look pretty good.

 #17 green 2/2020.jpg

 #3 green 2/2020.jpg

The new tile area north of #16 green has been working very well all winter long.  The ground is frozen but has not retained very much moisture.  This area will be leveled, graded, and sodded early in the Spring.  It will be a huge improvement from the swamp we have experienced the past several years.  Overall the golf course is coming through the off season in pretty good shape so far.

This past week I completed an inventory of the Safety Data Sheets for the clubhouse and maintenance facility.  I eliminated SDS’s for products no longer in use and collected new ones for any products not on file.  In the past we have only had a hard copy of these sheets.  The City of Spencer has moved in the direction of hiring a company to provide all our SDS’s on a website for easier updating and access.

I have started the hiring process for our part time staff for the upcoming 2020 golf season.  We have several clubhouse employees that will not be returning and a couple new ones coming on board.  The grounds staff will be the same as it was last year.  Most of the paperwork has been completed and these employees are starting to take their drug screening.  This will equate to all employees being ready to go when the weather decides it’s time to golf.  I am still looking for a couple part time clubhouse staff members to help on a limited basis.

Equipment maintenance continues to be one of the main priorities.  I still have a couple mowers to finish going through and completing repairs.  The majority of the mowers have been addressed this off season.  Reel sharpening should wrap up in the next week or so as well.  It’s getting close to golf season.

Each year The Spencer Daily Reporter completes our tournament schedules, information sheets, and punch cards.  The event schedules are mailed to other courses and available for customers.  The information sheets are tri folds with all the course rules, events, etc. also available for the public.  These sheets will all be complete prior to the March 28 Season Pass Drive.

The Season Pass Drive is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM.  The clubhouse will be open all day and golfers will be available to pay for their fees in advance to become eligible for the raffle drawings.  I completed a video with SMU that will start airing next week that promotes the golf course as well as the “Drive” night.  Other advertising options will start this coming week.

It’s becoming a busy time of the year at the golf course.  I’m hopeful we can have an early Spring and the golf season can get started during the month of March.  It’s been several years in a row with very late starts to the golf season.  I think everyone is anxious for an early Spring whether you golf or not!