5-31-2020

 

Good Morning,

The past week was quite challenging with the heavy rainfall, high humidity, and warmer temperatures.  It took a few days for the golf course to dry out to perform quality maintenance practices.  The spring fertilizer application put the grass into hyper mode.  It was a huge challenge for us to get the golf course under control.  Long shifts of mowing every day over and over was the story of the entire week.  Mow everything and start over.  And over and over and over.

The fairways were so wet we could not mow until Thursday late morning.  We hit the fairways hard and were able to mow 14 of the 18 holes.  We mowed each fairway three or four times.  The other four were still too wet to mow.  Some that were mowed were close to being too wet to mow.  Friday we mowed 12 of the 18 fairways four more times.  They were all looking pretty darn nice by the end of the day Friday.

The tees were mowe quite a few times on Tuesday and again on Friday.  We used the buckets to catch the turf clippings which really slows the process down.  The tees looked very nice by the end of the day Friday.  The 130 acres of rough was definitely a challenge as well.  We mowed on Monday and Tuesday in the rain but covered the majority of the course.  Friday through Saturday we mowed all the rough again.  This morning we have a few hours left to cover the remainder of the course.  It was a long week but looking at the course last evening is such a rewarding view.

We sold advertising signs to local businesses when the golf course was built in 1999.  The initial sale covered the cost of all the amenity items on every hole.  Last year we sold seven new advertising signs for vacant signs.  On Wednesday, I worked with Ken Sandvig to install those new advertisement plaques on the tee markers.  Below is one of the signs:

 IMG_1688.jpg

We have dealt with tile issues for many years around the Stoneybrook addition as well as other areas of the golf course.  So much earth has been moved in the past 20 years which results in damaged tile issues arising.  The past few years we have addressed areas on the golf course north of Stoneybrook and some of those homeowners have dealt with repairs on their property.  We have also dealt with issues in other areas of the golf course.

The south side of Stoneybrook is seeing many of the same issues.  The short story is the tile runs from farm ground, south of the golf course, onto golf course property, into the Stoneybrook development, back onto golf course property, and finally exits to the west of 4th Ave SW.

 Stoneybrook tile.jpg

This tile issue has caused extremely saturated soil on the homeowners property and golf course property around the 15th tee area.  I have met with some of the homeowners to listen to their thoughts and concerns.  The damaged tile is on private property but it all needs to be rectified.  Staff discussions are planned for the coming week and we will continue to work with the neighbors to remedy this situation.

Saturday allowed us to spray all the weeds in our landscaping areas after they were mowed around and trimmed.  The herbicide application will eliminate all the weeds in these areas.  Some landscaping areas are still under water and will be managed in the near future.  The next plan, for the landscaping, is to add flowers.  This will be happening in the next couple of weeks.  We might need to move to an “adapt a bed” concept because we simply don’t have the staff hours to give this the attention it deserves.

Spraying of weeds is definitely one of the highest priorities as we head into the next week.  Greens also need a foliar fertilizer application with a fungicide included.  I will also be treating the ponds for algae control.

I hope you all enjoy the remainder of this beautiful weekend.  The golf course was an absolute zoo on Saturday which was so amazing to see.  Maybe we’ll see some of you today.  See you at the golf board meeting or city council meeting tomorrow evening.

—

Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations

City of Spencer

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

5-26-2020

Good Afternoon,

The past week we spent the majority of our time trying to stay on top of our mowing practices.  It was non stop mowing all last week through the holiday weekend.  To make matters worse one of the 11′ rough units had a hydraulic leak on Saturday.  This really dropped us behind schedule trying to keep up with things.

All the rainfall and high humidity has kicked the fertilizer applications into high gear.  We mowed through the rain trying to catch up as much as possible today.  I spent multiple hours replacing the hydraulic line on the John Deere rough unit.  I am thankful for Justin, at the Street Division to take a little time to educate me on these tightly positioned hydraulic lines.  He was able to provide the necessary tools and some insight to assist me with a problem that never goes away with these units.  In the future I will be able to go pick up the necessary wrenches and take care of the problem in a timely manner.  I have a lot of respect for equipment engineers, but one thing is for certain, they never have to repair this stuff.

The high humidity and rainfall made it very difficult to mow today.  The grass is clumping everywhere.  Mowing tees and collars took us the entire day since we had to use the catch baskets to remove the clippings while mowing.  The baskets were dumped on average five times for all 72 tee boxes.  A lot of getting on and off but we kept the tees and collars looking pretty good.

We will continue to mow rough until the rain hits again this afternoon then go back at it in the morning.  Fairways are still too wet to mow and the projected rainfall tonight will make it difficult tomorrow.  We will try and concentrate on all the rough by the end of tomorrow then mow fairways multiple times on Thursday and Friday.

There is a lot of tall grass and scattered dandelions amongst the blades.  The spraying will probably not happen this week unless things go really well the remainder of the week mowing.  Broadleaf weeds will be addressed as soon as I get caught up and have some sunny days with no wind.

I have met with Amanda and Mark White to discuss some tile and drainage concerns the neighbors on the south side of Stoneybrook are feeling.  We will be meeting with them this week to try and find a remedy.

A new pond maintenance program has been implemented for 2020.  I have applied one application of copper sulphate to the south side of the irrigation pond and have several more scheduled.  Hopefully this extra effort will help subside the algae blooms.

The part time clubhouse staff is working out pretty well.  We have a couple new faces that have been trained and are falling right into the groove.  Nice weather will hopefully bring out the golfers as leagues are slated to start this week.

Please contact me with any comments, questions, or concerns so they can be addressed in a timely manner.

—

Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations

City of Spencer

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

 

5-17-2020

Good Morning,

The past week was filled with crazy golf weather.  Early in the week it was cooler keeping our customers away from the golf course.  A few individuals stopped in to pay fees or a couple holes of golf before giving up.  Thursday and Friday brought some beautiful weather along with tee times filled mid morning straight through to late evening.  Saturday was steady in the morning and tapered off in the gusty afternoon winds followed by rain leading us into this morning.

The irrigation system has been the main focal point all Spring.  We spent a lot of time cleaning valve boxes, fixing lateral irrigation lines, and working in the pumphouse in preparation for the contractor.  All the irrigation work helped limit the amount of time and money to be spent on the upgrade.  It also eliminated quite a few problems we had been dealing with for some time.  Here is a quick recap:

The irrigation upgrade has been completed plus all the repair work to the irrigation lines.  A new pump was installed plus a replaced foot valve on the lead intake. A transducer was installed in the pumphouse computer control panel including other electrical repair work.  Finally, the new computer programming was installed in the office followed by a couple weeks of adjusting valves and heads.

Fast forward through these past six weeks of work and the irrigation system has been working great.  An occasional head will stick on once in a while but it is working very efficiently and worry free.  The irrigation time frame has been lowered to nine hours and five minutes distributing 475,000 gallons of water in a night.  It’s a great feeling and a lot of stress has been left behind.

Other projects have included sod work on several fairways to eliminate sand trap washouts, grading and sodding of the #16 tile area, fertilizer application of the entire golf course, landscaping clean up, parking lot and cart path repair/grading, equipment repairs, along with daily mowing schedules.

We have been very busy on the grounds as well as in the clubhouse.  The staff has been so dedicated and committed to making each day as great as possible.  Overall this crazy start to 2020 has gone about as well as we could expect at the golf course.  I’m thankful to the staff for their hard work and commitment.  Please thank them when you see them at the golf course.

The next big project will be the broadleaf herbicide application to the golf course.  I treat the golf course in the Spring and in the Fall each year.  I plan to complete this process over the next couple of weeks.  I always start spraying along the homeowner side of the golf course and work my way to the middle.

Our golf leagues will be starting in the next week or two.  Please visit our website to see what provisions are currently in place.  We have updated the cart policy to allow two individuals to ride together if they choose.

Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations

City of Spencer

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

 

5-15-2020

Good Morning,

I would like to share an updated COVID 19 operations guideline.

Starting today, Friday, May 15, we will allow golfers to ride two in a cart if they so choose.  They will still be encouraged to social distance at the golf course.  This change will allow people to make their own choice that stays within their comfort level.

The holes on the greens will be returned to normal depth.  A pool floatie has been added at the base of the flagstick.  This will keep the ball from dropping into the bottom of the hole.  The flagstick will remain in place at all times.

Tee markers, yardage stakes, OB stakes, and hazard stakes will be returned to the golf course.  These amenity items are very rarely ever touched by the golfer during a round.  These items will allow the golf course to be set up as close to normal when golf leagues start resuming.

There are no other changes to the operational provisions at The Muni.  We are not allowing indoor seating.  Customers are in and out in a timely manner.  These changes will not place anyone in a position where they should feel uncomfortable golfing.  Social distancing is still the main part of the equation.  We are simply allowing golfers to make a personal choice on the golf cart situation.

Golf Course staff is required to wear a mask at all times while working in the clubhouse.  This is not an option for employees.  Employees do have the option to choose to work or not to work at The Muni.  That is their decision.

I have attached the COVID 19 document with changes highlighted.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

 2020 Opening Golf Restrictions

—

Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations

City of Spencer

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

5-10-20

Good Morning,

Happy Mother’s Day to each of you special women.  I hope the day is special for you filled with love and kindness.  You have been the foundation for your loved ones.  Enjoy your special day that should be celebrated every day.

This past week we accomplished quite a few projects and continued to move forward with others.  The irrigation system continues to be at the top of our list.  The new pump was installed on Thursday.  We also replaced a foot valve on the lead intake line.  It was so refreshing to listen to that beautiful new motor hum and the water move through the lines.

I have continued to run irrigation cycles fine tuning things station by station.  Periodically a station will stick on and a couple of tweaks have to occur before it will shut down.  It’s generally a plunger sticking, the IC unit is screwed on too tight, or the diaphragm has a little debris inside.  Overall, things are miles ahead of where the irrigation system has been the past few years.

Our golf greens were fertilized on Monday morning.  This is the spring granular application.  I ran the irrigation stations for 15 minutes Monday afternoon to work the fertilizer into the soil profile.  The weather has been cold but the color change has still been noticeable on the greens.

The tees and fairways were fertilized on Thursday morning.  This application will carry us into the month of August with plenty of nutrients available for the plant.  This fertilizer has been irrigated as well trying to move the pellet down to the crown of the plant.

We also started adding sod to the tile area on #16.  The fairway portion was leveled and sod was cut off the practice tee.  Sod was ordered from Del’s Garden Center to cover the area in the rough.  We were able to sod about 75% of the entire tile area.  The remainder will be seeded.

This coming week we will start to focus on getting caught up with the mowing schedules.  We limited the mowing duties due to the fertilizer applications.  There have been a lot of accomplishments already this early in the season.

Please contact me with comments, questions, or concerns so they can be addressed in a timely manner.  Enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

 

5-3-2020

 

Good Morning,

It’s been a very busy week at The Muni.  The irrigation upgrade is working very nicely outside of a few tweaks here and there.  The new IC unit replaces the old decoder and solenoid on the valve.  Some of the new IC units are sticking on during the irrigation cycle.  Either the plunger is getting stuck or the unit is too tight on the valve.  Either way it’s not a big deal to adjust.  I’m very happy with the new system and the ease of operation.

Our second pump will be replaced this coming week or early the following week.  There was too much damage to the old pump to justify paying the high repair amount.  The new pump will come with a warranty and twenty less years of use.  Once the new pump is installed we will be back to full operation with the irrigation system.  Currently I am irrigating at 50% capacity.

The tile project on #16 has been an ongoing situation since last fall.  I used the tractor and loader to level the area on Friday.  The ground has dried substantially since the new tile was installed but the soil is still very sticky.  It has been graded fairly well for the first go round.  Next week I will add some additional black soil, finish leveling the area, and add grass seed.  The area in front of the green will also be leveled and sod added.

By the time Thursday rolled around we were pulling mowers in and out of the shop to get the entire course mowed.  Three of us spent a lot of time on equipment and were able to get the entire golf course mowed by late morning Saturday.  The irrigation system had been such a priority it caused us to fall behind on normal maintenance.  This weekend the golf course looks pretty darn nice for an early May morning.

I sent a couple updates earlier in the week documenting the progress with the irrigation system.  Check your email or visit our blog on the website if you missed those two emails.  Please let me know if there are any questions or comments.  The golf board will not be meeting tomorrow evening due to the COVID 19 restrictions.

Enjoy the day and grab yourself some sunshine!