Good Morning,
Another week has come and gone at The Muni. Some of the cooler temperatures, a lot of hand watering along with wetting agent applications, and a lot less wind has allowed the turfgrass to be a little less stressed out. The only green that is still showing some signs of isolated dry spotting in #7. I have experienced some issues with one of the stations on this hole. We will continue to hand water this area on a frequent basis.
The wetting agents help hold the moisture in the upper portion of the soil profile and make it ready available for the plant. It also eliminates the drying out of the soil leaving the spotty light brown areas. It’s always a challenge and requires a lot of manual labor to stay on top of it.
I also sprayed greens on Wednesday applying a fungicide, foliar fertilizer, and wetting agent applications. These applications are scheduled between 10-14 days. The warmer temperatures have made the disease pressure lessen a little but have required more fertilizer and a lot more wetting agent.
Some of our Tuesday Ladies League members have been kind enough to adapt some of our flower beds on the golf course. This past week they tackled the waterfall behind #10 green. Their amazing work has helped bring this area back to life. We were also able to get the waterfall running by the end of the week.
There is an issue with the drainage line we are trying to repair this morning. We have a lot of debris stuck in the line. After that the waterfall will be up and running regularly and the new flowers will brighten up the area. Thank you ladies!
Tile work has continued in the area of #15 tees. The contractor was able to install the new tile line going across the road on 4th Ave SW. The remainder of the work will consist of installing new tile from this area and moving east. We will tie in the four existing tile lines and eliminate the saturated soil conditions on the golf course and in the Stoneybrook neighborhood. This project will be complete this coming week and then work will begin in Upper Waterway Park.
I attended a training session Wednesday morning for new city employees. This training covers employee right to know, bloodborne pathogens, and a whole lot of other safety topics. Since the majority of our part time staff have full time jobs it is not easy or convenient for them to make it to a training session during city hall hours. With this training I will be able to train each employee individually as it fits their schedule. It is mandatory for all new employees. I will be working on this the next couple of weeks.
The clubhouse is down several staff members at the conclusion of this week. I have worked a couple of closing shifts at night and will continue to work more in the clubhouse in the next couple of weeks until more staff can be added. I spent most of yesterday revising the current schedule and trying to piece together a schedule for the next pay period.
I very much appreciate the hard work and dedication being shown by the handful of part time staff we have working in the clubhouse. Everyone is trying to adapt to new policies and change. It’s not always easy and some days we get a little frustrated but everyone keeps persevering and trying to provide great customer service. I’m very thankful for them and quite proud of them as people.
The maintenance staff has been doing an amazing job on the golf course. We’re definitely short handed when it comes to outdoors as well. But, the staff is really showing how much pride they have in our golf course. Some of these guys have worked here for more than 25 years. I definitely am thankful for their dedication, attention to detail, and strong commitment to providing a beautiful golf course.
The golf course has been very busy this past week. Our season pass totals are down but we still see a lot of golfers out enjoying themselves every day. That’s a great feeling inside. It’s an even better feeling when I hear someone tell a staff member the golf course looks nice. It does look nice because we’re fortunate to have a few people who take care of the golf course like it is their own.
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Brian C Mohr
Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer
Spencer Municipal Golf Course
Spencer, Iowa 51301
712-260-5370
Spencer Municipal Golf Course 