10-25-2020

Good Morning,
A little taste of Winter has put a cease in golf activity at The Muni.  The cold weather gave us time to start servicing our rental cart fleet.  This consists of changing oil and filters, greasing zirks, and completing repairs.  There were four golf carts with bent tie rods on the front on the cart.  This happens when a customer hits something hard with the front of the cart.  There is a small metal bracket that is designed to bend to limit the amount of damage to the cart.  This small piece is straightened, installed back on the cart, and the front end is aligned.  Then you shake your head about why somebody would do that with a cart.
The well ran for five days to fill the pond to a level of 8″ over the top of the new 90 degree intake attachment.  We were able to run through all the irrigation cycles on Wednesday to see if there are any problems with debris in the valves.  There were approximately 12 stations that would not shut off.  I was happy there were not more and the water coming out of the irrigation heads was very clear.  We will look at these valves and IC units to check for debris and run the system again late next week.  It doesn’t take much to make a valve or plunger stick open.
On Wednesday, I attended continued education for my Category 10 portion of my pesticide license.  This category allows me to treat our bodies of water with the proper chemical control and not harm any wildlife or contaminate the irrigation water.  This is the last year I will be able to take continued education for this category.  Next year it’s required to take the test every three years at the time of renewal of my license.  In two weeks I will be attending the Turf and Ornamental continued education for my license.
Also on Wednesday, we hosted the district cross country meet.  It was a decent day for the athletes to run for a chance to make it to state.  The clubhouse was once again closed due to COVID 19 provisions.  It’s always enjoyable watching the runners participate in these meets and it’s a privilege to provide the golf course.  We look forward to working with the school once again next year.  

This coming Monday I will be meeting with the tile contractor to discuss the repair process in Upper Waterway Park.  This project has been on the agenda most of the summer and he now has time to address the issue.  This tile was repaired on the east end last year but we have discovered further damage moving west through the golf course waterway.  I will keep you posted on the situation.
I have been working with Tyler Vaudt, Harris-Lake Park golf coach, to establish an off season junior golf program on the golf simulator.  It will be a great opportunity for Tyler to work with small groups of kids to help them learn and develop the basics of golf.  We are still in the early planning stages but Tyler and I are both excited to provide this option for our future golfers.  
As we move forward the golf course and clubhouse will be open dependent on the weather each day.  We were closed yesterday and will be the next couple of days.  However, we did have five extreme die hard golfers play 18 holes on Friday.  The golf weather should return later in the week.
Please enjoy the remainder of your weekend.  Cross your fingers for no snow accumulation and contact me with any comments, questions, or concerns you might have in regards to the golf course.  I’m always happy to talk.  Stay warm!
—
Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 5130

1712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

10-18-2020

Good Morning,
It definitely feels like Fall has arrived.  Some of the brisk morning temperatures remind you that the warmer temperatures are soon behind us.  That means the conclusion of the golf season nears.  It has been a successful year at the golf course as we battled through “The 2020 ‘Rona” with everyone else.  Our golf numbers were up and we were able to provide a safe recreational atmosphere for people to get away from everyday life for a few hours to have some fun.
Maintenance practices were a challenge at times and the clubhouse staff went above and beyond to welcome our golfers to a sanitary environment accompanied by a smile or two.  I would like to thank each of the employees who treat the golf course as much more than a part time job.  Each of them truly care and take a lot of pride.  Please take the time to thank them when your paths cross.
The pond nightmare has ended one chapter as of Saturday.  The new 90 degree intake was installed on Saturday morning and will definitely help eliminate issues in the short term.  The long term solution will be to dredge the pond down the road.  Here are a couple photos of the project:
 New Intake.jpg
 Rip Rap.jpg
The pond had to be drained further down after the rainfall last Sunday night.  It raised the water level by a foot.  We had the pond down by mid morning on Monday pumping about 2500 GPM of water down the stream.  
This allowed Adam DeLoss to remove the sludge and silt around the existing intake that was completely covered in muck.  They had to build a dam out of clay and concrete in order to keep the “soup” from running back over the intake.  Eventually all the debris was excavated and the crushed concrete was added to protect the entire intake area.  
Over the past week our main focus has been to take the tops off valves and clean out the debris in the diaphragms.  This will continue to be our focus the upcoming week as we wait for the pond to fill back up.  There is some debris in quite a few of the valves and they continue to stick on because the diaphragm won’t close completely.  This will also be a long process.
The debris has been removed back down to the original clay surface.  It definitely reminds me of the results of the soil tests in 1998.  Those results stated it was the highest level of clay soil possible.  Standing on the bottom of the pond Saturday morning felt like a parking lot under my feet.  Here are a couple more pictures from the bottom of the pond.:

 #5 Pond Bottom.jpg
 10-17-20.jpg
It’s going to be a cold one today but the sun will still be shining.  The clubhouse will be closed today due to the cold weather.  Enjoy the remainder of your weekend and please get in touch with me if you have any questions.

—
Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

10-12-2020

Good Morning,
The rainfall last night was a great relief for the golf course.  It was definitely a time saver for staff and myself in regards to hand watering.  The rainfall did bring the pond level up higher than I had hoped.  We started the pump again this morning to draw the pond down to an acceptable level and not harm any fish.  
I met with Adam DeLoss yesterday to discuss the excavation process.  He is going to start on Wednesday to remove the silt in the intake and over dig the entire area.  The material will be stockpiled and removed at a later date.  He and I also agree there needs to be rock added around the area after he finishes to help limit the amount of future silting in this area. 
Staff and I are going to start the process of cleaning valves on greens and tee stations to remove any debris trapped in the diaphragms.  The wet well will be cleaned out with the Street Department’s jet vacuum once Adam is finished with his work.
It is not a pretty picture but thankfully a lot of people stepped up and helped us proceed in the right direction.  Also a special thanks to Mother Nature for the rain last night.  I will keep you posted as we move forward. 
—
Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

10-9-2020

Good Afternoon,
The pond was finally pumped down to a level where we could evaluate the 24″ intake going into the pumphouse wet well.  The outcome is not good at all.    The around the intake area has completely silted covering the line.  The wet well has muck over two feet deep in the bottom.  

Mark White and Craig Poulsen met with me this morning to discuss how we proceed forward with the problem.  After lengthy discussion and many different scenarios we all agree the pond needs to be pumped down to a minimal depth.  We moved the large trailer pump from Viola out to the golf course to start the process.  It is being set up and ready to start pumping as I type this email.  
The pond is currently 3-4 feet deep and needs to be dropped 2-3 feet to expose the entire intake line.  The pump will start running now and go until the pond level is dropped.  Sunday I plan to meet with Adam DeLoss to discuss excavating around the 24″ intake line in the pond.  We will have a visual on the intake and be able to make a game plan.

We need to drain the pond and excavate around the 24″ intake in the pond.  After excavation we will have more discussion and make a long term decision and not a short term quick fix.  It’s been 20 years since the construction and we want our decision to think at least that far into the future.

This has been a day that goes far beyond stress for me.  This was an extremely difficult decision to make but there is no other option.  I know this is the Spencer Municipal Golf Course but I frequently refer to it as “my golf course” because that’s how much I care about the place.  It feels very helpless right now but thankfully some great people have helped start the process on a Friday afternoon so we don’t have to wait until Monday.
Having no irrigation is extremely scary and literally makes me want to cry.  My staff and I will need to find access to water tanks with pumps so we can water greens by hand through this process.  The rest of the course will not be irrigated obviously.  Once the repairs are completed it will take at least five or six days to fill the pond to a level where we can irrigate.  
Please be patient with us and also contact me if you have questions.  
—
Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

10-4-2020

Good Morning,

The cooler temperatures and heavy frost Friday and this morning definitely brought the season of Fall to us.  What a difference from the hot and dry summer days.  It  has made  our maintenance practices less hectic and given us a lot of time to work on the irrigation system.  It also has placed us a couple hours behind our outside work schedule this morning.  But the chili has been finished!
I continued to monitor the pumphouse during irrigation cycles and lowered the pond level a few feet over the course of ten days.  One of us has to watch the intake screens and scrub the sides with a long broom when the debris starts to build up.  It’s been less than ideal but we are doing what we have to do to keep the golf course irrigated and continue to lower the pond level.  On Monday we will venture out to locate the line that runs from the pond into the pumphouse wet well.
With the pumphouse problems there was less irrigation and the well ran less frequently for the month of September.  The well ran for five days totalling 2,160,000 gallons of water which equates to 6.63 acre feet of water.  The golf course was irrigated with 4,500,000 gallons of water or 13.80 acre feet.  
This brings the year to date totals to 62.9 acre feet (20,505,400 gallons) for the well total and 103.52 acre feet (33,747,520 gallons) of irrigation water used.  We are allotted 81 acre feet for the well and 121.5 acre feet for the irrigation.  October is the last month we can run the irrigation within our permit requirements.  
Today we are hosting our annual Chili Open golf tournament with 12 golfers signed up by early entry.  It’s gonna be a bit chilly but the wind is calm and should turn into a pretty decent October golf day once the frost has disappeared.   It will be a fun day for all of the participants.  
This coming week the temperatures will warm back up to great golf weather.  Hopefully the golf traffic picks back up and we see a lot of friendly faces.  The warmer temperatures will also make it a little more bearable to start the process of dealing with our pumphouse problem.
Please contact me with any comments, questions, or concerns so they can be addressed in a timely manner.  I will see the golf board tomorrow evening at the clubhouse followed by the virtual city council meeting.  Enjoy the day friends!
—
Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com