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
Spencer Municipal Golf Course 