12-26-2021

Good Morning,

This past week had more above normal temperatures which allowed me some time to pick up branches from around the golf course.  We were pretty fortunate to not lose any large trees or branches.  The majority of our damage was only small branches.  There are still some that need to be removed from the course, but quite a few were removed.  

I spent a lot of time working on a Best Management Practices (BMP) manual for the golf course.  This is through the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).  It is a program that focuses all management aspects in an efficient and environmentally sustainable manner.  It’s a 140 page document that provides a lot of information to help us become better environmental stewards.  It’s a great guide to follow as we look ahead to the future of golf at Spencer Municipal Golf Course.

The 2022/23 budget was also a large part of my week.  These preliminary figures are due to be completed in the next week in preparation for city council review.  I plan to have the rough draft completed in time for the next golf board meeting.

Lastly, I have been working on new scorecards for the 2022 golf season.  Our inventory of scorecards lasts about four years.  This year the scorecards will be sponsored by SMU and Weasy’s.  I am currently waiting for a second proof of the new cards and hope to have them ready for print by the end of the coming week.  

I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season with your loved ones.  Happy holidays from my family to your’s!  
—
Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer

101 W 5th Street

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

12-19-2021

Good Morning,

A wild and crazy week has come to an end.  Last Sunday we had seven inches of snow covering the ground and I was feeling comfortable with the insulation blanket on the turf for the winter.  A few days later we have 65 degree weather with 70 mph winds and half an inch of rain.  Not so comfortable anymore. 

What a chilling weather pattern that was Wednesday night.  The warm temperatures removed the snow from the golf course mid afternoon.  The heavy rain and melting snow filled our irrigation pond and waterways from the surface moisture.  Then the high winds dried the moisture out of the top of the soil profile.  Moisture is so important for the golf course during the winter months.

We lost a lot more of the new sand and quite a few tree branches during the high winds and severe thunderstorm.  It was such a great project to finish hauling sand to all the traps then have it affected by Mother Nature.  Scary weather but nothing major in the scope of things.  Staff and I will plan to haul more sand in the spring.

Tuesday I attended a seminar sponsored by the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents Association.  This event was held in Marshall, Mn.  Eric Watkins, U of Mn professor in the turf department, covered some great topics ranging from germinating bentgrass in colder spring temperatures, irrigation monitoring, and a winter turfgrass study.  
The Spencer Municipal Golf Course is one of the sites for their winter turfgrass study.  The majority of golf courses participating are in the upper midwest of the United States, but they stretch into Canada and as far east as Finland.  The study consists oft a submission of data and pictures every Monday around 1:00 PM.  The data will be used to better understand how turfgrass is affected by ice, snow, and colder temperatures.

I have continued to work on cleaning and organizing the clubhouse.  Both of our ice machines have been cleaned and sanitized in preparation for the upcoming season.  C&D Refrigeration was on site to complete some preventive maintenance as well.  Floors and bathrooms have been scrubbed, cleaned, and sanitized.  Walls, cupboards, and cabinets have been organized, cleaned, and sanitized.  It’s a lengthy process but it’s making a big difference.

Reels were removed from all the mowers and preparation work is being done to start the sharpening process.  The old bedknives are removed from each reel and a new one screwed onto the bracket.  Next week I will start the reel and bedknife sharpening process.  This is done annually to produce a uniform high quality of cut which helps limit turfgrass stress.

The clubhouse will remain open the upcoming week, so golfers can purchase gift certificates or pay their 2022 dues.  If I am not in the clubhouse get in touch with me and we can make arrangements to meet or I can assist with an online payment.

I wish each and every one of you a joyous and happy holiday season!  

Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer

101 W 5th Street

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

12-12-2021

Good Morning,

The past week the main priority was beginning to thoroughly clean the clubhouse.  This process will continue into next week as well.  Everything is being cleaned from the floor to the ceiling.  It’s nice to smell the cleaning products in the air.  I will also set up a time to clean the carpets sometime in the future.  

Last Sunday night we had extremely high winds in Spencer.  I was nervous sitting in my living room listening to objects bounce off the windows.  I arrived at the golf course to discover a lot of the new sand blown out of the traps.  The areas on the south end of the golf course were affected most severely.  Sand was blown across several greens with some still remaining in the traps.  We will plan on hauling more sand before spring.
 #4 Green & Sand.jpg

I sprayed the greens Wednesday afternoon with a snow mold application.  This application will help reduce the disease pressure once the snow starts to melt in the spring.  We also ask the golfers to respect the closing of the golf course for the 2021 season.  Foot traffic can compromise the chemical application.

Equipment maintenance and service is also on the agenda this time of the season.  Oil changes, new filters, and repair work lead the list of shop duties.  Also preparing the reels for the off season sharpening process.  We have been addressing oil changes and documenting necessary repairs at this time.

The 7″ snowfall will hopefully stick around and provide some insulation for the turfgrass and a blanket for the remaining new sand in the traps.  The above normal temperatures really dried the course out the past few weeks.  Not many people enjoy a lot of snow but it’s necessary for the golf course.  I’d be in favor of one large snow storm that covers the ground until spring with no additional snow. 

I spent time updating information on our website www.spencermunigolf.com.  The 2022 events have been listed as well as new photos added to the gallery and home page slider.  All of the information should be updated and current for the new year.  Please let me know if anyone sees anything I might have missed.  Additional events will be added as they are confirmed.

I will continue to have the clubhouse open for gift certificates and 2022 fees due.  Enjoy the remainder of the winter wonderland weekend and enjoy the holiday season!

Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer

101 W 5th Street

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com

12-5-2021

Good Morning,

It has been a very busy fall season at the golf course.  Unseasonably warm weather has allowed us to complete many projects.  This week I am providing you a run down of the past couple of months at the golf course:

Our greens were aerified during the month of October.  This process helps reduce compaction in the soil, allow deeper root penetration, and helps move water through the soil profile.  After aerification I noticed quite a few of our greens need to be mowed back out to their original size.  I documented these greens as well as the tee boxes.  These areas will be mowed shorter in the spring to achieve the original shape of these greens and tees.  It is normal for these areas to become smaller over the years and this practice needs to be done every five or so years.

The irrigation system was blown out and winterized mid November.  The process went smoothly with no issues.  I documented about a dozen small repairs that needed to be completed prior to the 2022 season.  There are still a couple of small repairs to complete that don’t affect the operation of the system. 

We were able to complete those repairs late in November.  I also submitted the 2021 irrigation report to the Iowa DNR.  We irrigated 118.97 acre feet (out of a maximum 121.5 acre feet) and pumped 70.23 acre feet of water (out of a maximum 81 acre feet) from the well April 1 thru November 10.  An irrigation permit was received to irrigate in the month of November.  An acre foot of water = 326,000 gallons of water.

This fall we pruned trees around the entire golf course.  Trees were pruned to make maintenance easier around each tree without affecting the integrity of the natural shape of the tree.  We also removed multiple dead or damaged trees around the golf course.  The only part to complete is the stump removal.

tree pruning.HEIC

The past couple of months we spent time addressing our sand traps on the golf course.  We went through each trap several times to remove rocks or debris present.  Then we pushed sand from the bottom of each trap to the face.  Over time the sand is washed down by rainfall, irrigation, and wind.  After pushing the sand to the top of each trap we were able to measure how much sand was present and calculate the amount of sand to add.  

#5 trap finish (2).jpg

The next part of this process was repairing damaged areas around the perimeter of the traps.  We removed soil and added new sod to bring the sand traps back to their original shape.  The front right sand trap on #14 was another large project for us.  We cut three feet of sod away from the face of the trap toward the green.  Next we added 12” of soil to this area and replaced  the sod.  By raising this area it will help limit how much surface drainage goes into this trap in the future.  

#12 trap repair.HEIC

14 bunker project 8.HEIC

Finally, we hauled 132 ton of sand to the majority of traps around the golf course.  Several of the sand traps had minimal sand present and they received a total of 6”-8” of sand throughout.  The street division hauled the sand to the golf course 12 tons per truck.  We used our loader and one ton dump trucks to haul the sand to the traps.  We leveled the sand evenly with our trap rakes.  We tried to leave the sand compacted so the wind will have less influence on it moving into the winter months.  There were only five traps not receiving sand (#2G, #11F x 2, #11G, and #14F x 1).  

#3 new sand.HEIC

The tile area behind #12 was not functioning properly a few months ago.  Cemetery staff used a small track hoe to dig up the area and expose the tile in the damaged area so it could flow properly.  The repair process was on hold until this fall when the water flow in the tile slowed down.  This tile had over five feet of tree roots plugging the line and impeding the flow of water  This caused saturated soils across #5 and #13.  Probing the soil would produce water shooting several feet into the air.  On December 3rd we finished repairing this tile and added a couple of valve boxes which will allow us to clean it out easier in the future.  The tile was functioning during these months, it simply needed to be put back together and buried.

tile repair.jpg

Friday, December 3 was the last day for golf in the 2021 season.  There were quite a few players taking advantage of the beautiful weather in November which extended into December.  Early next week I will be spraying the greens with a fungicide and wetting agent.  This application is done to help prevent “snow mold” on the greens.  This fungus is dark gray or pink and leaves very unsightly turf in the spring.  The fungicide application is always the last golf course procedure on the grounds.  Golfers will compromise the integrity of the application so the course is closed until the 2022 season.

snow mold.heic

The clubhouse will still be open as we move forward.  I will be completing a thorough cleaning of the facility.  Patrons can also stop in to purchase gift certificates or pay any fees that are due for 2022.  Please contact me with any questions so I can provide further information.
—
Brian C Mohr

Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer

101 W 5th Street

Spencer Municipal Golf Course

Spencer, Iowa 51301

712-260-5370

www.spencermunigolf.com