Good Morning,
This past week at the golf course several staff members from the grounds and clubhouse were on vacation enjoying the summer weather. Several members of our team will be heading back to school next week. They have truly been wonderful to have at the golf course for another season. Their availability will be less once the school year starts. Special thanks to each one of them for their commitment to making the golf course a great place!
Two new clubhouse employees have been hired to work in the evenings and some weekend hours moving forward. I also have a couple more people that I am looking to hire for daytime hours during the week. As long as everything works out we should have adequate staffing in the clubhouse.
I spent time most days working on irrigation around the course. Several valves that had been leaking were repaired, irrigation heads were cleaned out so they rotate properly, and some adjustments were made to the computer software. In the near future we will be repairing irrigation pipes in approximately 20 valve boxes.
Sometimes it feels like I spend too much time working in the pump house, but the view is pretty awesome dawn or at dusk!
The cooler temperatures will definitely make a big difference in the turfgrass. Some of the irrigation problems have caused areas of the collars and parts of the greens to dry out and show some damage. We will continue to hand water these areas until we get later into September and we will start overseeding some areas. Quite a few areas have recovered fairly well but we still have some repairs to complete.
This coming week we will be going through the sand traps and removing small rocks and other debris present. The rocks work through the clay soil and eventually end up in the sand mix of the trap. We also plan to add some more sand to the traps before we get too far into the fall season. Hopefully that will give us some time to work it into the traps and limit the amount that is blown away.
We will also be hand topdressing some of the areas on the greens and collars. The sand topdressing gives the bentgrass something to grow into and helps speed the recovery process. Some of the worst areas will be plugged and overseeded.
The fall herbicide treatment is still planned for the golf course. Areas that have not been sprayed will be completed as well as other areas where the clover was dense. This process will occur on a weekly basis, as conditions allow, until the entire course has been treated. This will also give us pretty good control when the 2023 season begins.
Please check the website for our upcoming events. We will still have open golf following the completion of larger events. The couple’s tournament scheduled for today has been canceled and open golf is available all day!
—
Brian C Mohr
Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer
101 W 5th Street
Spencer Municipal Golf Course
Spencer, Iowa 51301
712-260-5370
Spencer Municipal Golf Course 