Good Morning,
The past week consisted of trying to maintain our daily operations in the clubhouse and on the grounds. We have a lot of projects planned, several golf outings scheduled, and busy open golf on a daily basis. We are working to keep the golf course maintained each day and provide enough staff in the clubhouse to accommodate golfers each day.
On the maintenance side of things, we were able to move a tree out of a residence at Stonybrook onto the dogleg portion of #15. Locates were called in and after waiting several days we used the city tree spade to move this tree on Wednesday. It’s a beautiful small spruce tree but we have big expectations for its future. It will help as a safety barrier protecting homes from stray golf balls on this hole.
A week ago there had been a few talks of an iguana on the golf course. Last Sunday evening I received a photo of the iguana in a birch tree on hole #9. Prior to sunrise, on Labor Day morning, I found the chilly reptile grasping onto a limb. Fortunately he did not put up much of a fight and easily fell into a cardboard box. Our Facebook post reached over 26,000 people but nobody came forward as the owner. An area reptile rescue was willing to come rehabilitate the iguana. A great ending to an odd story.
As I started off this early morning iguana rescue I came across several large holes along the rough on the 9th hole. It wasn’t until afterwards I was able to spend a little more time looking into this issue. We found holes along #1, #9, and across the driving range. I contacted the Iowa DNR who in turn put me in touch with somebody local they use to relocate problem animals.
After a couple of days we were able to safely trap this beautiful looking fox and relocate him quite a few miles away from the golf course. The individual contracted by the golf course is licensed and trained in this type of work. It was fascinating to watch his high level of skill result in the safe capture and relocation of this fox. We will continue to monitor the area to make sure there are no other friends hanging around.
Irrigation issues have continued to compile throughout the 2022 golf season. Our well pump has gradually decreased in productivity. It should be operating at 300 gallons per minute. This amount of water will equal the amount of irrigation spread over the entire course in one night of irrigation. The well is currently operating at 15%. That will take over six days to replace one night of irrigation.
I contacted Milford Well to schedule a meeting and try to formalize a game plan moving forward. The initial thought is the well casing has a hole in it and/or the pump is in need of repair. We will continue to operate the well pump because it’s better than zero water pumped from the well. In the meantime the fairways will not be irrigated. The main focus will be on tees, greens, and approaches. The well will be repaired early in the month of October.
I have attached a Google Document that contains golf course topics covered with the golf board and city council. It will provide you with some information of August activities and what the weeks ahead have in store. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. Please reach out if you have questions or would like further information on a topic.
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 