Good Morning,
It has been a very busy month with lots of projects in the works. This update covers the past month activities at The Muni:
1. Golf Events
- We hosted the Chili Open on October 2, Senior 4 Person Best Shot on October 10, the Rocktoberfest 4 Person Best Shot on October 16, and the Turkey Trot 4 Person Best Shot on November 6. The 2023 golf schedule of events is updated on our website. Additional events will be added as dates are reserved.
2. Trees
- Campbell’s Tree Service has removed nine total trees on the golf course. Two of the trees were the dead cottonwood on #11 behind the green and another hackberry on #18 was split down the middle of the trunk. These two trees were safety concerns. The other seven trees were infested with the Emerald Ash Borer. They were located on holes #16 and #17.
- #11 cottonwood removed.jpg #16 tree removal 10-28-22.jpg
- Campbell’s Tree Service removed the nine tree stumps of trees they cut down. They also removed several stumps from trees cut down the past couple of years. Currently there are 16 remaining tree stumps on the golf course.
- Staff has removed five small ash trees on hole #2 and two small ash trees on hole #17. These trees were infested with the Emerald Ash Borer. There are still quite a few smaller trees that show signs of EAB and will be addressed moving forward.
- #2 small ash removal.jpg
- Staff removed a large cottonwood tree behind #6 tees. This tree had been dead for a few years and became a safety issue. We hauled all the debris to the tree site. The stump is still remaining.
- Staff has completed pruning trees around the golf course.
- The tree debris pile by the maintenance facility has been hauled to the tree site.
3. Fertilizer
- The tees and fairways were fertilized with a granular 22-5-12 mix during the middle of September. This fertilizer application will help provide nutrients to the turfgrass into the early part of June 2023. Due to the irrigation issues we could not irrigate fairways until mid October. Recent fairway irrigation has helped the fertilizer to move to the crown of the plant and into the soil profile. We are starting to see quite a bit of green color come back to the fairways. They should be in good shape entering the off season.
- #18 11-3-22.jpg
- Greens will be fertilized with a granular fertilizer on Tuesday, November 8. This fertilizer application will help the turfgrass enter the off season with plenty of nutrients and create a healthier plant that can withstand stress during the off season.
- There was also a foliar application of a wetting agent applied to the greens. The wetting agent helps with water movement through the soil profile. It will also help provide moisture for the turf as we move to the off season.
4. Ponds/Well
- Milford Well Service installed a new well pump, new electrical, new tubing, and new 3” casing. The new pipe was 80’ and located below the water surface. The 140’ of old 3” pipe located above the water source was reused. A new meter and cap was installed on the 8” well casing. Water was flowing into the pond at 1:00 PM, October 20.
- Pump goes in.jpg
- The irrigation pond had been filling from the well 24 hours a day until November 1 when our permit expired for the 2022 season. I filed for an extension with the Iowa DNR to continue irrigation out of our pond through the end of 2022. Greens, tees, fairways, and approaches have been heavily irrigated since the installation of the new well. Irrigation will continue until the irrigation system is winterized later this month.
- 10-29-21 pond.jpg
- The pond on #10 was completely empty through most of October. There were some issues with the pond liner where water was leaking out and finding its way into the old 18” county tile running through the property. We located this tile, with the help of cemetery and street division staff, and sealed the tile at the pond. The pond was filled over a nine hour period and the water level has maintained to date. The issue has been resolved with the pond on #10.
- #10 pond 10-28-22.jpg
6. Irrigation Repairs
- There have been a lot of issues with the irrigation system for quite some time. This past week I was able to update all the software and repair a couple of electrical issues. The system has operated for a couple nights with only minor issues.
- We have continued to repair broken valve boxes and cracked lateral irrigation lines. The lateral lines are only under pressure when that station is running so the issues are not always visible. We have completed close to 20 of these problems over the past two months.
- I have continued replacing damaged irrigation heads around the golf course. There have also been repairs completed to quite a few valves and diaphragms.
- I am currently working on visually inspecting every irrigation station and monitoring the issues. After consulting with several technicians we believe the piping and electrical part of our irrigation system is fine. The issues moving forward will be replacing irrigation heads and valves. Once the system is winterized we will inspect the diaphragms on the valves.
7. Clubhouse
- We completed quite a bit of painting outside areas at the clubhouse. Most of these areas were on the columns and entry ways.
- The amount of golfers has slowed the past month. We continue to reduce inventory as far as candy, pop, and other snacks are concerned. Our beer and liquor inventory are currently fine moving into the off season for clubhouse events.
- The new TPAR computer software will be updated during the winter months. This will be installed during the off season in preparation of the 2023 season.
- The golf simulator will be available for appointment only during the winter months. Myself or part time staff will operate the clubhouse this off season.
8. Fall Projects Completed
- Aerification of the greens was completed on November 3. For the 2023 golf season I plan on aerifying the greens with needle tines on a monthly basis during the summer months. Using needle tines creates a hole a little bigger than a pencil to a depth of 8-10 inches. This process will not disrupt play and also help us control isolated dry areas.
- #9 aerify 11-3-22.jpg #18 aerify 11-3-22.jpg
- The cart path removal was completed on the south side of #12 green. We also used a skid loader to extend the cart paths on holes #13 and #15. Asphalt millings were added to provide a new cart path surface. There will be additional millings added as areas start to settle after cart path usage.
- 12 cart path 10-29-22.jpg
- In the future the east cart shed will be used for our rental cart storage. We are continuing to move private carts to other areas. We still have a few carts left to move out of this shed. I also plan on moving forward with controlling the barn swallows.
- We finished edging sand traps on the remainder of the golf course. I also hope to explore different sand options for our traps. A sand that is fine enough for our traps but not so find that it is easily moved by the wind. Hopefully there will be time to add additional sand to the traps around the course.
9. Offseason Projects
- Painting tee signs is still a priority for golf course staff. The paint is chipped on quite a few of our signs and they need to be addressed.
- Sand will be added for the traps on the golf course. We need to find a more coarse sand that is not affected by the wind so severely.
- Ash trees with EAB will continue to be removed from the golf course. Chemical treatment will be done to trees starting in May of 2023. I will complete these applications to ash trees that are currently healthy.
- Barn Swallow control will be an off season priority for a couple of the cart sheds.
- Painting the clubhouse interior will be completed during the off season.
- Inventory for the maintenance facility and clubhouse will be completed this month.
It has been a very busy past couple of months at the golf course. There have been a lot of projects completed and they have all been time consuming. Staff will continue to get as much work done on the golf course until the weather turns for the worse.
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 