Good Morning,
The weather has changed and reminded us Winter might not quite be over yet. With the uncertain snow amounts in the forecast I felt it was best to spray the greens with a fungicide. This treatment protects the bentgrass greens from the threat of “snow mold.” This is a fungus that develops underneath the snow cover when temperatures rise creating a perfect environment for this beast. Below is a picture of this fungus that developed off the collar in an untreated area:
The greens are sprayed for a final time heading into the winter months to protect the turf from this fungus once Spring starts to arrive. The application is generally effective for 100 days. The application I sprayed on Thursday morning will give us protection from any further snow possibilities until Mother Nature brings back the golf weather.
Last fall we repaired several tiles in the retention pond area behind #12 green. These tiles were damaged and had a lot of tree roots plugging the outlets. This past week we removed two large willow trees in this area. The stumps still need to be removed and treated so we don’t get any return growth from these trees. This should help secure the integrity of these tiles moving forward.
#12 retention pond clean up.jpg
#12 retention pond clean up (2).jpg
The golf course will remain closed until we can evaluate conditions late next week. Overall, the condition of the course is excellent right now. There has been no damage from all of the golf traffic so far this month. We need to continue being cautious moving forward to ensure there is no damage moving forward. It’s not worth causing turf damage in the month of March. Hopefully we will continue to have nice days to finish off this month.
While the golf course is closed and the cold temperatures persist, please take some time to visit our new mobile friendly website www.spencermunigolf.com and create your profile for the 2024 season. You can reserve online tee times and also pay your 2024 fees by visiting the website. Paying your fees now secures the current pricing and also registers you for the Virtual Membership Drive.
I will be out of the office for several days this upcoming week. Please reach out if you have any questions or would like further information on a topic. Stay warm and keep thinking about golf weather.
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 