Winter Report - January 2010

 

The winter months have been very busy and constructive for our maintenance crew. During this time we have drained, added sand and refurbished 31 sand traps. The traps that had drainage installed are: fairway traps on 11, greenside on 12, 13, (1) 14, (1) 15, large fairway trap on left side on 16, and (3) greenside bunkers on 18. All these traps had sand put in along with traps on 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 17, and 18. We improved the condition of these traps immensely. We added new  sand in the winter which gets to firm up and compact better. The new sand should be pretty good by spring time.

 

We have done a lot of tree work and trimming of some areas on the golf course. My crew has been limbing up a lot of low branches and overhangs by many green and tee areas. We had Shumway's tree service come out with their bucket truck and trimmed up the following areas: Left side of 1 by willows; 2nd willow; 6th opening of fairway where the two hickories are; left side of 6 at corner which opened up this area nicely; right side of 9 near fairway trap and from brook to the green at the corner; 13 fairway at end of fairway, tree by the green, and willow; and 16th gold tee to blue tee area. All this tree trimming really worked out well and will really improve the playability of the golf course. So your handicaps should improve!

 

My crew is now overhauling equipment, doing tuneups, painting, refurbishing golf equipment, grinding reels and bedknives, and working on a lot of other maintenance equipment. We are behind in these areas because we spent so much time trimming trees and doing trap work. We continue to go outside weather permitting to do more tree trimming. I feel very happy with the amount of work our crew has accomplished in such a short time. My crew who consists of Mike Howell, John Bemben, and Steve Weckstrom have been doing a fine job and have been working very hard to  make Hickory Ridge Country Club more enjoyable for the coming golf season.

 

The golf course now is covered with some snow and ice. I would like to see a winter thaw shortly to eliminate the icy areas. These areas could cause winter kill. But at this point it is a little too early to see any damage. We have also been seeing a coyote quite frequently.  Early in the morning is when this animal comes by. And the two redtail hawks are still hanging around. These are probably the same two that had the nest on hole #2 last year.

 

At this point I am extremely satisfied and happy that our crew was able to do a lot of improvements to the golf course this winter. All this work will really make the golf course more enjoyable and fun to play this year. We look forward to a great year and hope Mother Nature is good to us this year.

 

Sincerely,

Bob Ruszala

Golf Course Superintendent