It's Two Cups in One

As far as the temperature goes, January's weather was up and down, with many days above average, and others well below.  If you were able to sneak in a round during one of the relatively warm days later in the month, you would have noticed that we have placed two cups in each green.

The reason we added the second cup is to spread out the wear during a period when we may not be able to move the hole location.  With sand based greens, the surface can quickly freeze, preventing us from "cutting a cup."

So how does this two hole system work?  The idea of rotating the flagstick from one cup to the other is simple.  Before leaving each green, move the pin to the opposite hole location from the one you just played.  Thus the next group will be playing 18 different pin placements than you did.  (Of course, if you're playing a match with more than one group, only the last group should move the pin.)

As conditions allow, we'll change the two hole locations for the remainder of the winter, and go back to just one hole in another month or so when some consistently warmer weather returns. 

Please remember that this isn't intended for you to claim a round with double digit one-putts!  Once your ball is on the short grass, you're supposed to putt towards the cup with the flagstick, and not just aim for the closer cup.

The two hole locations on #9 green.

Under Pressure

Over the winter we are pressure washing the bridges on the golf course.  This is a time-consuming job, with each bridge taking several days to complete.  Since the irrigation system is shut down, a 300 gallon sprayer is filled at the maintenance facility, then used as the water source for the pressure washer. 




The work is well worth the effort--the difference from before to after is remarkable.

Scott Peters is thoroughly cleaning all of the nooks and crannies of the bridge on #8.

Getting Decked

The winter work continues, as we recently finished replacing another section of the Clubhouse bridge decking.  This task is a far cry from the mowing and raking we are involved in during the summer months, however it's every bit as exhausting. 




Replacing the decking is a serious workout for the guys' backs and knees.

This is January?

It's hard to believe that this is the second week of January.  With temperatures well above average, our winter projects have taken a back seat to course maintenance.

Earlier this week, we spent a couple of days pushing sand and raking bunkers, which had been washed out after the late December storms.

On Wednesday, the greens thawed out, giving us the opportunity to change the cups, and send the mowers out.  Yes, we mowed greens on January 9...and then rolled and mowed again on January 11.

If that wasn't strange enough, we fired up the fairway mowers on Thursday.  While there wasn't a lot of grass to cut, the mowing cleaned things up nicely.

Apollo checks out #9 fairway as its being cut on Thursday.

Mowing The Fescue

Another one of the off-season tasks we work on is mowing of the course's naturalized areas.  With 40 acres to cut down on some tough terrain, this takes a couple of weeks to finish.

Typically we would complete this job in December.  However, with 15 days of measurable precipitation last month, conditions were too soft to be riding through these areas.  While there's still plenty of moisture in the ground now, cooler temperatures have helped to firm things up for us.

The tractor and deck mower proceed cautiously through the narrow strip of Fescue on the left side of #13.