Before and after...

 Due to phototropic growth, over the years, the view on #14 had become somewhat obstructed from a tree on the right side of the hole.  As the trunk of the tree is outside the wetlands clearing zone, removing the entire tree is not an option.

Therefore, as we did on #12 last year, we had the tree cut vertically in line with the clearing limit.

There are some treacherous hole locations on the right side of this green, but at least there will be one less obstacle to avoid in trying to get to the short grass.

Uncovering the tees

 We removed the covers from the Par 3 tees this past week, and it's pretty clear that the turf enjoyed being in the greenhouse for the winter.

While divots under the cover aren't completely filled in, they are well on their way.  In contrast, divots taken in the uncovered sections are about the same now as they were four months ago.

In looking closely at some of the divots which were protected from the elements, you can see recovery both from the surrounding Bentgrass filling in, as well as from seed which germinated.

March has been unusually warm, so we should have some good growing conditions going forward.

Mats were undoubtedly successful

 If you had a chance to get out on the course this past week, you may have noticed hundreds of freshly filled divots.  However, while these divots were recently filled with mix, for the most part, they weren't divots that were recently taken.  

No, the vast majority are divots from last October and November which still had yet to fill in.  This speaks to the benefit of using mats on the fairways during the past three plus months.  Had we not, the number of unhealed divots entering the spring would be dramatically higher.  

January was brutally cold, and the Creeping Bentgrass was as dormant as we've seen in years.  When you consider that we have gone close to four months without cutting the fairways, lack of divot recovery shouldn't come as a surprise.  Presently, the fairways are still more straw colored than green.

If you want to see some green grass, you need to check out the short game area greens--they are glowing.

Overwhelmingly, the vast majority of members and guests used the mats as requested during the winter.  With warm temperatures ahead,  everyone will now benefit from this.

In the shop

While few may see it, winter is one of the busiest times of the year for our Equipment Technician, Don Robel.  All of the equipment is gone over from top to bottom.  Fluids are changed, cables, belts and hydraulic lines are inspected and replaced as needed, and of course, the mowers are sharpened.

This past year has presented its own set of challenges in keeping our equipment fleet up and running.  Similar to the auto industry, there are a handful of parts which are tied up in the supply chain.  And like a car, a triplex mower needs 100% of its parts to work, not just 99% of them.  We have actually had a small part for one of our mowers which has been backordered since late last summer.

Planning ahead is critical to the success of our operation, but between the wild price swings and goods shortages, our planning attempts sometimes feels like we are gazing into a very cloudy crystal ball.