update

Jeff Muller, our new Assistant, started work last week. He has been a big help in getting our winter maintenance on schedule.  Jeff has started to work on the golf supplies.  This is very time consuming  work in that we basically strip off all the old paint, sand and then repaint.  I have found that this is the best way for everything to look the best and last the longest.  

Mike and Armando are just finishing up the maintenance cars.  I have to say they look almost as good as the car looks when they were new 11 years ago.  Mike will completely service the car making sure everything is operating safely and within the manufacture specifications then the car is handed over to Armando who will then sand, repaint and give the car a nice coat of wax. Night and day when you look at the before and after photos.  These cars are the true workhorse of our operation and they have to work everyday and run without problems.  We do not have many backups here.  The work that we do during the winter is critical to a smooth operation when the golf season starts.  That's not to say we do not have breakdowns but we try to avoid the major problems by very close inspection now.    

As far as the golf course, there is a light coat of snow and everything is still in great shape.  I usually walk the golf course at least 2 times per week scouting out any problems.  I have not seen any snow mold at this time and there is no ice damage.  How can we get snow mold without any snow?  well there are basically 2 types of snow molds.  Grey snow mold needs snow cover and I would not expect that we would see any grey snow mold this winter.  Pink Snow Mold is the other type and this disease does not need snow cover.  Wet, cool weather is ideal for this disease to develop.   The pacific north west battles pink snow mold almost year around.  I will be keeping an eye out for any development of the pink snow mold as spring draws closer.  I would expect that we will start to see some as the grounds warms up. 

This year, I will be attending the Golf Course Superintendent annual conference.  Which is in Las Vegas this year. I am looking forward to many great learning opportunities that the conference has to offer.  The conference is the last week in Feburary and I will post many updates from the show floor while I am there.  

I hope to see everyone the 20th for our annual meeting.   

Update

50 degrees today almost unbelievable where is the winter this year.  So far we have only a handful of days in the single digits this year, I haven't even taken out the my extreme cold weather gear this winter.  I really do not see that happening this year.  The 15 day forecast is looking fairly mild.  I do not quite understand the lack of snow and warm temperatures this winter, what is the summer going to be like??  And the other extreme is that in Fairbanks, Alaska they are seeing extreme cold over the weekend the lows reach -50 two days straight.  How do you even keep you house from freezing when it's that cold??

This month has been a very tough one for me with my father passing and over the past weekend we had to put my daughter's horse down from bladder and spleen complications that could not be resolved. My daughter and her horse grew up together and had a wonderful connection. 

The warm weather ahead I should be able to see some of the golf course that has had snow cover for the last few weeks.  The greens do have some ice on them right now.  I do not feel that this is something we need to worry about right now but I will be watching the ice situation over the next few weeks.  We continue to be extremely busy inside the shop.  So far, Mike has completed all the walking mowers and has started to work on the maintenance transport vehicles.  When I look at a time line we also seem to cut it fairly close before we head back out on the course. This year Mike has a great handle on the situation and everything is turning out great.

I have hired a new Assistant that will be starting Monday next week.  His name is Jeffrey Muller, he was previously employed as the Second Assistant from Oconomowoc Golf Club.  A very interesting note is that Jeffrey was the only candidate that passed my Assistant test that I have all applicants take during the interview process. Jeffrey was highly recommended by  Dustin Riley the Superintendent at Oconomowoc Golf Club, I am looking forward to his first day here at Hawks Landing. 

USGA Green Section Record, January 20, 2012

USGA Green Section Record, January 20, 2012

Even with the mild weather up to last week the golf course is in pretty good shape.  I was able to walk most of the golf course before the snow and have not seen any snow mold disease and there is no ice on any part of the golf course.  I feel that the snow mold protection products that we applied are holding for now but there is no doubt that the rain and warm weather will shorten the control, so I will continue to monitor the golf course. No standing water on the course means that we should not have any ice damage.  Next week's the forecast shows mid 30's which could lead to some snow melt.  I feel, if we make to February without ice and unless winter stay's until late March we should not have any ice damage to the golf course this year.  So far so good.

I have not been posting updates regularly lately because of my father's illness and this week he has lost his battle. Thank you all for your support and kind words over this tough time for me and my family