The Muni Update
Oct 19, 2025
Good Morning,
This past week staff continued to work on our landscaping renovation project. The majority of the plant materials have been removed and we started adding some black soil around the perimeter of the landscaping blocks. Crystal O'Clair has been helping us with a new plant material design that will be installed in the spring of 2026.
Our next step will be to add black soil into the landscaping beds to create a better growing atmosphere for the new plant materials. We will also be adding a low row of landscaping blocks across the front of these beds. In the next week or so we will be adding sod to the perimeter. This will leave the plant materials and mulch as the final step.
Staff has removed a lot of the landscaping rocks from the area behind #18 green and west of #1 green. These landscaping areas will be removed in the near future and we will prepare the areas for seeding or sod.
The golf course received approximately 0.5" of rainfall during the past week. It went into the ground with very minimal puddling around the golf course. The golf course is still very dry as we head into the fall months which results in continued use of the irrigation system.
Our irrigation permit, with the Iowa DNR, expires on October 30. I will be filing for an extension which will allow us to irrigate into the month of November. We are nowhere near our water usage limit for the season. The extension will be filed this coming week and the permit should arrive in a few days.
The weather does not look too great for golf tomorrow, so we are going to start aerifying our greens. We will be using half inch solid tines to a depth of about 8-10." Following aerification the greens will be mowed twice to create a smooth surface on the greens. There will be no topdressing added to the greens. If you are out golfing, please move on to the next hole if we are working on that green.
We are starting to decrease our mowing frequencies around the golf course which will allow us additional time to work on our fall projects. Here is the list of those projects:
- Edge Sandtraps- a straight spade will be used to create a new edge around each sand trap. This will be followed by pushing sand up to the face of each sand trap as well.
- Sod Work- clean up around the existing landscaping areas and repair damaged areas in the fairways and tee surrounds.
- Tree and Stump Removal- there are approximately 25 trees that still need to be removed as well as the stumps. The Park Department will assist with this project.
- Hedge Trimming- the bushes on holes #3, #14, #15, and #16 will be pruned back to a couple feet from the ground. This will happen once the leaves fall off the plants to make removal easier.
- Parking Lots- staff will be adding road gravel to the parking lots and cart paths around the clubhouse surrounds.
- Landscaping- remove the landscaping beds behind #18 green and by #2 tees. We will also be adding black soil to the existing landscaping areas to create better growing conditions.
- Tee Signs- There are still three landscaping signs that need to be painted. #18 tee and the two signs next to the practice green.
Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. Please reach out with questions or the need for additional information.
Brian C Mohr
Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer
101 W 5th Street
Spencer Municipal Golf Course
Spencer, Iowa 51301
712-260-5370