3-17-2024
Mar 17, 2024
Good Morning,
This past week we completed our first mowing of the 2024 golf season. The tees and fairways were mowed on Monday and Tuesday. Lots of dormant grass was removed with a dense green grass present underneath. The soil still had plenty of surface moisture creating a lot of soil buildup on the rollers and inside the reels. The fairways and tees looked great upon the completion of mowing.
The bentgrass greens will not be mowed until colder night time temperatures are no longer a concern. I don't want to remove the dormant grass tissue which is providing a source of insulation to the turf plant. Bentgrass is not nearly as stress tolerant as bluegrass especially at a mowing height of 1/8 of an inch. Mowing the greens will leave the plant unprotected to the elements and I don't want to take a chance of any stress or damage to our greens. They are still rolling pretty nice with minimal maintenance being done so far this year.
I'm extremely happy with the condition of the golf course, especially considering the time of the season. I have never seen it in better condition for the middle of March. We will move forward with open golf on the nice days and the course will be closed on the colder days. Please remember the weather can change on a daily basis. Technically, it's not even golf season yet and there is no need to cause damage to the course before the actual playing season begins.
Our maintenance practices have consisted of mowing fairways, changing cups several times, raking and repairing sand traps multiple times, completing daily set up each morning, and placing the OB stakes along the property lines of the course. No amenity items have been placed on the golf course yet. Tee markers, water coolers, ball washers, etc will be placed on the course once temperatures are no longer a concern at night. Also, by not placing tee markers it eliminates high traffic in a small space on each tee. Golfers are teeing off from all different areas and it's barely noticeable that so much golf has been played.
The golf course received a little more than .25" of rainfall on Wednesday night. We closed the golf course on Thursday to make sure all of the precipitation soaked into the ground and there was no damage from golf carts on the course following the storm. The golf course started turning a darker shade of green almost immediately the following morning. Our moisture levels are more than adequate at this time. It was a relief to not start up the irrigation system at this time of year.
I have been working the majority of my time in the clubhouse seven days of the week. Quite a few seasonal employees have started working and training on the new software. Everyone is catching on quickly and the transition is moving in the right direction. I will continue to bring part time staff back on board and work through the training with them individually.
The golf course is currently running our 2024 Virtual Membership Drive. This is an opportunity for our golfers to pay their 2024 fees prior to April 13 which includes them in the raffle drawing for multiple gift certificates to The Muni. Our mobile friendly website allows customers to make those payments online from the comfort of their own home. We are also taking payment in the clubhouse or at city hall. Please visit the website, complete your profile, and pay your fees online if possible. Creating the online profile saves us a lot of time during check in at the clubhouse.
The golf course opening allowed golfers to experience the earliest start in the history of the golf course. It has provided us with revenue that was definitely not planned for this budget season. It has also created payroll expenses that were not planned, but the plus side far exceeds the expense side. We have also been able to meet so many new faces coming to The Muni for their first time.
The golf course will be closed today and Monday due to the cold temperatures. The weather looks up and down moving forward for the next week. The golf course availability will be posted on Facebook. If online tee times are not available on the website for that date, then we are closed due to weather. We will continue to be open when the weather is nice.
Please reach out if you have questions or would like additional information from me. Enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful outdoor weather.
Brian C Mohr
Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer
101 W 5th Street
Spencer Municipal Golf Course
Spencer, Iowa 51301
712-260-5370