News

Good Morning,

 

The past week was filled with rain and more rain causing the golf course to become completely saturated with multiple days of surface drainage causing flooding. The irrigation pond was overflowing into the large flood drain but it could still not contain the water. The water flowed past the flood drain on #11 and crossed the fairway heading to the pond on #10. The small pond was no match for the heavy waters and #10 fairway was flooded toward #9 rough. The driving range contained the majority of the overflow until the tiles and waterway could direct the water off the property. It was a mess.

 

One of the positives from the excess rainfall is we should be passed the drought conditions we have experienced the past couple of years. Another positive is how successful the Water Quality Project of 2017 has become at the golf course and south Spencer. This project was developed to help control situations like we recently experienced. The goal was to slow the surface drainage of water onto the golf course leading through south Spencer. Prior to this project being completed flooding was far more serious during heavy rainfalls. 

 

The driving range and #10 fairway were the most affected by the heavy rainfall. Our range has been closed for several days the past week or two since all of the water ends up in the range and is the last area to have surface drainage leave the property. Number ten has been playing as a par three from the one hundred yard grasses for multiple days. We should be getting closer to things getting back to normal early next week.

 

I gave a presentation to the Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association sharing our project experience with golf course superintendents from across the state. Here is the video presentation from that lecture five years ago to give you a little insight on the changes: