The Muni Update
Mar 16, 2025
Good Morning,
This past week the driving range was opened on Wednesday at noon. There were quite a few golfers out practicing their swing in anticipation of the 2025 golf season. The morning started off with a heavy frost and finished about 6:15 PM when we ran out of range balls for the day. We had a lot of folks stop in to pay their 2025 fees and spend a little time to practice on the range.
The golf course was very wet at the start of the week but the majority was dried out by Friday afternoon. We tried cutting cups on the greens on Thursday but the frost level was still not low enough on half a dozen of the greens. By Friday afternoon we were able to cut the remainder of the cups after the frost level was close to twelve inches below the putting green surface.
The golf course will again be evaluated this afternoon to see how much the low temperature last night affected turf conditions. The golf course will be open as soon as we are able to have cart traffic without a negative impact on the turfgrass.
Pixler Electric was on site this past week to complete the new wiring in the pumphouse and remove the old control panels. They finished their work on Wednesday after two days of electrical work. Dakota Pump and Bob Connelly will be on site in the next week or so to install the new motor for the 75 HP turbine and program the new control panels. At this time we will test the new pump station and be ready for the start of the irrigation system for the golf season.
On March 4 we removed a couple plugs from the backside of #18 green. One plug was removed from an area that was treated with our winter fungicides, wetting agents, transfilm, and optimizer. The other plug was removed from an untreated area. They were each placed in a cup filled with water and left in the window to see the time frame for grass to start growing. After a few days the grass slowly started popping through the dormant material.
The growth of new grass on these plugs shows the important use of wetting agents, transfilm, optimizer, and fungicides to help protect the turf going into the winter months. The untreated plug is slowly growing grass and has a lot of mycelium appearing which is the early stages of fungal disease. The treated plug has grass growing more rapidly and in a denser form. Eventually I will trim the plugs with scissors and return them to the green.
Tomorrow we will be hand watering, with the addition of a wetting agent, to some of the drier areas on the greens. This process will help hold moisture in
the greens in areas where we have experienced isolated dry spots in the past. The greens will continue to be monitored and hand watering will occur, if necessary, until the irrigation system is allowed to run per our Iowa DNR irrigation permit.
The weather forecast has fluctuating temperatures each day this coming week with a potential winter storm Tuesday night. I know we are all ready for the golf season to start but we need to keep the best interest of the golf course in mind. Having an open winter is definitely the least desirable for golf course conditions and the threat of turf damage is greatly increased if the golf course is opened too soon. Daily monitoring will be done to watch turf conditions and check the frost depth. When the course is ready, we will be open for the new season.
The clubhouse will be open on a daily basis for golfers to use the driving range and pay their 2025 fees. Our Virtual Membership Drive is under way through April 19 when we will draw random names for five opportunities to win gift certificates to The Muni. Any season pass fees that are paid prior to this date will be eligible for the drawing. Payments can be made online at our website, in the clubhouse, or at city hall.
Enjoy the remainder of the weekend and please reach out if there are any questions in regard to the golf course.
Brian C Mohr
Director of Golf Operations
City of Spencer
101 W 5th Street
Spencer Municipal Golf Course
Spencer, Iowa 51301
712-260-5370