WINTER 2022 – COURSE CONDITIONS UPDATE
November 16, 2022 —
It’s been colder than we’ve liked recently, but overall it was a really good fall down here.
As you all know, keeping these golf courses up to our standards is not a five or six month process. It’s an every single week process, 52-weeks per year. The fall and wintering process is critical.
The stretch between close and Christmas requires focused watch.
Here is an update of the past 45-days on property.
Blowing Out Irrigation
According to our records, it was among the earliest years ever for blowing out the irrigation on property, clearing all of the lines by the middle of November.
This is one of the most stressful decisions of the season.
Ideally, temperatures would stay warm all winter and we are able to water year-round. This is not the case with 4500 heads throughout the property. Frozen water is not good for our irrigation.
As temperatures dropped, Brandon pulled the trigger. In early November, the process would begin to blowout.
The reason the decision is stressful is two-fold.
One, from start to finish, it’s typically a 4-5 day job, plus, the need to make phone calls for equipment rentals.
It’s a symphony of coordination.
If we blow them out too early and get a stretch of warmth, we miss out on the valuable opportunity to get water on the turf.
When the 10-day forecast had many overnights dipping into the low single digits and highs couldn’t escape the 30s, we knew it was time.
Not only did we move early, but we moved fast.
It only took three days!
All good, as we head into winter.
Aeration
Our property-wide aeration process is complete, as well.
For as quickly as winter swooped in, we were able to get all coring done, which was great.
A major help was the new Kubota M4-071 diesel tractor we bought ahead of the offseason. Two fully-functioning tractors significantly ramped up our “manpower” for aeration this fall.
All fairways property-wide had plugs pulled. Tee boxes on the Pines were plugged, where tee boxes on the Dunes were topdressed.
As for the greens throughout the property, we did some bayonet tining, where instead of pulling plugs, we make slicing incisions into the turf.
You’ve seen them before. They look like the greens had been stabbed.
This allows for substantial air flow and moisture to hit the roots, while keeping the surface unharmed.
We don’t want any of the hydromulching material to fill the plugs if we did hollow tines.
Speaking of…
Hydromulching
Our product for hydromulching the greens arrived on November 14.
The greens are ready to be covered.
Before we apply, we are going to spray fungicide on our greens to help mitigate snow mold. It will take 1-2 days to apply the snow mold prevention, then we will begin the process of covering.
The hydromulch has been a boon for our greens over the years, insulating them from Nebraska’s harsh winter elements.
We’ll start spraying the week after Thanksgiving.
In all, our property has been need of really consistent moisture for a while.
In particular, our edges enter the winter in need of a bit of care. With centerline irrigation, they are often missed with water, needing Mother Nature’s aid.
Everything else looks great, exactly what we hope for entering the offseason.
Before we call it, a special shoutout to the Valentine Boys basketball team.
On October 15, they helped us collect 1500 hay bales and spread them across the property. In total, 10 players and 2 coaches showed up to help.
In turn, we make donation to their basketball program, something that gives us joy to do.
Thankfully, we haven’t had any terrible wind events (like we did back in April). Let’s hope that persists.
An uneventful winter is a pleasant winter.
See you in the spring!