Track update

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!  Track was groomed this morning.  Without a fresh coating of snow it is in decent shape considering.  Have a great day.

Andy

Christmas Eve update

Santa left 5-6" of snow overnight for an early present!  Track will be freshly groomed this morning..have a great holiday!

Andy

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club.  We truly hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!  Looks like some fresh snow for the holidays..and the cross country track has a fresh track set as of today.  If we get the 4-6" they are calling for tonight we will hit it again tomorrow.  I will update the blog from here on out every time we are able to groom, so keep an eye on the blog for updates.  There are still a lot of elk hanging out on the course so keep a sharp eye out  and thank you for leaving your dog at home or keeping him/her leashed while on the track.  Have a great holiday and blessing to you and yours.

Andy

40 or so elk hanging out on #14 tee complex

Brrrrrrr....

This morning was the coldest so far this year..we had -24 on our weather station and there was a little breeze which made for some seriously cold conditions!!!  We got an inch or so of snow over the weekend so we groomed the trail today.  The elk herd that is hanging out on the northeast corner of the property has done some damage to the track and is really beating up the fairways and we are working to keep them off the greens as best we can.  We don't want to have to haze them..so we are keeping our fingers crossed that they move on soon.  There are probably 120-150 in the group today out on #2/4/7 area so if you venture out on the cross country track keep an eye out and your dog leashed..please!!  The rest of the herd is across the road north in the Bar B Bar Ranch area.  There are also the mom and two yearling moose hanging out on the south side of Spring Gulch Rd/behind the shop on #10.  I also encountered 7 deer on the back nine/west side of the property while out today.  In addition if you keep a sharp eye out on the cross country track on the far west side of the property by Serenity Ranch you can tell how active our resident coyote group has been recently..getting after the voles.  What a great time of the year to check out the wildlife.  Pics below are from #4 and the native area between #2 and #4.

Looking south down #4.

They are on the move...this is about 1/2 the herd..the rest are out of the pic heading across #3.

We're back....



Mama moose outside the shop..getting her 'minerals' for the winter!?!

 Season's Greetings to everyone,
After a fantastic summer/fall season the Operations team here at JHGTC took some time off in November to "recharge" and spend some much needed time with our families.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving..we have so much to be thankful for this time of the year.

We were able to get our first lap around the course and pack the cross country track.  It is definitely early season conditions with only 3-5" out there.  The track has been beat up pretty good over the last week as our resident elk heard moved through headed toward the refuge.  Last night there were between 500-600 north of the course by the Bar B Bar ranch and up towards the airport.  The majority of those came across the course and left their mark on several fairways and even a few greens..ouch!  Just part of the program here as there is a designated migration route that bisects the north end of the property.  Most of the heard has moved through but we always have a few that stick around and set up residence along with the deer, moose and coyotes.  No wolves yet this year but we will keep our eyes out.

We have put our signage at all the entrance points to the cross country track and we ask that everyone be respectful of our rules regarding the cross country track and access to the property.  A few highlights for those of you who intend to use the track:  It is free to the public and we encourage anyone that would like to use it to do so.  We do not "police" activity on the track so remember that you are skiing at your own risk when on the property.  DOGS MUST BE LEASHED AT ALL TIMES..no exceptions to this rule.  Travel is restricted to the cross country track and we ask that you do not create "boot pack" trails around the course as this can affect the turf in the spring when we come out of winter.  If you choose to snowshoe on the course please stay on the outside of the track or just adjacent to it so as not to destroy track conditions. 
Our primary focus in the winter is to have as little impact on wildlife as possible as they are extremely vulnerable during the winter months, maintain the quality and integrity of the turf underneath the snow while allowing the public an opportunity to experience the outdoors.  Thanks in advance for ahereing to our policies.

I hope everyone has a great holiday!!  Keep your eyes out for more updates regarding wildlife and cross country track conditions.  A reminder as well with the -20 degree temps if you live around the golf course it's a good idea to run some water at night to keep pipes from freezing.

Andy Erskine, GCS 

Great Grey Owl nesting boxes

I mentioned in my last post about spending time with the Girl Scouts building Great Grey Owl nesting boxes.  They had a great article in the Weekly about it and a good picture on front of the Tuesday Daily.
Even though it wasn't specifically geared towards the golf course, I learned some really interesting facts about their nesting habits, egg laying, fledging of young, etc. that will come in handy out here.  Side note as well..my oldest Ruby (10yrs) is one of the girl scouts and Annabelle (5yrs) is a 'daisy'.  They were a big reason I was able to get in on the activity.  The Girls Scouts do a lot of great things in the valley and I am so proud of them all.  Here a few pictures I got from the activity.

Annabelle using a drill!!!



Brian from Beringia South talking about different traits of raptors native to our area.




Just outside the shop area..



Let it snow....

Woke up to 4-6" of snow this morning on the course.  We were able to get greens, tees and fairways sprayed with chemical over the weekend.  In addition we got tarps on the practice green, #11 and #16 before the snow came.  We plan on tarping the rest of the back nine at the end of the week when the snow melts and will see if we have time to tarp the front nine.  We also were able to deep tine the greens prior to the snow so we are in pretty good shape for winter regardless of the weather from here on out.  If time allows we will also spray the roughs before the first week of November.  That being said, everyone should stay off the course until the cross country track is in place for your safety and the integrity of our chemical applications.  You don't want to track the chemical into your house or have your pet come in contact with it.

I spent yesterday with the local girl scout troop and Beringia South environmental research group building Great Grey Owl nesting platforms to be put up down south around Fall Creek.  They are making 60 of them to be put up with cameras to observe nesting habits of the Great Greys in the area.  We have had one here at the golf course and I plan on building a couple of the platforms myself to put out here and see if we can get one to stick around.  They are great predators for our vole and pocket gopher problem on the course and we have fantastic habitat to support their livelyhood.  I will keep eveyone posted on the this effort throughout the winter and into the spring. 

Have a great day!

Andy 

Blow out update

To all the homeowners out there that are tied to the golf course irrigation system, we are going to begin blowout next week.  We originally planned on starting today and working through the weekend.  Based on the fact that there is no moisture in the foreseeable future and none of the grass has gone completely dormant we are going to push it back until early next week.  We will drain the system on Monday and begin blowing out Tuesday through Thursday.  We will be saturating the course with water over the weekend to hedge our bets on future moisture and get us through until everything stops growing.  If you have any questions feel free to contact the maintenance department at the golf course.

In addition, the animals are really starting to finally move around the course.  I watched a group of 7 nice bull elk spar on #1 fairway earlier in the week and there is evidence of mass movement around the course.  We have officially shutdown the everything on the south side of spring gulch road to observe the county's designation of natural resource overlay, critical moose habitat.  Thanks for your observance of the closures and we appreciate everyone's efforts to "give wildlife the right of way" as we head into winter.  Have a great weekend.

NEW OSPARY NEST INSTALLED THIS FALL ADJACENT TO #12 GREEN ON THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE PROPERTY

LAST WEEKEND FOR GOLF

 Looks like we will end the season with at least one decent day for golf.  It's 25 here at the course this morning so the first tee time will start around 10:30 or so, but it looks like we will have low 50's and some sunshine (maybe) today.  Tomorrow looks a bit unsettled so get out today!  We have been working really hard to get the course ready to winterize..the real work begins next week after we close on Sunday.  We will be tearing the course down and putting up signage to keep traffic off the course as we begin working with large equipment, doning some tree work and getting chemicals out for winter preparation. 

There has been a couple of great gray owls hanging out around the course and with the National Park closure we are seeing an increase in traffic on Spring Gulch Rd. as photographers get some pictures.  We are trying to keep them from paking in front of the "no parking" signs and stay off the course but it is a challenge..be patient and watch for them on the road as you travel through the property.

Please remember that the closure of the golf course for golf doesn't open it up for pedestrian traffic.  This time of the year is probably more critical than any with respect to wildlife, safety and our maintenance. So please refrain from walking on the course and remember Teton County has a leash law in effect and dogs are not allowed on JHGTC property unless they are assisting you in your travels.  We are not anti-dog here at JHGTC..we are just pro-responsible pet owner, pro-safety, pro-wildlife and pro-respect for other peoples property.

I look forward to seeing everyone around this winter..let's hope for a good 500-600" snow year and some great skiing..I'm ready!!

Andy Erskine, GCS

Friday..snow day

We woke up to 2-3" on the course this morning..doesn't look like there will be any golf today!?!  We were able to finish aerifying the greens..just barely.  Rain on Monday, dry weather Tuesday for the front nine and nice weather Wednesday until around 4PM or so allowed us to get all the greens punched, sanded and dragged on the back nine as well.  We definitely had to hurry on the back nine Wednesday as we ended up with almost .25" of rain that evening.  Now we have snow cover and really cold temperatures predicted for tonight..18-20 degrees.  Waiting until this late in the year to aerify is always a little dicey, but I feel pretty good considering we are supposed to get back near 60 by Monday.  We have a little "touch up" work to do on the greens to get them where I want them, hopefully tomorrow will bring some sunshine and warmer temperatures so we can finish up. 

As we move forward the next big project will be getting the leaves up off the course prior to putting out our winter fungicide applications towards the end of the month.  Beyond that we are shooting for sometime around the 18th to start blowing out the irrigation system.  For those of you that are tied to the golf course we will check your system regardless of whether or not you have someone else blow it out just to make sure everyone is good going into winter. 

Just another reminder with the cold temperatures forecasted that we need everyone to stay off the course unless we are open for golf as damaging frosty turf this time of year will carry into winter.  The snow will also start bringing the elk down low and all the animals will be loading up for winter.  We had an incident this last week with an unleashed dog giving chase to a deer before the owner could corral the pet..this is one of the main reasons we ask that you do not walk your pet on the course and why Teton County has a leash law.  We appreciate everyone being responsible pet owners and adhereing to our no dog policy on the golf course until the cross country track is set this winter.

Have a great weekend..hope to be golfing again by tomorrow afternoon!

Andy Erskine, GCS

  

Hello..October

Hard to believe September is over.  What a month..one of the wettest I can remember.  We had nearly 2 and  half inches of rain, double our average. We have only run the irrigation a handful of times the entire month!

We began greens aerification this afternoon by punching the practice green and #1.  Everything is pretty wet and it looks like we are going to have a tight two day window to get them done as another winter like storm is anticipated for Thursday.  That being said we are going to stick with our original schedule.  The practice green and front nine will be closed tomorrow and the back nine will be closed on Wednesday with the intention of opening everything back up on Thursday. 

It has been a fantastic season as we work towards closing on October 13th and prepare the golf course for overwintering.  Thanks for everyone's patience over the next couple of days and we will have the greens back in "putting" condition by weeks end.  I read in an article about the importance of aerifying greens that Tom Watson shot a 59 at his home course in Kansas just a few days after they aerified their greens..perhaps there's one last great round out there for all of us as we bring the season to a close.  Have a great day.

Andy Erskine, GCS

Saturday morning update

Current temperature at the course is 36..I think we are going to avoid the frost this morning.  We will shoot for 9:30 on the first tee time.  Due to all the rain and snow we are a little behind schedule with our aerification of fairways, so we will be continuing that process today.  Working on #8, 9 and 11.  I appreciate everyone's patience as we work to get all that needs to be done to prepare the course for winter.  Have a great day.

Andy

Friday morning update

Yesterday's tournament went off for the Wyoming Restaurant and Lodging Association..thank goodness they were all from Wyoming and "toughed" it out.  We were able to get on the course around 10:30 or so after the snow melted and they went off around 1:30.  This morning it's 35 right now..we will have to see whether or not it cools off a degree or two and the frost sets up..we will shoot for a 10AM start at this point.

Andy

Thursday morning

Good morning..we have 32 at the course this morning.  Few flurries in the air, but it looks like the we missed out on the worst of the storm.  We did receive around .85" of rain yesterday..that brings our September rainfall total to nearly 1.75"...well over our average of about 1.2" for the month.  We will have a delay this morning and I'm not sure how it will play out with our tournament this afternoon.  We will be ready for 10:30 tee times but you should check with the pro shop as the course has to be clear by 12:30 or 1 for the Wyoming Restaurant and Lodging Association. 

Looks like the warmer and drier weather starting on Saturday for one last good weekend before greens aerification starts on Monday late afternoon.

Have a great day.

Frost update

Temperature is 32 this morning..we will shoot for a 10AM first tee time this morning.  Have a great day.

Andy

Monday morning update.

Current temperature is 39....looks like we will escape the frost this morning.  Will have a 9:30 first tee time.  We are starting fairway aerification today and will be working on holes #1-3, we have successfully completed tees and approaches.  Get out and enjoy the course...looks like our first winter storm on Wednesday and Thursday with snow to the valley floor at night!  Could have a snow delay for Thursday the way things are shaping up. 

Saturday frost update

Good morning.  It's 32 at the course this morning..frost has set up.  We will shoot for at 10 AM start this morning.  Have a great day.

Andy Erskine

September 20 frost update

Good morning.  We have 27 currently at the golf course..unlike yesterday we don't expect any fog so it will be around 10:30 for the first tee time.  Have a great day.

Andy Erskine, GCS

Update

Fog set in about 20 minutes ago and the temp came up to 34..doesn't look like the frost is going to stick around..we are headed out.  First tee time will be 9:30..sorry for the confusion.  One of those mornings?!?

September 19th

Frost update..
Good morning.  Current temperature at 7 AM is 29 degrees here at the course.  We will shoot for a 10:30 AM start time this morning.  Will depend on how quickly the fog and cloud cover burns off.  Have a great day.

Andy Erskine, GCS 

What a great week!

Aside from some beneficial rain we had a fantastic week here at JHGTC.  The temperatures are continuing to be more summer than fall like, we had the Teton County Champsionship finish up here and we held our annual Dornan's Cup (Senior Club Championship) and all went off without a hitch.  The course is in excellent shape.  We finished aerifying approaches this week and they are healing up better than could be expected..we move on to tees this coming week.  Looks like we may finally start getting some frost next week according to the national weather service so I will be updating the blog by 7AM or so every morning regarding frost delays..so stay tuned.  Below are the results of our tournaments..congratulations to all!

SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

GROSS (RTJ1 Tees)

1^st Blake Clark 74

2^nd Don Gaitan 79

3^rd Barry Gangwer 83

NET (RTJ 1 Tees)

1^st Chester Phillips 67

2^nd Rick Stuck 71

3^rd Scott Livingston 74

Congratulation’s and Many Thanks to all Participants!

2013 County Championship Results

Men’s Regular Divison (White Tees)

1^st Gross -  Jim Broderick 148

2^nd Gross - Jeremy Hopple 150

3^rd Gross -  Patrick Brownfield 151

4^th Gross - Chris Ingles 156

1^st Net -  Rick  McMullen 140

2^nd Net - Chris Schmid 143

3^rd Net -  Matt Braga 144

4^th Net - Billy Cutler 145

Women’s Flight (RTJ2 Tees)

1^st Net - Joanne Robichau 139

2^nd Net - Cynthia Fayard 142

3rd Net - Patty Cook 147

Senior Division (RTJ 1 Tees)

1^st Gross - Bill Hawkins 151

2^nd Gross - John Aubrey 159

3^rd Gross - Scott Livingston 163

1^st Net - Terry Schram 133

2^nd Net - Steve Trickey 141

3^rd Net - Bob Vignaroli Sr. 146

Fall schedule update

Good afternoon to all

Now that we are past Labor Day our focus begins to shift towards getting the course ready for winter.  The weather is still amazing and we have not yet had a really hard frost yet...unusual for this time of year.  Our tee times are going to 9:30 this weekend in anticipation of potential frost that we normally deal with now.  In addition, we will be aerifying the golf course next week and I wanted to float a potential schedule to keep everyone in the loop.  We will update the white board at the pro shop every morning once we start to keep everyone informed of our location on the course and progress.  We appreciate everyone's patience in advance as we do what is necessary to  keep the course healthy, both short and long term.

JHGTC Fall 2013 aerification schedule

·         Greens approaches aerification will start Tuesday September 10^th after ladies day and will continue through Thursday September 12^th.

·         Tee aerification will start Tuesday September 17^th and should finish up by Thursday September 19^th.

·         Fairway aerification will start Monday September 23^rd and go all week.  We will be using solid tines this year so there will be no core clean up to interfere with golf.

·         Greens aerifcation will start on the front nine around 2:00 PM Monday September 30^th.  Front nine will be closed starting around 1:30 PM.

·         Front nine will be close all day Tuesday October 1^st for greens aerification and back nine will be closed all day Wednesday October 2^nd.

·         Entire course will be open Thursday October 3^rd.

It seems also that now that we are past Labor Day the course is seeing a lot more foot traffic and dog walking.  I would remind everyone that the course is off limits unless you are golfing and dogs are not allowed on the property unless they are assisting in your travels.  Once the snow comes and we have the cross country track groomed dogs can be with their owners skiing and must be leashed at all times.  Thanks for adhereing to HOA and Membership document rules regarding course access and dogs. 

Have a great day.

Andy Erskine, GCS

7AM Update 9/1/13

September first..seems appropriate that we have a little frost..looks like 34 on the course right now.  Plan on at least 8:30 for the first tee time.

Snake River Cup returns to JHGTC

Congratulations to our membership team for bringing the Snake River Cup back to it's rightful owners here at JHGTC.  After "loaning" it to Teton Pines for the last year it is located back home.

                                                 2013

SNAKE RIVER CUP CHAMPIONS
JHG&TC

Donna Clark
Julie Kummer
Linda Martin
Nancy Adams
Chester Phillips
Barry Gangwer
Bob Vignaroli Jr.
Stewart Johnson
Tom Barker
Chris Flanagan
Don Gaitan
Scott Livingston

Fine play and job well done in bringing the cup back home!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Typical Saturday morning at JHGTC

What a beautiful morning...no frost..smoke has diminised a bit..semiannual Lucas cattle drive went by the golf course..mom and baby moose hanging out on #14 eating like winter is just around the courner..few tinges of yellow around on the trees.  If it wasn't supposed to be near 90 today I would think it's fall around here!?!?

No more bear sightings since my last post.  But the elk are starting to become more active..the males have been sparring on #8 and left a decent amount of damage on the forward tees and beginning of the fairway.  Tis the season..be aware of increased animal activity of all kind on and around the golf course.

                       Cattle drive

Mama moose #14

Baby moose #14

Bear sighting and frost update

Good afternoon everyone,

I wanted to make everyone around the golf course aware that we have had a young black bear spotted near #3 tee box and in the vicinity of #5 green this morning.  It was aggressive with the caretaker for the Golf Creek subdivision just adjacent to number 3 early this morning.  The bear was last seen headed southwest which would take it to the north of number 17 in the area of the Rockefellor property.  I spoke with Game & Fish this morning and they asked me to remind everyone to make sure that trash cans are secure, grills are kept inside when not in use and bird feeders are at least 10 ft off the ground or removed completely.  This is the time of the year that the bears will begin feeding very aggresively in preparation for winter and if they are making their way into our area food must be somewhat scarce up high.  Please be vigilant and secure any and all potential food sources..."a fed bear is a dead bear"..don't be the person ressponsible for having to put one down.   

In the coming weeks we will start seeing frost on a regular basis.  I will be using this blog to notify members and guests of frost delays.  We go from 7 AM to 8 AM tee times starting this weekend so I will update the blog every morning at 7AM.  I will do my best to estimate start times based on temperatures and past experience.  This should alleviate any early arrivals and help the pro shop manage the start times based on any delays.  We will do our best to get the course ready to go as quickly as we can, keeping in mind that walking or driving on frosty grass will kill it. 

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and the golf course.  Stay aware of your surroundings while golfing and remember.."wildlife has the right of way" here at Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club.

Andy Erskine, GCS

August 4, 2013

The summer seems to have really flown by..here we are in August and we had our first signs of frost on the golf course yesterday morning with a low of 36 on the weather station.  Nothing widespread just enough to remind us that we are on the back side of summer and headed towards fall.  This is a good opportunity to remind everyone that the course is off limits to walkers/dogs especially in the early morning hours now that we are going to have frost on a regular basis..don't want to kill any grass.

The course is in great shape right now and I hope everyone is getting out to enjoy it.  We are looking forward to our annual Strutting Grouse tournament on Tuesday.  Should be nearly 120 avid golfers for a great day.  Looks like the weather is going to cooperate and it should be beautiful.  They will have a new tee deck to hit off of on #3 as we have opened the new forward tees for play.  We have also installed a walking path between #4 green and #5 tee to shorten the distance for our walkers. 

As the weather cools we will see the animals begin to "move" so be aware of your surroundings, there is at least one mom and yearling moose on the property and they can be very protective of their young.  I have been charged several times by a mother moose with young near by.  The elk will also start to move in the next 4-6 weeks so remember our motto.."wildlife has the right of way" and don't approach the wildlife.  They can outpace any of our carts if they feel threatened.  We had a bear on property and a mountain lion just to our east last fall and I will keep everyone posted if we have any predator spotttings over the coming months.

Get out and play..the scenery is spectacular as always and the wildlife viewing will only get better.

Andy Erskine, GCS

Little hard to see, but this family of ducks has been living in the pond on #13 all summer and moved up towards the creek by #1.

July 15

What a great start to the summer.  Temperatures have retreated from the crazy heat we saw early and we have been very close to normal as of late.  The course is in great shape and we have made great strides in drying it out and firming it up for those consistent conditions we all strive for.

The US Amateur Qualifier was held yesterday and after a morning round that saw even par as the low score, two player went low in the afternoon.  Jackson native Eddy Stewart, fresh off of winning the Wyoming State Amateur title, shot an afternoon round of 5 under to finish the day at -3 finishing second.
Dalan Andreas Refioglu shot a tournament low 6 under in the second round to post a -6 total and won an opportunity to play at The Country Club at Brookline for the US Amateur Championship in August..Congralations.  Eddy and Dalan were the only two scores under par with 3rd place, Jordon Costello, posting +2. 

Course highlights for the last several weeks include some serious bunker work, firming up faces and getting consistent depths.  Several drainage and sod projects have been completed and we are installing a new walk path between #4 green and 5 tee for our walking members and guests.  We will install another between #7 green and 8 tee next week.  The new ladies tee on #3 is almost ready to be mowed down and utilized.  We will be beginning a some clubhouse landscape work in the next week or so which will enhance the "front of the house" and I am excited about that.

Hope the summer is treating everyone graciously.  Look forward to seeing you out on the course!!

Andy Erskine, GCS

                                             I don't think he checked in at the pro shop?!?!

Summer Soltice update

Well...typical start to the summer in Jackson Hole with temperatures in the low 60's and several hard frosts the last few days.  That being said the course is coming along great!  The greens are rolling really well and the fairways have tightened up, giving those of us who need it, a few extra yards of roll. 

We have been busy doing some sod projects around cart path ends and rebuilding the ladies tee on #3 the past couple of weeks.  The new signage and ropes around the course are doing a great job of routing golfers around some of the more compacted areas on the course, making for improved playing conditions.  The areas that are seeing the most improvement are around the greens where everyone needs a "good" lie to enhance the short game.

An early heads up that we will hosting another US Amateur Qualifier on July 15th and can't wait to see who it brings out.  Last year we had two qualifiers make it to Cherry Hills in Colorado and compete in the US Amateur.  Spread the word and feel free to come out and watch or just hang out and enjoy the day.

Have a great day..see you on the course.

Andy Erskine, GCS

June 1st

Good morning to all-

What a great weekend we have in store here at Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club.  After a week of more typical Jackson Hole spring like weather, temperatures are supposed to rebound over the weekend with plenty of sun.  So I hope to see everyone out enjoying the golf course.

We have been busy getting the bunkers dialed in and starting a couple of sodding projects.  We are focusing on cart path ends and other very high traffic areas so keep an eye out for ground under repair, ropes/stakes, etc. in your travels around the golf course.  Everything is healing up nicely, just a little slower than the last couple of years.  If you've been in Jackson for any extended period of time you know this is more typical weather for the valley and the warm springs we've had the last couple of years are not the norm.  That being said, we are starting off with our first frost delay in quite a while..26 degrees this morning on the course.

Tomorrow is the Bronc Backer's tournament at 1 PM and we can't wait to see all of our local supporters of Jackson athletics and our students out enjoying a great day of golf.  Should be a beautiful day.  I also enjoyed seeing everyone again at our first Manager's reception on Thursday evening..starting to feel like summer is finally here with everyone returning and the property coming to life.  The restaurant is opening for dinner starting Wednesday evening and will be open Wed-Sat for dinner for the rest of the summer.  Come out and enjoy the food and scenery (there is no better view in town than from the clubhouse at JHGTC!).

Have a great weekend.

Andy

May 20, 2013

Looks like another beautiful day at Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club.  After a couple of weeks of warm, dry weather we ended up with close to an inch of rain from Friday to Monday..that's almost half our monthly average for May.  The course will be a little soft for the next few days, however, things are really starting to grow now and we are in full swing with our daily maintenance.  All the bunkers have been gone through and conditioned for play.  There is still a little touch up work to be done and some sand to add to few that have questionable depths. 

Things kick off this week with our "Big Money Monday" group and the official first outing for our Ladies group on Tuesday.  We look forward to things getting into full swing and seeing everyone out on the course enjoying what we have to offer.

We completed our "Training Day" for the first part of our staff a couple of weeks ago and it turned out to be a huge success.  Our staff is in tune with our expectations and we were able to drill in the idea of consistency on the golf course to our staff.  I think we will see improved conditions because of it.  We will do one more "Trianing Day" for those of the staff that came on board after the first one.  Keep checking the blog for the date if anyone would like to come check out how we do what we do. 

The bison have finally moved on..there are a couple that are still milling around the edges of the golf course but we haven't seen the numbers, or traffic that we did earlier in the month.  That being said, keep a watchful eye out as the wildlife is still present on and around the course.

I would like to again thank everyone for being conscious of the new signage and ropes on the course and staying out of areas that are marked as such.  We are seeing improving conditions already and they will only get better as traffic and play increases on the course during the coming months.

Everyone have a great week.

Andy Erskine

May 4th, 2013

It's so good to see everyone back out on the course.  The weather looks a little bit unsettled for the next week..50's and scattered showers..but we will take it over the snow.  I hope to see more of you out this week.  We have made excellent progress cleaning up the course and are nearly half way through getting the bunkers playable. The weather has been fairly cooperative, with the exception of Tuesday's winterlike weather, we have seen soil temperatures slowly rising and the turf is coming along.  We are continuing to focus attention on the greens and they are improving daily. 

The bison have been moving about the course on a pretty regular basis.  Please be cautious if you encounter any close to playing areas.  We have been gently moving them east towards the National Park and they will eventually move on their own as things start to green up elsewhere.  If they persist on the course next week we will contact Game & Fish and ask for their assistance in coaxing them eastward.  Don't forget they can run faster than a golf cart and jump a fence from a standstill.  Give 'em plenty of space.

We will continue working on the bunkers and re-seeding areas that saw winter kill in the roughs in the coming week.   By next weekend we should be able to move off the mats and start utilizing the driving range tee deck.  We finished up all the new railings on our bridges and put in a new walk bridge on #3, as well as, removing all the wood cattle guards at road crossings.  I would like to once again thank everyone for recognizing our new signage and ropes in areas that we are trying improve.  We are already seeing improvement and those areas will only get better as the season progresses.  Thanks.

We, golf course maintenance staff, will be having a "Training Day" on Thursday of this week.  Starting at 8 AM, or when the frost is gone, we will be assembing the crew and the majority of our equipment on #18.  We will spend the morning going over equipment operation, mowing techniques, bunker care and other maintenance tasks that we do on a daily basis.  The motto of the day will be "Consistent playing conditions".   Anyone that would like to come out and meet the staff or just see what goes into maintaining the golf course on a daily basis is more than welcome to stop by.

Have a great week.

Andy

Opening weekend

What a great opening weekend at Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis!  Thanks to everyone that came out to usher in another great year. 

We appreciate everyone's patience with course conditions, after 3 weeks of winter like weather we were finally able to get out and really make strides on the course last week.  We came out of winter very well and the course is healing up nicely.  Our efforts have been focused on cleaning up the mouse/vole damage and improving areas that saw disease, primarily in the rough.  We have done a tremendous amount of work fixing damage on greens and other select areas caused by animal traffic..buffalo, elk, deer ,etc.  The greens are slow coming around due to the very cold and wet conditions over the last several weeks but are growing at a good clip and the aerification holes from last fall are healing rapidly.  Getting the bunkers clean and in playing shape will be the next major project  for the coming week or two.

In working with the greens committee last fall we determined that we could improve playing coinditions by routing golfers away from high traffic areas, especially around greens, by utilizing more signage on the golf course.  Because of that we invested in and placed new signage on the course to route golfers around areas that see excessive traffic and create poor playing conditions.  I appreciate everyone taking note and adhereing to our efforts to improve playing conditions by staying out of areas that are marked as such.  We also made new stakes this winter and roped off areas that we would like to see improvement.  For all the homeowners out there that are tied to our irrigation system, we are all charged up and will be turning on homeowner valves this week.

Stayed tuned for further updates on the course and I look forward to seeing everyone out on the course.

Bison making themselves at home on #18

Course is almost free of snow!!

It's amazing what a week of 50's and sunshine will do for snow melt.  Last weekend the course was 90% covered with snow...today all that's left are some north facing piles and the majority of the bunkers still  have snow in them.  The course is extremely wet and it looks like the weather is going to be wet and cool into early next week.  We will be limited in the amount of work we can get done on the course until things dry out and will be treading lightly as this is the time of year that travel on the course really adds to compaction issues.  At this point we are thinking an April 27th opening is certainly achievable..granted we don't have an extended return to winter.  Between now and then the course will remain closed to pedestrian traffic. For those of you around the course that are tied into our irrigation system, we will be charging the system in the next week or two and will be opening homeowner valves shortly thereafter. 

The media department from Grand Teton National Park released a statement last week regarding the spring migration of animals around the area.."Animals are typically weakened from the rigors of a Jackson Hole winter and may be forced to use precious energy whenever startled or disturbed by the presence of vehicles and humans on foot or bicycle. All visitors and local residents should keep their distance from all wildlife...".  There are several bison meandering around the edges of the property and the elk are making their way up from the refuge in large numbers.  In addition, the mountain lions that killed a dog have been spotted on the fringes of the golf course..just west of #13 and northwest of #17.  Please be alert around the area and in your travels.  Keep tuning in for further updates on the course and potential opening.

 

Not much longer...

So good to see temps back into the 40's and 50's.  Greens are free of snow again after last weeks return to winter.  They look great..the entire golf course hardened off, went dormant, really well with all the moisture followed by very cold temps and late snow cover last fall.  We anticipate pulling the tarps off the greens next week and leave them off until we aerify later in April, at which point we may pull them back on for a few days to encourage healing and then off we go.

It was reported today that a large black lab was killed by 3 mountain lions on the Cook's property about a mile north of the Snake River/Gros Ventre River confluence.  That is just over 1.5 miles ESE of the golf course with not much development between us and the encounter area.  Please be cautious around your homes with pets and cooking outdoors as we head into warmer weather.  We had some wolf and bear sightings last fall and other reports of mountain lions, likely the same group, working their way down the Gros Ventre drainage just south of the course.  Another reason why the golf course is off limits to  pedestrians/dogs from early spring through late fall and dogs must be leashed during the winter with restricted access.

"...wildlife is not encroaching on us, we are encroaching on the wildlife."

Brief Return to Winter

Looks like winter is back for a short time.  We cleared all of our greens last week and they looked like they wintered really well under the snow.  We will be going out again next week and clearing any additional snow that doesn't melt off and checking them again, possibly putting down some chemicals for disease control and then watching the weather once again. 

Just a reminder that we will be closing the course to pedestrian traffic as it begins to become free of snow and I would imagine that by late next week the cross country track will no longer be fit for travel.  We had an incident on the course on #5 with a dog chasing one of our employees and acting pretty aggressive.  Please make sure your pets are secured and remember that the wildife continues to work hard for food this time of year and that dogs are only allowed on the cross country track and must be leashed at all times.  Thanks for your continued efforts in adhereing to our rules regarding dogs, pedestrian traffic and respecting private property. 

Have a great day!!

Wildlife update

This is one of 3 moose I've encountered on the golf course this past week.  This is an especially hard time of the year for the moose after a long winter.  We would again like to thank everyone for keeping with Golf Course policy and leashing your dogs while on the cross country track.  The moose are especially sensitive to dogs and expending extra energy, even this late in the season, can be detrimental to their survival.  I also saw 5 bald eagles last week down near the river, 3 adults and two immature.  In addition, several deer and a couple of coyotes have been busy around the course.

This is a great time of the year to view wildlife, please be respectful and enjoy the track for at least another week or so, after which the course will be closed to all traffic until we open in late April.  Have a great week!

Spring Update

Looks like a taste of spring late in the week....

I hope everyone has enjoyed the cross country track this winter..we are officially done grooming for the season.  The upcoming week we will begin blowing greens and using the track to transport equipment around the course. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid 40's by the end of the week so the snowpack will be disappearing and getting soft.  This is the onset of "mud season" and all traffic on the course will kept to a minimum to avoid any compaction and damage of turf as we transition into the growing season.  Course access will be limited to whats left of the cross country track for the next couple of weeks then will be off limits until the course opens for golf the 3rd or 4th week of April depending on weather.  I don't know about everyone else, but I sure am excited about getting access to some turf and seeing how we "wintered" under the snow.  Keep an eye out for more updates as the weather gets warmer.

Spring is on it's way?!?

March 1, 2013

Anthony Benes, Assistant Superintendent, is no longer with the club.  He has made a move to Los Colinas Golf Club at the Four Seasons in the Dallas, TX area to pursue his career in the industry.  They are host to the Byron Nelson Classic PGA Tour event every spring and we wish him the best in his endeavors.  He was a great asset to the property and will be missed.  That being said, I am currently in the process of finding his replacement and will have someone on board before the course opens at the end of the April, or early May depending on the weather.

Winter is slowly coming to a close..with less than a foot of snow on the golf course.  About a third of what we would normally see this time of year. 

The cross country trail will see little or no maintenance from here on out; as we begin to see a more drastic freeze-thaw cycle set up and a thin base we don't want to encourage any icing by continually packing and risk causing damage to the areas where it crosses fairways.

We will begin blowing greens next week, it should be a quick process as there is so little snow to remove.  It will then become a monitoring and waiting game as we watch the weather/temperatures to evaluate how quickly we need to access them and begin any disease control or maintenance.

We appreciate everyone adhereing to HOA and Membership documents and recognizing that the course is private property by limiting access to areas other than the cross country track.  In addition, recognizing that the rules set by JHGTC regarding leashing of pets and the winter closure on the south side of Spring Gulch Rd are in place to enhance wildlife habitat and limit damage to the course itself as we transition from winter to spring.  Access to the golf course; for members, homeowners and guests alike; is restricted once the snow is gone and limited during the winter months to the cross country track.  A reminder as well that because the course is private property the club reserves the right to implement it's own policies regarding pets on the course: they must be leashed in the winter and are not allowed, unless assisting their owner, to all areas including the clubhouse area once the snow is gone.  We sincerely appreciate your cooperation in protecting the property and everyone'sopportunity to have the "experience of a lifetime" at Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club.

It's going to be a great summer and we can't wait to see some green grass!!

Andy Erskine
Superintendent
JHGTC