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