Thursday, December 26, 2013

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

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

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

Monday, December 23, 2013

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

Monday, December 9, 2013

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.

Friday, December 6, 2013

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