Spring clean up

We've been trying to stay as busy as we can considering the weather.  The weather has not been very cooperative as we have had about 6 goods days of weather since the course really cleared of snow in mid-April.  We are about 1/2 way around the course with mouse/vole damage cleanup in the roughs and haven't yet touched the bunkers.  We will have a local rule in place for opening designating the bunkers as hazards..more so than they already are!?  We won't put out the rakes until we have a chance to clean them up.  We started our greens aerification yesterday and it has been slow going.  We picked up a quick inch or so of snow this afternoon about 4:30 or so and put a stop to our day.  The front 9 is finished save a little brushing and cleaning up.  We will start rolling the front 9 tomorrow and working them back into playing condition.  It will definitely be early season conditions out there on Wednesday and again we appreciate everyone's patience as we work in conjunction with mother nature to get the course in shape.

If you haven't driven by the course in the last couple of weeks, a goose has take over the platform nest from the osprey on #11.  The pair of osprey tried to get the goose out for about a week and a half before deciding to start another nest several poles southwest down Spring Gulch.  We called LVE and worked with them finding a spot for an additional pole and they've already put it up.  It's only been 3 days and the osprey have the makings of good nest started.  It also looks like one of young that got fledged last year is back and building a nest on the platform on the southwest corner of the property behind # 12 green/13 tee area.

Have a great week..see you Wednesday.

Jeff aerifying the practice green

Nest started on #11

Recently added platform nest for osprey on #11

 

Opening date set!

The opening date for the golf course has been set for Wednesday April 30th.  The course will be in early season condition and the bunkers will have a local rule applied to them as some will still have snow in them and others won't be cleaned up yet.  We are working diligently to get the course in shape, the weather has not been very cooperative as of late and it looks like more rain/snow over the weekend.

We have had a small herd of buffalo on the course the last several days, so please be vigilante if you come out to get a view of the course.  We are excited about the 2014 season and certainly appreciate everyone's understanding that as May arrives we are still just barely removed from winter and the course will reflect that.  Look forward to seeing everyone out next week and right now they are calling for 60's by Wednesday...yahooooo!

Andy Erskine, GCS

Buffalo #3 tee box

Happy Easter!!

What a beautiful day to celebrate whatever it is that Easter means to you!  To me it's a new beginning, a day to be thankful for all that we have and family to share it with.

We've had some decent weather in the last week and the golf course is 90% clear of snow.  That being said 90% of the bunkers still have snow in them.  We started cleaning up the mouse and vole damage early in the week then got a little snow Tuesday/night and nearly a 1/4" of rain on Friday.  That really slowed our efforts.  We spent yesterday pulling the tarps off the greens and got them all mowed for the first time this season.  As far as how we wintered, the fairways and tee boxes came out fantastic!  I couldn't be happier.  No snow mold and very little mouse damage in the "short grass".  The roughs have some snow mold damage and our typical allotment of mouse and vole damage..which is a lot..but nothing out of the ordinary for us.

Now the greens.  As was mentioned in earlier blogs, and for those of you that were around in February, we had a weekend in the middle of the month that we received nearly 1.5" of rain and it fell on 12-16" of snow and a frozen ground underneath.  This created a tremendous amount of ice on the golf course.  We found areas on greens that had as much as 2-4" of solid ice.  We were proactive and blew off greens early this year, put out black sand and physically removed the ice with picks and shovels.  It's a mixed bag out there on the greens.  The POA Annua (creeping bluegrass) that lives alongside the Bentgrass on our greens was really hit hard by the ice.  There a few greens that cleared more quickly than others than turned out OK and will recover quickly.  There are 2-3 greens that almost all the POA was killed and it's going to take some time and seeding to get them back.  That being said, we are going to aerify the greens this spring, as we discussed with the Greens Committee last fall.  This will allow us to inter-seed the greens that are struggling and promote some lateral growth.  We will be doing this before we open the course so it looks like we are on pace for a May 1st or 3rd opening, depending on the weather. Keep an eye out as we may try and open the driving range this upcoming weekend.  I attached a couple pictures of the better looking greens to get everyone excited.  Thanks for everyone's patience with the opening date and please don't succumb to the temptation to "poach" the course early as damaged caused from play this time of year takes twice as long to heal, more so on the greens. The greens need time to heal and we will putting out fertilizer to jump start them, so please stay off of them.  Happy Easter!!

Mowing #12

#13 Green after mowing

Wake up call...

My girls and I woke up to this greeting at breakfast today.  Mom and yearling checking us out! 



What are you looking at.........

I have definitely seen more moose activity this winter on the south side of Spring Gluch Rd.  We have restricted access this year to that area due to it's designation being critical moose winter habitat.  I feel justified in our efforts..certainly can't take credit for their travel habits or patterns, but I believe we have given them some "space" to navigate our harsh winters.

Mom and yearling working on the willows..

Hunting voles

I sat and watched this coyote jump and dive in the snow 3-4 times in a 10 minute period hunting voles on #9 yesterday.  He/she was successful at least twice while I watched.  Should be plenty out there to feed on based on what we usually see from vole damage every spring..I would put him on the payroll if I could!?!?

Happy hunting!!!!

April 1st

We have officially begun our "season" here at Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club, even with snow still hanging on.  We had our first seasonal staff arrive today and began cleaning up from a long winter.  All greens are clear of snow and below is a picture of #7.  Looks really good considering it was covered in ice for the last 30-40 days under snow.  We are confident our efforts removing the snow, throwing black sand and breaking up ice this spring has left the greens in good shape.  Now we just need some decent temperatures to get it all growing again.

We have pulled the cross country signage around the course and we are closing the trail for the season.  There are areas that are free of snow and it is getting thin enough that we don't want to set any new tracks as we get into another freeze thaw cycle this time of year.  We hope everyone enjoyed the use of the track this winter.  The course will be off limits as the snow melts between now and the course opening.  This is the time of year, with a tremendous amount of moisture and standing water as the snow melts, that compaction becomes an even bigger issue than we already face with our 50 year old golf course.  We appreciate everyone using the bike path and surrounding neighborhoods to recreate and not venturing on the course.

Have a great day!