Merry Christmas

What a great 2015 we've had.  My staff and I have had some time off and are back at it already getting ready for next season.  The snow has finally started to really fly around here and there is a good 18" or so on the golf course insulating the turf and making for some beautiful scenery.  We've had several moose make their way on to the property, as they generally do this time of year, and the elk have finally made their way to refuge for the winter.
 

The cross country track is groomed and ready to go for the Holidays.  If you haven't heard already, the club has made some changes this winter season for the cross country track.  Members and guests are still welcome to use the track but we are requiring that everyone stop by the clubhouse from Monday-Friday and pick up an arm band and sign a liability waiver.  Members can use the track free of charge and guests are being charged $100 for an armband for winter use.  We will be policing the track a little more this year to ensure everyone has arm bands and are not venturing off the track.  It is so very important that everyone adhere to our regulations for winter use: Staying on the track and not setting boot, ski or snowshoe tracks anywhere other than on the track or just adjacent to it; dogs must be physically leashed (electronic collars are not permitted); do not cut through native areas or private property to access the track and keep your distance from wildlife.  We've already had several instances of folks setting boot tracks in areas that are off limits, including across a couple of greens so please stay on the track at all times. 

Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Early winter full moon over the Tetons

 

What a great season!!!

It's been a while since I've update the blog..thanks for your patience.  August and September turned out to be great months for the club.  The recent stretch of weather has been fantastic and somewhat unexpected.  Golf play was up, weddings went off without a hitch and restaurant has been serving up some amazing food.  The golf course has been in fantastic shape..tight, hard and fast.  We had the greens rolling 11 consistently throughout the period and pushed 13 on a couple of occasions for the Member-Guest and other high profile tournaments.  I have been getting great feedback on the consistency of the bunkers these last couple of months.  I believe we have found that perfect technique that works for majority of golfers and makes for the highest level of playability...out of a hazard...that is.

We are definitely winding down after the busiest September in my 8 years at the course, the whole valley seemed to not drop off after Labor Day like we used to see.  I think it's a trend that will stick with us in the valley moving forward.  Our "shoulder" seasons are shrinking :-( .   We are all but finished with aerification: tees, approaches, fairways and greens which we finished on Thursday.  We only have the driving range, tee deck and high traffic areas around the clubhouse left to complete.  We will be working hard moving forward getting ready for the snow...pruning up around the clubhouse, wrapping trees with deer barrier, removing leaves from the course in preparation of our fall snow mold mitigation, and all those little things that have to happen before we get buried with snow.  We certainly won't be waiting on the leaves to come down like we have had to do the last couple of years, something about all the rain and moderate summer temperatures had them turning and coming down more quickly this year.

We plan to close the course on Sunday, October 11th so get out and enjoy it while it lasts.  The greens aerification turned out great and they are putting surprisingly well.  After the 11th we have 20 days to "put the course to bed" and tarp the greens.  It's always a mad dash to get everything done so we can come out looking good in the spring.

A reminder to members and homeowners around the course.  Once we close for the season we would ask that you refrain from walking on the course, especially with dogs, as we will begin spraying for snow mold, doing tree work and will have large equipment in random spots at random times.  It really is a point of safety for the club and foot traffic can affect the viability of the spray we put out, affecting quality later down the road.  Once the we get our first significant snowfall and the cross country track is groomed the property will be back open to members and paying guests to access the track.

As part of our new member initiative members only will have free access to the track, homeowners and guests will need to purchase an armband at the clubhouse in order to access the CC Track.  You can do so Monday-Friday 9AM-4PM starting November 1st.  Thanks in advance for adhering to our winter property rules:  access to the course is limited to the track only, setting your own trail or boot pack is strictly prohibited; dogs must be physically leashed at all times (electronic leashes are not an acceptable form of restraint); please access the property at designated road crossings and/or the clubhouse (do not access through native areas or from homeowner lots);  the south side of Spring Gulch Rd (holes #9-10-11) along the river is off limits from November 1st to April first as it is designated NRO, critical moose winter range.   We are looking forward to a great winter season and we are already excited about what next year will bring. 

Have a great week and stay tuned, I will update this more often from here on out.

Below is part of the crew on #13 "working" the sand into the green as a final touch on aerification..they did a great job this year!!

 

Taste of Fall

It looks like we are in for a taste of fall over the next couple of days..60's for highs and low 30's for low temps.  It has been an interesting summer to say the least for weather.  We are anticipating frost delays for the next couple of mornings, be prepared. 

The Club Championship was held over the weekend and it was a great success.  We had the greens up in the 11-11.5 range and course was playing great.  Here are the results I have so far:  Patti Cook was the winner of the Ladies flight; Brad Cook won the net total scoring; Erin Ackley won the gross total and David Clauss won the Hybrid Tee flight.  I will update with scores once I get them.  Congratulations to all that participated!

Next week is a big week for the club as we are hosting our 35th Annual Strutting Grouse Tournament, coordinated by our ladies to support St. John's Medical Center Oncology department as well as scholarships for local high school students.  They do a great job setting it up and we are so excited to be a part of something so rewarding for our community and local youth.  It will be a shotgun start at 8:30AM on Tuesday, August 4th.  It should be a great day for the ladies, the club and the community at large!!  Tomorrow, Tuesday July 28th, is the deadline for entry. If you are interested you can follow this link for an entry form: http://www.jhgtc.com/files/Strutting%20Grouse%20Entry%20Form%202015%20%5Bupdated%20June%205,%202015%5D.pdf

We have a new pair of twins on the course, in addition to the moose twin calves we now have twin deer running around.  Apparently twins are becoming pretty rare for many species that call home around here.  Continue to be vigilante when playing your rounds.  I got the pictures below just outside my back window over the weekend.

Have a great week!!

Andy

 

Welcome relief

Well after a week of 90+ degree days we've gotten an awesome break.  Little rain..cooler temps..very nice.  The golf course is in fantastic shape..little soft but playing well.  Play is definitely picking up and we appreciate everyone's continued effort with fixing ball marks, filling divots and adhering to signage with carts.

There is still a lot of wildlife on the golf course.  The mama and twin baby moose are still hanging around..last seen around #2 pond.  This morning during one of our staff meetings, behind the maintenance building, a bear cub ran by us on the other side of the creek.  It was moving pretty quick but we got a couple of pictures.  There was a golfer on #10 that proceeded to jump into the golf cart and go after the cub?!  PLEASE, PLEASE do not chase wildlife on the course.  If you are caught doing so you will be asked to leave and golf privileges will be in jeopardy.  We did not see mama this morning but she is certain to be close and getting between her and a cub or harassing the cub can be very dangerous..to say the least.  Thank you for being respectful of the wildlife and "giving them the right of way". 

Have a great weekend!!

Bear cub on #10

Hydrate or die?!?

It has certainly gotten hot in a hurry this year!  After a wet/cool start to the season mother nature didn't want us to get spoiled so she threw the hottest temp we've seen in 3 summers yesterday.  We topped out at 93 on our weather station.  For those of you from other areas of the country, don't judge, it's not 100+ but when you're nearly a mile and quarter closer to the sun it feels pretty darn hot!!!

As you know we are celebrating our 50th Anniversary of golf here at JHGTC and with 50 years of traffic, snow cover, poor soils, etc. it starts getting tough to get moisture into the soil and keep it there when we get this hot.  We are working extremely hard to obtain that balance of just enough moisture to keep the turf alive and little enough to play firm and fast.  That being said there will be a few wet areas out there, especially early in the morning, seemingly right next to dry areas..thus the nature of our soils.  We have been training up the staff on hand watering techniques and are spending a lot time hand watering greens in order to keep them firm.

A couple of project notes: we aerified tees this last week, rented a 51" drum roller and rolled some select tees.  This, in addition to some sand topdressing will aid in leveling and maintaining flat surfaces over time.  Towards the middle of July we will be fixing all the road crossings where we removed cattle guards last year.  The willows have started to grow up in the river bottom on #11 and we will begin cutting those back before long to open up the view and landing area that is getting difficult to see from the blue and white tees. Other than that we are into our normal maintenance schedule and it looks like it's getting busy..finally.  I hope everyone has a great week and upcoming 4th of July weekend.

Momma and twins at the condos near #9 tee area.  Have taken up residence on the golf course this year.  Keep an eye out around ponds and heavily treed areas.

  

Finally feeling like summer!

It looks like we're out of the monsoon type weather pattern, at lease for a while.  Temperatures are warming up and things are really growing out on the course.  The greens are in great shape and the fairways are starting to firm up and getting some good roll out.  We've been spending a lot of time detailing the bunkers and they are playing really well. If you have been out to play you've noticed that we are experimenting with a new style of raking called "Aussie Style".  We are using the back side of the rakes and laying a smooth surface in the bottoms of the bunkers which has aided in firming them up and making the playability more consistent from day to day.  You can actually advance your shots out of the deep fairway bunkers instead of just trying to get out.  We've have some really good feed back from members and guests alike.  The next step is to fashion an attachment for the mechanical rake to mimic the same playing surface.

We will be working on tee boxes next week trying flatten some of the more severely "humped" ones by aerifying with large hollow tines, watering heavily and rolling them out. We hope to gain teeing area on several holes like #13 blue and white tees.  Excited about that project!

We also made it through the annual Lucas cattle drive successfully with no cows making it on the course.  I hope everyone is enjoying the course, it truly is in great shape and will only continue to get better.  We have a new critter calling #11 home..see below.  Have a great week!!

Badger on #11

 

Cattle Drive 2015

Sunrise 6/16/15

When will the rain stop?

The rain has continued pretty consistently for the last month.  We surpassed 3" for the month yesterday and it's still piling up.  It's hard to get frustrated knowing how desperately we need the moisture for the coming months, but it has made our spring ramp up a challenge.  The course is in great shape and healing up..a little slowly.  We are excited nonetheless about what June will bring!  Warmer temperatures and lots of golfing opportunities.  We are working hard to stay in front of all the dandelions which are definitely benefitting from wet conditions.  The greens are rolling really well and we have finally reached respectable speeds..9-10 on the stimp meter.  They will only get better.  Thanks to everyone that has braved the nasty weather to enjoy the course.  Have a great week.

Andy
 

Pair of geese and goslings on #11

May showers bring...June flowers?!?

Good morning everyone.  The early summer like weather has taken a brief break for the last several days.  May is typically one of our wettest months of the year, we average about 1-3/4" of rain/snow for the month.  As of this morning we have had 1-1/2" over the last 3 days, with last nights total being the 3 day winner of .66".  It will definitely be soppy out there today, especially this morning.  We will allow carts after noon today as long as it doesn't rain any more.  Temps are forecasted to stay in the 40's today with 15-20 mph winds all day so it will be chilly for sure.  If you are brave enough to get out today please utilize cart paths where available and observe a 90 degree rule, keep carts away from green surrounds and tee complexes, avoid puddles and have fun!  Our tee times move up to 9AM starting tomorrow as well.

We have been all the way around and gotten the bunkers worked into shape for play, they still require some detail work but are coming along nicely.  The mouse damage continues to heal and we should be in great shape by Memorial Day, which is always our goal. 

The North Grille opens this weekend with a Mother's Day brunch on Sunday and regular food service starting on Monday so come out enjoy the full JH Golf & Tennis experience.

I can't say for certain, but we believe the yearling/juvenile moose in the picture from the previous post is the same one from this picture last spring.

Mom and calf near #1 green last spring (May 2014)

 

Spring golf

Our stretch of amazing above average temperatures and plentiful sunshine continues.  I can't recall a spring that we have been this far along with turf recovery and the quality of the greens.  It's certainly been a treat..that being said the weather looks get back to more typical May conditions with some rain and cooler temperatures slated for the end of the week.

As I mentioned, the greens are really working into shape as we continue to lower our mowing heights and roll them on a consistent basis.  The little damage we had from ice and animals is healing nicely and the greens will only continue to get better.  The mouse damage in the other areas is healing nicely as well and these warm temps and periodic rain is all we need to get those areas back in shape.  We are focusing our efforts in the bunkers repairing the elk, moose and buffalo damage, cleaning out debris and re-distributing sand from the spring melt.  We are making great progress and are so excited for a great season.

There continues to be numerous elk and moose around the property.  The buffalo have finally arrived as well so enjoy the scenery and give the animals plenty of space.  Remember, wildlife has the right of way at JHGTC.  We have a pair of osprey in the east nest on #11 and a goose has poached the one to the west.  Additionally, we had Lower Valley Energy put up another nest on the far west end of the property last year near #13 tee box and it has another osprey calling that one home.  We also recently discovered a pair of red tailed hawks nesting just east of #8 in Grand Teton National Park that have been hunting frequently on east end of the property.  They are really fun to watch!

We look forward to seeing everyone out on the course.  Have a great week!

Tip of the day:  Remembering when fixing ball marks on the greens to push in towards the mark with your tool and not lift up which can tear the roots.  Pushing the ball mark in from the edges and then flattening with the bottom of your putter will increase healing time versus lifting up.  Study's from Kansas State University shows that improperly repaired ball marks (lifting up) take twice as long to heal vs. those repaired correctly (pushing in).

Buffalo near #8 tee box over the weekend

Juvenile moose last week

OPENING DAY TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!

We've finally made it to opening day.  What an early spring it has been.  Our staff and I have been busy, busy trying to get the course in shape for an early start.  This will be 2nd earliest opening we've had in the last 7-8 years, certainly nothing like 2011 when we opened around May 15th and still had snow on the course this time of year.

The course is still a work in progress.  The bunkers will be treated as ground under repair until we have a chance to get in and really clean them.  The mouse/vole damage clean up has gone really well, there is just a tremendous amount of it this year. 

We are so excited to get the season started and can't wait to see everyone out there.  Just a friendly reminder from our department to stay on cart paths where available and do not drive in approaches or green surrounds.  Keep an eye out for wildlife as there are moose, elk and deer moving around the course.  No bison yet, we will update the sight if they make it to the course this spring.  Have a great weekend.

Tip of the week:  When you are filling divots on tee boxes and fairways, be sure and fill the divot completely with sand and flatten the sand with your foot.  This will keep tees and fairways as level as possible and improve the healing process.

Andy and staff

Late summer visit from Mr. bull moose last year!~

What happened to February??

It's been an entire month since the blog has been updated.  February was extremely busy for us as the roller coaster of temperatures and lack of moisture caused us to start blowing greens and preparing for, perhaps, an earlier than normal season. 

Typically we would begin blowing off greens right around March 1st, this year we started on February 10th.  There were some ice concerns under the snow, and the warm temperatures we had early in February helped make the decision for us with respect to blowing them off early.  Turns out the ice was not as wide spread as originally anticipated and blowing them off certainly  helped with any areas that were of concern.  As of yesterday we had an average snow depth of about 8-10" on the course, a foot or so short of what we typically expect this time of year.  We did receive 2-3" last night.  That will help with cross country track, which has been in less than desirable shape with the lack of fresh snow.  Based on the depths of snow and the coming forecast we anticipate closing the track by the 20th or so of March, unless of course winter decides to make a ferocious comeback.  Get out and enjoy now as the course will be off limits once the track is closed.  Have a great week.

Been a while....

It's been a while since we checked in here at JHGTC.  The snow stopped early in January and we've been catching up on administrative tasks, starting our seasonal hiring process and getting organized for another great golf season.  We've had a couple of very successful dinner events for our members and I'd like to thank everyone that has been participating.  Our next function will be a 3 course Valentine's Day Dinner on Saturday February 14th.  Seating will start at 5:30 and reservations are required.  Please RSVP or contact Gabrielle Cruz with questions about the menu at 733-7786 or gcruz@gtlc.com.

The lack of fresh snow has taken it's toll on the cross country track as of late, however, it's still very skiable.  I'd like to thank everyone that is utilizing the track for your adherence to our policies/signage, keeping an adequate distance from the wildlife and staying on the designated track.  There are anywhere from 4-8 moose on the golf course right now.  The yearling that was born last year has separated herself from her mom and is "getting to know" the golf course.  She is a little more passive than the older moose on the property and is constantly crossing Spring Gulch Rd. and spending a lot of time around the clubhouse and shop area.  Unfortunately, we had an incident last week when a pair of skiers left the designated track on the east side of the property and spooked a pair of moose, sending them running through deep snow and causing them to expend an unnecessary amount of energy.  We are doing our best to educate track users and homeowners around the property about how detrimental "negative" wildlife interactions can be to local wildlife and their winter survival and we will continue to try and protect certain parts of the property as wildlife habitat.  Keep a sharp eye out while utilizing the track.

Snow depths on the course right now range anywhere from 6" in some southern, wind blown areas to 30" in the more protected loaded areas.  We've spent the last week digging snow pits around the golf course and on greens.  I'm pretty pleased at what we've found.  There is definitely a good deal of moisture in the 1-3"layer right at ground surface from the late December rain event and the warm up we had last week, however, we haven't found any ice concerns so far...knock on wood!

Stay tuned for more frequent updates as we head into spring.

Double eagle.....