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.