Waiting....

There is much anticipation around the club these days.  Opening day seems to be stretching further away and the renovation work and pending vote seems to have "stirred the masses" quite a bit.  Between these things, the air is thick with a palpable combination of excitement, confusion and hope.  The vote will be sorted out Monday, but I don't have any good news at this point about opening day.

Taking advantage of the warm morning, I took a walk around.  Overall, the course is coming out in decent shape but we are still at least a week or more away from opening.  Right now, I am hoping for Master's weekend (April 12th-13th).

Unfortunately, it's not a matter of work needing to take place.  The course is fairly clean and there was very little tree damage or limb debris to worry about.  The worst winter damage is on north-facing slopes and low areas in the rough that are suffering from snow mold.  We just need things to dry up and firm up before we open the floodgates of spring play at The Meadows.  There is still a good deal of snow, standing water, and in our shady areas the frost line is still just an inch or two from the surface.  Also, there hasn't been any growth yet anywhere on the golf course.  Until we get some favorable temperatures and a few days of above-freezing nights, it will be difficult to get the course ready.  I will be keeping you posted as conditions change.

The rough in front of #6 tee is peppered with large areas of snow mold.  Also, look at #18 hill from Erie St. and you can see the large pockets of diseased turf.  

#4 green still snow around the banks and frozen ground in the shade.

A great example of why new sod on the green banks is a great idea.  Look at the stripe of fresh bluegrass we installed around #2 last year.  It is handling the winter much better than the contaminated bent/blue/poa/rye mix to the left.

Even some of our tees are still struggling to thaw out.  This is #3

I could only get the probe about 2 inches in the ground before I hit frost on #15.

I would like to thank all the members that took the time to come to the informational meetings on the 24th and 25th.  It was great to speak to you all and answer your questions about the water project.  If you haven't returned your ballot, please get it in by Monday morning.  Even if it's a "no" we need your vote and your voice!

Have a great weekend.

-Dan