SUPERINTENDENT'S CORNER

May 14, 2012

Spring is here and although we have had more snow than anyone can remember in the recent past, the maintenance staff is very much looking forward to the upcoming season at Moose Run.   

As many of you know we installed impermeable turf covers last fall on all of our greens. These covers are used to prevent extensive, long term ice buildup that occurs during the freeze/thaw cycles throughout the winter.  After removing the covers this spring the results are promising.  Nearly all of the greens have shown good color and growth.  As always our hope is to be on real greens as soon as possible.

We have taken the opportunity this winter to put together a multi-year list of projects that we would like to accomplish on both courses.  The following are those projects slated for this summer.

For the Driving Range we will be installing approximately 600’ of fencing on the back left side of the driving range to prevent losing golf balls to the woods. 

For the Hill Course we will be installing a badly needed new starter shack.  We have two irrigation projects that have to take place because of old steel pipes that are leaking.   One line runs from Arctic Valley Rd., behind # 10 green to the wood line on the right side of the fairway and the other runs from Arctic Valley Rd. to the side of the # 12 men’s tee box.  There will be a ground under repair area behind # 10 green but play will not be interrupted for either job.  

Over the last several years the Hill Course's # 9 green has been in less than ideal condition, last year being the worst.  After a recent site visit from the Air Force Turf Agronomist it was determined that because of an excessive amount of root encroachment and shade issues, this green will continue to do poorly in the future.To solve the problem, the decision was made to remove approximately eight to ten trees surrounding this area.  Also slated for completion is the # 6 forward-tee box was started at the end of last season. It will be a priority to finish early this season.

Aside from the greens, the main priority on the Creek Course this year will be the bunkers.  I’m sure we will all agree that the amount of rocks in the bunkers is unacceptable and a major effort will be undertaken this year to improve this situation.  Along with manually removing the rocks we will be filling many of the bunkers to capacity to prevent both irrigation and rain from eroding and exposing the rocks from the edges. 

We will also be mowing all of the “natural areas” surrounding the majority of tee boxes down to rough height this year.  In the past, we have mowed these areas down one time per year and have found thousands of golf balls.  This will certainly speed up play and save many golf balls for the golfer.

The long range plans for both courses include the following.  We will be renovating and enlarging more tee boxes on the Hill Course.  We will be eliminating several excessively penalizing bunkers on the Creek Course.  We also have several more areas on both courses where more trees will be removed to improve growing conditions and ease playing conditions.  Bunker sand will be added to most, if not all of the bunkers on the Hill Course.  As time permits, we may be tackling some of these projects throughout this season. As we progress through the season, and these projects, we will be keeping you updated through this forum as well as our frequent emails and facebook.

We are looking forward to seeing you on the course this year and hope you enjoy the season.  We always appreciate your feedback, good or bad, and any questions you may have so please feel free to email us or fill out a comment card.  Have a wonderful summer.          Matt Leseman   Superintendent,  GCSAA