Monday, January 23rd, 2012

The weather makes the headlines once again last week. We started with snow early in the week and finished with a fair amount of rain. We averaged just under an inch of rain a day since the 15th, with our maximum daily rainfall occurring on Thursday with 2.52 inches.

The Willamette Falls are just about as high as I have seen it. Not quite the level of 1996 but still pretty impressive. If you get a chance be sure to drive down there and get a first hand look. I didn't get any pictures of Beaver Creek but if you like to walk the trail you will be in for a good sight as well.

Sixteen green
The golf course received very little damage as far as the flooding is concerned. We saw a number of places where the drain pipes couldn't keep up with the flow so the water backed up on the path and grass. You would think that with over 2.5 inches of rain on Thursday, the tee sheet would have been empty. Not true. These guys along with one other twosome made the full 18 holes. The water here actually backed up from the lake to the right which is normally a dry lake in the summer.
 

With all this lousy weather it is hard to do drainage so it is safe to say that we didn't get any pipe in the ground this week. We will postpone any further drain projects until the conditions become more favorable. We did, however work on the picnic tables and the benches from the golf course. We are sanding and applying a fresh coat of stain.

Steve has been going through the tee mowers, replacing bushing and repairing cracked welds. These mowers are still working great but at 11 years old they have neared the end of their normal expected life thus we are having to put a lot of time and money back into them to keep them going. The condition of our equipment at Stone Creek is a testament to the quality work Steve does. He takes a lot of pride in his equipment and not only keeps it running smooth, he keeps it looking great as well. When he finishes up with the tee mowers I'll be sure to share a photo or two.

Last week Chris spent two days at the Toro Site Pro Training Seminar at Skamania Lodge. This week is the annual crew seminar hosted by the Oregon GCSA. This has always been a favorite event for the guys, a chance to break up the winter season and listen to some great speakers.

We have our new driving range signs completed and are ready for the new season. We had these 12x12 inch signs made at our local sign shop and we mounted them on the Standard Golf sign posts. I have had a lot of favorable comments on them from fellow superintendents but now the trick will be to educate our golfers. I don't expect this sign to do it all, it is going to take a team effort on everyone's behalf to help the players learn.

Finally, I would like to share a letter that Doug received at the pro shop from one of our neighbors. It's not everyday that someone takes the time to let you know when you are doing something right. I would like to also point out the Doug Garfield from the County Parks Department deserves recognition for his part in maintaining the trail. Doug has put a lot of his pride in the trail which shows by the number of walkers we see daily. I can't say it enough, but everyone puts a little of their pride in what they do here and it shows.


To The Crew at the Stone Creek Golf Club,

I walk the golf course almost every day and am very grateful to all of you working there.  I especially appreciative of how fast you took care of the problems with the walking trail daily and especially this week.   I am, also, sure the golfers appreciate what a great job you do on the course.  It is very gratifying to know how dedicated you are serving the public, especially during these tough economic times.  You deserve to be commended by us county residents a lot more.

Again, thank you very much for your hard work!

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