Monday, May 23rd, 2011

With a little help from Mother Nature things are looking up. Last week was very productive, finishing topdressing the front nine and the 18th fairways. If everything goes well this week we hope to have the fairway aerification on the back nine wrapped up. We will start in earnest on Tuesday, giving the course to the Senior Pub Links on Monday.

You will notice the ropes have come off of a number of fairways on the back nine. They have firmed up  and are pretty much ready for cart traffic. We still have a number of soft areas, especially on number nine. We have roped them off and painted others so please be mindful of those areas until they have dried up.

Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus

Also, please watch out for the little puffballs. A number of killdeer chicks have hatched and are out there scampering about. The chicks are precocial, that means they can move around and feed themselves shortly after birth. Once the chicks' down dries, the parents will lead them to a feeding area. The chicks stay with their parents until they fledge a month after birth. The killdeer may have two broods a year.

This Friday we are hosting the Gaffney Lane 6th graders once again. We will be touring the course and watching out for wildlife and identifying birds. This is a great event in which I enjoy speaking to the kids about all the wonderful benefits golf courses provide for wildlife. I will be sure to post some pictures of the event in my next blog.

On top of all the plugging and sanding that we need to accomplish this week we will be fertilizing both the tees and the greens, as well as making a scheduled fungicide application to the greens. As a reminder to the pro shop, please check in with us prior to sending groups off of the back so we don't run into any conflicts. Monday we are also going to be aerating and seeding the upper driving range tee. This should not conflict with use other than being closed for regular mowing in the morning.

On a final note, Maggie passed this along to me regarding health inspections. Kerry Tomlinson KATU Problem Solver did a restaurant report card on a local golf course and they mentioned Stone Creek as well as a couple of our neighbors. Over all I am very pleased with our industry in regards to how the golf course restaurants performed. Big congrats to Maggie and her staff for consistently making top marks! See how well we did below.