Clean up Laps

The changing and falling of the the leaves, the dwindling daylight, and slowly declining temperatures provide ample evidence that this golf season is close to an end. Determined golfers are making the most of the time left taking advantage of a sunny September.  The cooler darker days are limiting grass growth and mowing schedules have been cut back, and on course maintenance is shifting from summer maintenance to autumn hardening and preparations for winter.

Greens and tee boxes have been aerated and top dressed in order to strengthen root structures. Trees have been trimmed and cut. Potential deadfalls have been felled and removed. Several small scale maintenance projects are also underway that take advantage of the reduced play and traffic on the course, and preparations are underway for putting the course to bed in October.

A lot goes into prepping the course for winter. There is much more to closing than just pulling out the flags and gathering up the tee markers. Greens and tees will need to be chemically treated against winter moulds and diseases. Blankets and covers need to be acquired and sized for installation before the winter snows arrive. 

Keeping ice out of the irrigation system is always a challenge, especially at the junction where the city supply connects with the course's system. Shutting the water off is easy, as are blowing out the courses lines with air. The hard part is preventing gradual seepage from ground water or spring runoff that will alternately freeze and thaw through out the the system and potentially cause delays in restoring the irrigation system in the spring.

Once mowers are retired for the season they need to be serviced and prepared both for winter storage and for easy start up in the spring. Some reels are sent away for sharpening, other parts are serviced on site. All equipment needs to be assessed for wear and tear and a determination made as to whether or not it can be prepared for another season or whether it should be retired and replaced. The shops are currently not well heated or insulated so the window of opportunity where work may be done comfortably can be pretty narrow.

In terms of competitive play, there are very few functions left this year. The men's commercial league wind up was played Sundays and the playoffs have come down to a winner take all face off between the first and second place teams. Only the closing day Die hard tournament is left on the fixtures card. My work year at the course has also drawn to a close.

Sadly, Ive had to park my mower and return to my week day job at the school district. As always its been great fun to  make the cut this year. I'll continue to update the outside blog through the fall and into winter, though entries will likely be limited to one or two a month. I've enjoyed writing this blog and hope readers found it interesting. When I started back in March my target was to reach at least 100 hits per month. The site will reach its 700th reader sometime this week, so that goal will be reached. Hopefully you can get out to the course a few more times in the next two weeks but if I don't see you out there I'll watch for you next spring when we start making the cut once again!