Opening Day

The new season is finally here. FSJ Links is up and running with all greens open ready for use! Its exciting to see the course greening up so nicely and especially good to see that the greens have weathered this long winter season so well. 

There are still a few spots you might want to avoid. There's still the odd snow bank lurking under the trees and in the rough. Low spots are still a little damp and there are places where a lofted shot is far more likely to plug than to bounce and roll. Unofficial water hazards have receded to locations one wouldn't normally want to be in anyways, and continued sunshine and spring breezes will have the course looking great in no time!

The greens have come through the winter pretty well. There are some thin spots, and a little bit of ice damage in low places, but for the most part they are looking good for this time of year. As conditions warm up, new growth will quickly take over. Already the mower is taking up lots of grass. During these early days of the season it is especially important to remember to repair all ball and spike marks made on the greens. If we could only convince those pesky deer to walk elsewhere too!

Fairways, aprons, collars and rough are, well still a little rough around the edges. Brown is still the dominant color but all this will quickly improve however as we work through the rest of May. For now its just great to be back and to get things going again. 

Grounds crew staff will be on the course daily so please watch out for us as you play. Most maintenance is done early in the mornings, before most golfers are on the course. Please remember that we are out there working for your benefit. Even if you don't mean it, hitting a staffer with a shot can still ruin everyone's day. We try not to inconvenience players too much, but when you see us working on the greens, tees or around the course, please be patient and careful!

I have appreciate hearing from folks who following the blog. Your comments, questions and feedback are always welcome. I try to update the page weekly, with new posts going up every weekend. If there are topics you would like to see addressed about the outside maintenance of the course, or if you are simply curious about why we do some of the things we do, I'd be happy to try to provide information. Len, Russ, Gord, Doug and myself hope you have as much fun playing the course as we do getting it ready for you!