Golf Course Update

Approximately once, and sometimes twice per week we implement back nine starts, we do this for two reasons:

1. This helps us to spread traffic around the property, we have a number of 9-hole rounds here at Mad, always starting on the front doesn’t spread wear evenly around the entire property.  This is extremely important with our small green and tee surfaces.
2.  From time to time, we must complete a cultural practice occurring on the front 9 (i.e. topdressing) it allows us more time to complete the task.  This provides an extra two hours before play arrives for the rest of the day.

We haven’t fully shifted yet from clean up mode due to the ice storm, over the next few weeks we will continue to clean up chipping piles, and branches throughout the property, hydroseeding a few remaining areas where trees used to be, mostly along forested areas of the property. 

Mainline is now installed from #1 tee, across both the road and our driving range and over to the 12^th fairway, ready for construction to be complete on 12 fairway.  We will require water to this area in order to germinate the seed as quickly as possible this summer.  Our contractor, Atkinson Irrigation was kind enough to shift some things around in his schedule to accommodate our early request. This early install, will prove extremely beneficial as we move through construction this summer.

Over the next couple weeks we will be very busy on the golf course, a few items we will be focusing on include:

• We will be sodding some areas of the property in the coming weeks, winter damage and irrigation equipment damage alike.
• Shifting focus to some more detail work, edging, trimming etc.
• Poa removal
• Top dressing fine turf areas Fairways, approaches and tees
• Installing new front gate
• Preparing areas for sod
• Hydro seeding around the 12^th pond

As always, please repair your ball marks on our green surfaces, any unrepaired ball marks gives poa a perfect opportunity to invade.  As the golf course opens this season you may have noticed many divots still not repaired from fall of 2024, grass stops growing sometime in early to mid October, therefore any divots made last fall are still here in early spring until soil temperatures get warm enough for grass growth and germinating any seed again.

We look forward to seeing you on course!!
 
Respectfully,

Chad Vibert
Golf Course Superintendent