As I look back at our opening dates over the years, we consistently open sometime between April 10-14. All things considered we are not that far off that this year. Last year was truly out of the ordinary so we won't mention it again. Now that the weather is finally co-operating, staff is busy preparing the course for next Tuesday.
So, what does it take to prepair the course for opening day?
It takes nearly 2 weeks to complete all of the various tasks. Greens covers are removed, snow fence is taken down, damaged trees are pruned and large fallen branches are chipped. Greens, tees and fairways are cleaned, then staff begin hand raking the entire course. This alone takes 4 to 5 days. Greens are rolled several times smoothing out frost heaving and bumps from the drill and fill back in the fall. Greens and tees are then verti-cut and mowed. Ideally, we would like to get 4 or 5 cuts on the greens prior to opening and 2 on the tees and fairways. Next, we get into bunkers which consists of edging, re-arranging sand and adding some if needed. The irrigation system needs to be charged and tested and all the course hardware is placed back out onto the golf course. We can't forget about the clubhouse area, this is an integral part of the private club atmosphere and needs to be presentable for opening day and that's just the first page of our list!
Our efficiency in getting work done declines once the course opens. The more we complete prior to opening day the less we interfere with members playing and that's what it is all about.
Here's a picture of our 5th fairway after being cut today prior to the rains expected tonight.
Staff are back at it this week as spring slowly arrives. Covers are being removed today despite the cool weather predicted for this week. Below is photo of the 5th green. Notice the recovery of the drill and fill holes already started from the greenhouse affect provide by the covers. Still no word on opening day!
The feeling is like reaching for a quarter that has fallen beside your seat and you can't get it. It's incredible how different weather can be from one year to the next. We were only 3 days from opening last year at this time. This year we are mostly snow covered with below seasonal temperatures forecast for the next week.
We hope to start tinkering on the course after Easter and remove the covers from the greens if weather permits.
We will keep you informed with our progress, and let you know in the next week or so of our planned opening date. It's to early to tell yet!
I would like to welcome Steve Percy and Ben Bell to our team this year. Steve's experiences are from Grey Silo and The National, Ben's experiences are from Rebel Creek and Grey Silo. They will complement our staff nicely and look forward to working with them.
Go Leafs!
