With the first golf week behind us we hope that you have been able to get out and enjoy your first round of the 2025 golf season.  The course continues to green up and progress as we move into some great spring weather.  Over the next couple weeks we will begin to focus more on details and the game of golf as we are currently setting the stage for a great 2025 golf season.

The capital course improvement projects are beginning to come to an end.  We have completed sod work across the new bunkers on hole 16 and the required sod installation on hole 5.  Our hope is to seed the 5^th green Thursday May 8^th dependent on weather.  Bunkers should wrap up this week with only one bunker remaining to fill on hole 8.  There will be some compacting to take place but we hope to have the membership playing all bunkers and back on the 16^th green as of this weekend.  To note when we open the 16^th green the new bunkers will continue to be ground under repair for the next few weeks while the turf establishes. Please take caution in retrieving your ball and take a proper drop.  Freshly laid sod can cause injury if you choose to play from it.  Please keep all cart traffic out of this area.

Course etiquette is a topic that needs some serious attention and improvement.  The club has made a significant investment in our bunkers.  As a member it is your responsibility to care for these newly restored bunkers.  Please ensure that you rake them if you play in them and please return the rake to the fashion in which you found it.  For your information the first day of play this season we had 44 bunkers open for golf of which 29 were played in and not raked afterwards.  This is completely unacceptable from any member and is not conducive to premiere private golf club care.  Further to this we need to see an improvement in ball mark repair and divot filling.  These are common sense game of golf items that are the responsibility of each and every golfer every time you tee it up.  Hold your fellow members and guests responsible and together you can improve your experience here at Niakwa.  This goes for all times of morning, afternoon and evening play.  We appreciate your attention and cooperation with this as we continue to make Niakwa the best it can be each and every day.

It looks like a great week ahead for some early season golf.

Respectfully submitted,

Shawn Major, AGS

On behalf of the Turfcare team we are excited to welcome the membership back to Niakwa for the 2025 golf season.  The course has wintered well and we hope everyone has a great golf season ahead.  The course has gone through some changes since closing in the fall.  Bunkers have been under a sand replacement program, the 16^th bunker complex has been rebuilt and we are busy working on the replacement of the 5^th green which will provide us with another excellent bentgrass surface later this season.

Bunkers:

• All green side bunkers have been completed and are ready for the game of golf.
• Fairway bunkers are ready on holes 1 through 6.  We are working to have all bunkers on course complete as soon as possible. 
• Any bunker without sand is to be played as ground under repair.
• The 16^th bunker complex is waiting for sod.  We are hopeful we will be able to receive this sod early next week.  Please refrain from walking on the soil around the bunker complex on hole 16 as it can cause contamination of the bunker sand and destroy the integrity of the bunker in advance of it receiving sod.  If your ball ends up in the bunker or on the soil please follow instructions on how to retrieve it.  This bunker will be ground under repair for a few weeks until the sod installation is complete and the sod has been established.
• The weather this spring made working conditions at times difficult.  The end result is some tracking and rutting of rough areas where equipment needed to travel to push forward with the required work.  While these areas look rough at the moment.  They will recover and smooth out in time as we continue to maintain and groom the property. There will be no long term negative effect from the equipment scars. 

Greens:

• With the exception of the 5^th green all greens have come out of winter in good condition.
• The putting green still has some significant damage to be repaired from the same vole damage that destroyed the 5^th green.  The repairs to this green will continue and it will take some time for them to blend into the existing canopy.
• Green speeds and consistency will come in time as we progress with spring weather.  Right now the poa greens and the bentgrass greens are being mowed at the same height which will not provide consistency from green to green.  We will begin to separate mowing heights following aeration on May 12^th at which time we should start to see a more consistent putting experience.
• The 5^th green will see the installation of irrigation later this week.  Our goal is to have this green completed and seeded by May 10^th.  For reference the 7^th green was seeded on May 17^th and was opened on July 26^th.  We are hopeful we can turn around the 5^th green as quick weather permitting.  The 5^th green site is also a much different growing environment than that on hole 7 but we feel we should be in and around the same time line.

Other:

• We have prepared many areas on course for sod.  Unfortunately sod is not being harvested in Manitoba at the moment so we will be arranging a load from Alberta early next week.  The area’s prepared for sod are ground under repair.  We will button these up as soon as possible when we sod the 16^th bunker complex and 5^th green site.
• Voles did a lot of damage to the property this winter.  We have prepared the worst of the areas for sod.  There are many areas that will be left and will recover in time.  The damage was not limited to specific areas rather it was wide spread throughout all playing features of the property.
• Cart paths are in poor condition from the spring weather and required use for construction.  These will be attended to as the construction work wraps up and when time allows.  They are not a game of golf items and will not take priority this spring over turf items.
• With the new bunker sand a reminder to all members to practice proper course etiquette.  Please enter a bunker on the low side.  Please use two hands to rake.  Please return the rake to the area it was found. Please take caution in raking the bunker not to pull sand up to the edge of bunker. 
• Driving range will continue on mats until later in May.  We have some range panels still in need of replacement.  Once we have the date for our range climbers to be available we will close the range to complete this.
• There is ample traffic control in place this spring.  With some weaker areas of turf please follow the traffic control this will aid in setting us up for a good summer of conditioning. 
• Over the next couple weeks our contractor will continue to work and button up the golf course.  They have worked extremely hard to have Niakwa in position to wrap up these projects in a timely fashion to minimize disruption to the game of golf.  Please provide them room to work and respect their work environment as you play your first rounds of the year.  The more efficient we allow them to be the sooner they will complete all works required.  We would like to thank Goodwin Golf for all their efforts in making Niakwa a better golf course.
• When travelling from the 4^th green to the 6^th tee box please continue to follow the cart path system.  We do not want to create wear towards the 5^th hole from the 4^th green.
• On course bathrooms are open and ready for use.
• There are many details across the property that need to be attended too.  The focus has been primarily on projects as we prepared the course for opening.  As these projects begin to wrap up our focus will turn more into the details. 
• A reminder to all members that the back parking lot is closed until the bunker project has been completed.  We need the space for semis to deliver sand and for the contractor to work.
• We have a lot of new team members on the Turfcare team this season.  Time will be required for them to learn the course and equipment.  Please be patient as we work through our biggest turnover on many seasons. 

It has been a very busy fall and spring for the Turfcare team out on the golf course.  The changes that have taken place will significantly improve the member and guest experience at Niakwa.  We hope everyone has an excellent golf season ahead!

Respectfully,

Shawn Major, AGS

Course preparations continue for the 2025 golf season.  We are happy to report that the course has wintered well and is off to a very manageable start this season.  The Turfcare team is busy working through many items to ensure a positive opening and year ahead. 

The week of April 28th will see some final items that are required for opening take place.  The most important of these items is the irrigation system.  We have been busy spending many hours attending to numerous issues with the irrigation system that has prevented us from filling the lines.  With the golf course being dominantly poa, opening without water leaves us with the inability to manage wear on the poa turf which in turn can be detrimental to our goals and long term success for 2025. For 6 consecutive seasons we have ensured that we have water available prior to opening and it has served us well with positive seasons of conditioning.

The bunker capital project continues to make progress.  All green side bunkers will be completed and in play when the course opens with the exception of green side on 16.  This bunker is undergoing renovations to improve drainage and aesthetics of the golf course.  The reduction in size of this bunker will also provide a more economical maintenance bunker complex by reducing sand requirements up to 50%.  Fairway bunkers will continue to be filled with sand when we are open.  Please be mindful of the contractors working to complete the process.  We do not expect this process to run much past the middle of May weather permitting.  With this process continuing the back parking lot will be unavailable to members until the project is complete.

With the spring roller coaster of weather we have had some challenges completing some of the items on course we desired.  Turf repairs to areas of the property have yet to be buttoned up.  When we open there will be areas under repair waiting for sod.  We are working to coordinate one load of sod which means the 5^th green and 16^th bunker complex need to be ready before sod can be ordered.

The 5^th green resurfacing project is well under way.  This Saturday April 26^th our irrigation consultant will lay out the irrigation changes for the 5^th green.  Irrigation installation should begin sometime on Monday April 28^th or when our irrigation components arrive.  Our hope will be to have this green seeded in and around May 1^st which should set us up to return to playing the 5^th hole in the later part of July weather permitting.

While we are experiencing a very positive weekend ahead of weather we continue to have frosty mornings that delay course preparations.  The forecast for the start of the week is wet with a -5 predicted overnight on Monday.  We are still dealing with weather variables that have a negative impact on turf and preparations.  We are hopeful that the overnights begin to stabilize in turn allowing conditions conducive for plant growth and the game of golf. 

We are excited to get the golf course open for the membership in the week ahead.  More updates will be provided ahead of opening to members with information on what to expect as the first rounds of the season are played.

Respectfully,

Shawn Major, AGS

Golf Course Superintendent

Work has begun on the resurfacing project for the 5^th green.  We have stripped the old poa turf and removed it from the green site.  As soon as we can get some green mix delivered we will quickly move into the final preparations of the greens surface.  Irrigation install for this green is set to be laid out on Saturday.  If all goes well and the weather cooperates we are hopeful to have this green site completed and seeded by May 3^rd.  Other course preparations continue as we work towards getting the property ready for the game of golf. 

Golf course preparations are slowly beginning to take place.  While we have experienced some nice days we have yet to see a stretch of weather to dry the property out.  We continue to wait on frost to leave the ground.  This week the Turfcare team will focus on removal and storage of winter covers and begin with some general spring cleanup.  The capital bunker program has resumed work for the spring.  We are hopeful for good weather in the days ahead to assist with course preparations and the bunker program.

The snow slowly continues to melt across the golf course.  Much as it was with the last update, the overnight low’s hitting as cold as -9 on April 3^rd have slowed the encouraging start to spring we had at the end of February. 

We are beginning to see a lot of the turf on the golf course and we are eager to get into spring temperatures that will allow us to begin course maintenance.  While much of the snow has melted we still have a ways to go before we can begin to prepare turf for play.  We need a good stretch of weather to thaw the ground, soil temperatures to warm up into the 10 degree range to support turf practices and the game of golf.

Enjoy the Masters week ahead!

The Turfcare team continues to monitor conditions on course.  The daytime temperatures are initiating some melt on the property.  This process is slow with overnight temperatures still freezing solid.  The forecast this week is relatively positive.  We would expect to lose a lot of the remaining snow early this week before a cold stretch returns at the tail end of the week.  We will continue to assist with the spring melt while we wait for conditions to be sufficient for us to begin preparations of the golf course for the season ahead.

It is an exciting time of year as we begin to experience the spring like weather.  As the snow continues to melt the Turfcare team will continue to monitor conditions and assist with the movement of snow and water where necessary.  With the forecast showing positive temperatures moving forward we would expect the preparations of the golf course to begin sometime in early April.  We are hopeful the forecast remains positive with overnight low temperatures staying above -15 to assist with positive opening conditions.