Shawn Major

Course Update – July 23

On the coming Monday July 27^th the driving range will be closed until early afternoon.  The turfcare team will be spending the day attending to the gravel target bunkers around the range target greens.  This process will involve the sod cutting of the gravel bunkers to remove the weeds, followed by the addition of new ¼ down material which will then be packed in place.  Attending to the range is a challenge and we will begin to utilize Monday’s when required to stay on top of range details.  We will communicate in advance when we expect the range hours to be impacted by maintenance practices.

This past Monday we were able to complete only our fourth light topdressing on greens this season.  With this we hope that ball roll will begin to increase in speed but more importantly this application will help with grooming and mowing practices.  The humidity and lack of sand is evident on many greens this season as we are seeing scalping of the turf.  We are hopeful this is the first of a few consecutive Monday applications to catch greens up and assist with a truer ball roll.  Monday July 27^th we are also scheduled to perform a light topdressing with a vent of greens to provide them with gas exchange and oxygen weather permitting.

We have had pond applications made over the past week utilizing a drone for the application.  Early indications are positive as the pond on hole 4 is beginning to clear up with the pond on 11 showing signs of improvement.  We expect another application to be completed this week as we continue to work at improving the condition of the ponds.

With less rain we have also been able to catch up on rough.  While it is still growing and dense it has begun to slow down with less rainfall and the intense heats we have experienced.  Cart paths continue to require a lot of work and as they continue to dry out between rain events we are doing what we can to improve them. 

Course Update – July 14, 2026

Some intense heat over the past four days has had a negative impact on some of the poa surfaces.  Hitting temperatures in the mid to upper 30’s for consecutive days with a couple of days seeing winds hit 50km has set back fairways, some tee locations and collars on the property.  Over the weekend we had water as top priority while minimizing some mowing practices to protect the turf.  Ahead of the intense heat we also applied products to tees, fairways and greens.  Despite these efforts turf loss and damage is evident on the property to start this week.  You will see additional traffic control on fairways as we seek to keep traffic from travelling through the weakest areas.  You will also see what appears to be muddy or dark tire track across all fairways.  This is turf damage from cart use during the intense heat.  We have officially gone from one extreme to another yet again this season creating turf health challenges as we enter mid-July.  This also highlights the deficiencies for poa as a turf plant.  The bluegrass and bentgrass on the property held up well as they are genetically engineered to do!

We have increased the volume of water overnight to recover.  We have been hand watering additional areas of the property to supplement the irrigation system.  Throughout the day we are chasing fairway irrigation around the game of golf.  It will take time for these efforts to assist in recovery.  We are expecting a chance of showers and a reduction in heat which will be beneficial to recovery as well.

Pond quality continues to be an issue. This has been vetted many times and we are working to solve the issue as soon as we can.  The issues with the pond water come from a couple of avenues including nutrient overload, dirty and weedy river water and years of organic accumulation on the bottom of the pond.  We are working with a water quality company moving forward as we hope to not only clear up the water from a visual stand point but hopefully reduce the organic sludge accumulation in the pond to assist in future years of pond management and reduce the need for a disruptive and expensive dredging program.  The program moving forward will be done with testing to ensure positive result are being gained.  While this program is set to start this week we can expect that it will take some time in the form of weeks until we begin to see improvements in the pond quality. 

Course Update – July 7, 2026

Yet another maintenance Monday was impacted by poor weather this past Monday.  The property received just shy of another ¾ inch rainfall in the storm.  This had a negative impact on the agronomic plans for the course.  We were unable to complete another light topdressing on greens or spray programs.  To date we have completed only 3 light topdressings when we would expect to be sitting around 8 or 9 light topdressings to date.  This has a negative impact on ball roll, more directly on the remaining poa greens as the light topdressing smooths out ball roll that can become bouncy from poa seed heads.

With the humidity we are beginning to see disease on the fairways and tees.  We are hopeful that we can complete the spray program on all tees and fairways this Wednesday to prevent the disease from increasing.  

Bug spray continues to kill turf across the property.  The areas that have been killed by the bug spray will take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to recover.  DO NOT APPLY BUG SPRAY ON TURF! Please utilize a cart path or bunker to apply bug spray during your round.  If you see a fellow member applying bug spray on turf please provide them with this knowledge so we can prevent any future turf loss. 

Monday July 13^th the turfcare team is scheduled to relocate the geese on the property.  We have a large volume of geese to remove and would expect this program to take a few hours on Monday to complete. 

Rough continues to grow rapidly.  The continuous rains and heat have provided this turf with a lot of growth.  Rough mowers have been going steady Monday to Friday with the exception of when we have been too saturated to mow.  When we are cutting the amount of clippings is significant and these require the blower to stay operational all day to keep things tidy.  The amount of growth and morning dew also make for a less than desirable cut.  In many areas the grass lays over and we do not achieve the desired result.  This will come in time as we hope to see a reprieve in wet weather to allow repetitive mowing and a reduction in yield.

Course Update – June 30, 2026

On Monday June 29^th the Turfcare team vented all greens during the maintenance window.  This process punches small 1/8” diameter holes at 6 inch depths into the green.  This in turn will provide greens with much needed oxygen from repetitive weeks of rainfall.  The greens also soften up briefly from this process and slow down.  However the benefits of oxygen will aid in drying these surfaces out sooner than later which will see a positive ball roll return. 

With the significant rainfalls to start this week accompanied by a holiday on Wednesday July 1 the course will fall well behind in mowing and grooming practices.  The prime play areas will not fall too far behind if we are able to resume mowing on Wednesday.  Rough and park areas will be behind and the rough will be long.  When we are able to resume with rough mowing we can expect a lot of clippings which will need to be blown and a slower process to complete the mowing program.   A lot of drying out will be required by Thursday to resume with large acre rough mowing.  

To aid with grooming through this wet stretch we have increased the amount of push mowing on the property.  While labour intensive this process is allowing us to knock down the wettest rough areas and prevent too much turf loss.  When the grass gets too long and sits in standing water we can see it struggle for health and die back.  In general the overall presentation of the property is behind from a detail stand point and there are many areas half groomed as a result of ground conditions.

Cart paths continue to be less than desirable through these heavy rain events.  We will smooth these out as soon as we have a stretch of weather that allows.  Please continue to slow down on paths when carts are permitted to aid in minimizing turf damage to areas around paths.

The prairie grassland area to the left of 5 green was seeded and has begun to emerge.  We would expect this hill to be covered in prairie grasses in the next few weeks if we can get some consistent sunshine.

We hope that everyone has a great Canada Day celebration.  Here is too hoping for some consistent dry weather for the game of golf and course care.

Course Update – June 23, 2026

This past Monday the Turfcare team was able to complete a light topdress to greens.  This program that is essential to providing smooth and true greens has been challenged by weather variables this spring.  We are hopeful that the trend moving forward will allow this process to be completed more frequently so we can get ball roll where we would like.  With the continued moisture consistency from day to day is still a challenge.  We are also struggling to match the speed of the poa greens that remain on the property with the bentgrass greens.  These greens vary significantly in age and composition.  This makes consistency between these two styles of greens difficult when we do not control all variables. 
The wet weather is also causing concerns with algae on greens.  We utilize sand and other products to combat the algae both of which have been challenged to apply. 

A reminder to please avoid walking with your rickshaw across collars.  The excess traffic in these areas are creating turf health challenges.  It is very evident on holes like 3 and 5.  The collars are treated the same in these areas and the evidence of foot traffic is very visible where everyone walks. 

Clipping management and overall details continue to be behind.  We have areas that are receiving minimal mowing in this wet cycle we are in.  Clippings do not disperse well when saturated.  Overall there is great room for improvement on course presentation which will come as we hope to have some stretches of dry weather in the near future.

With all the standing water on the property we have begun to lose some turf.  Turf sitting in water for repetitive days loses oxygen and begins to die back.  We hope when these area finally to dry we will see some recovery but we will probably be looking at making some repairs when the wet cycle breaks.  Compound cart traffic with this scenario and we would lose more turf. 

Cart paths continue to be in poor condition.  Many of these have deteriorated over the last four to five seasons with significant capital improvement items.  The heavy equipment utilized during windows of time when paths are wet or holding frost has had a negative impact on them.  For all those that use carts please keep in mind to slow down and travel through puddles on paths.  The cart will be ok and the turf around the path that we continue to wear out to avoid water puddles will not.  Much like gravel roads for those familiar when we dry out we can smooth the paths but it takes minimal rain or irrigation water to create pot holes again.  The asphalt path systems installed around 9, 10 and 18 provide a much better member experience with minimal maintenance requirements other than a blow.  They are not impacted by rain and do not require repetitive maintenance. 

Here is to hoping for a stretch of dry weather for the game of golf and course care.

Course Update – June 16, 2026

The wet weather pattern continues early this season.  Since the big storm that started this rainy weather last Tuesday night we have received just shy of 7 inches of rainfall on the golf course.  This amount of rain has created challenges with course care and product application.  It has also created challenges with grooming and mowing turf consistently across the property.  This weather has not been ideal for the game of golf.

Cart restrictions when the course is at field capacity are required.  This amount of water can cause turf health issues that are magnified by cart traffic.  This decision is not one that is taken lightly.  The goal of the Turfcare team is to provide the membership with great golf conditions.  When these scenarios happen, while frustrating for all we have the experience and knowledge that when this pattern breaks we will be a better golf course for it with minimal wear and repairs required. These decisions accommodate the majority of the membership and at the end of the day they are the right decision for the golf course.  

Grooming will catch up in time. We are doing what we can to maintain the rough with standing water throughout.  This week we have made the decision to mow through the poor conditions.  The challenge becomes waiting with long grass that now creates a scenario where the long grass creates an environment that takes longer for the ground to dry.  While these areas will be unsightly this week they will rebound when the weather breaks.  We also increased the amount of push-mowing on the property. We have been mowing all rough around tee sites with the push mowers to aid in staying on top of as much turf as we can.

Greens continue to be soft.  It is the time of year where we would like green speeds to be at the summer expectation.  We are currently running about a foot behind the pace we would like.  This will continue to be a challenge as long as we continue to see rain.  Ball speed on greens has a direct link to moisture in the ground.  When we regain control of moisture, greens health will allow us to get the speed we desire.  With the moisture rolling of greens has been minimized so we do not create compaction and health problems for the summer ahead. 

The yield continues to be high across all playing features.  We expect that late day golf will see slower conditions.  We have made a long overdue regulator application to greens.  It has been two plus weeks since the sprayer has had weather conditions conducive to application.  Hopefully moving forward we will be able to stick to spray programs in turn assisting us in providing the conditions desired.

Flower planting continues across the property.  This has also been challenged with the abundance of rain.  We will continue to push forward with planting when conditions allow. The establishment of the prairie grassland on hole 5 has also impacted.  We have yet to be able to seed this area.  Hopefully this week a window will present itself.

From an abnormally slow start with winter type weather well into May followed by 10 days in the mid-30’s and now over a week of significant rainfall.  It has been a great challenge this spring to deliver the course as we desire.  Despite the challenges we are confident that when this pattern breaks a great 2026 summer awaits.  We thank you the members for your support and understanding through this difficult start and look forward to sunny days ahead for the game of golf and course care.

Course Update – June 10, 2026

A heavy thunderstorm on Tuesday delivered 4 inches of rainfall to the golf course.  This volume of water is significant and will take some time for the course to dry out.  We did also incur some tree damage and had to remove a couple that fell throughout the storm. The implications of the rain event will be felt for a period of time as we will fall behind on grooming practices.  More than likely mowers will not be back on the property until Friday depending on the weather which is forecasting more rain.  This will create a challenge with rough more than anything.  The rough has been growing rapidly as has all playing surfaces on course.  The spring flush of growth will filter out in time and we will regain control of growth.  Patience will be required for the next week while we clean up and catch up on the entire property.

Course Update – May 26, 2026

Finally some weather that we have all been waiting for.  It is exciting to see the sun and have some warm temperatures for the game of golf and course care.

With the heat finally arriving we will see an impact to the course.  We would expect greens to slow up a bit for the next 7-10 days.  We are now able to complete some much needed product applications and this in combination with heat will see a flush of growth.  Some of the applications require water to set the product which is turn also slows greens.  These applications are necessary, well behind and will take precedence over other applications and items on course.

Aeration is scheduled to begin this Sunday.  We will be coring a number of greens that afternoon and evening beginning with the practice greens at 3:00pm.  Monday will see all greens receive a sand and vent program followed by fertility.  Our goal will be to have greens at summer heights and rolling well by the middle of June once they recover from the aeration program.

Beginning this week we will start with fairway aeration.  This will take place in the morning ahead of golf and we will halt the process once golf reaches the program.  We would expect this to take all of this week, the aeration day and into next week to complete.  Tee boxes will also go through the same program as fairways once we complete those features.

Dandelions are beginning to pop.  We did make a large scale application in fall to the entire property.  With the log jam of applications required across prime play features and only one sprayer the dandelions will be evident for some time until we can complete the other programs and then lead into weed management.

From zero’s to mid-30’s for what looks to be the better part of the week.  We are hopeful the turf will be able to handle the early season heat stresses considering we have not had the ability to set the stage on all playing features for the season to date.

This Thursday two Ash trees will be removed from the 18 hole beside the driving range.  These trees have begun to impact the netting and when we see windy days the net catches and tears on the trees.  Once these trees are removed we will have the climbers in to replace the one torn panel.

Course Update – May 19, 2026

Some much needed rainfall fell across the property on the long weekend.  If the forecast stays true for the end of the week, this rainfall should have the grass finally growing as we enter the end of the month of May. 

Minimal mowing practices continue as we still do not see the spring flush of growth with the colder than average temperatures.  The overnights continue to sit close to 0 keeping soil temperatures down and soil activity minimal.

Stumps have been prepped throughout the property and are ready for sod in many areas.  The rain on the weekend has the sod farm at a halt and we are hopeful we can begin to sod these areas at some point next week.

We continue to battle irrigation challenges.  We have had the system pressurized for 8 days and had to shut the pumps down on Tuesday morning to make our 7^th break repair.  This break is challenging and we have been busy chasing it for a few days.  It is located in the swale on hole 18.  We hope we can get this repaired this week so we can pressurize the irrigation system again with hot weather on the way.

Greens will see a lowering of heights this week.  We are slowly moving towards summer heights but are still not mowing greens daily with the weather factors.  We are in need to apply fertility and set the stage for the summer which we hope to do in the week ahead providing we have the irrigation system pressurized. If the irrigation system is up and running then Monday May 25^th will be the first light sanding of the season on greens.

We hope to have the plywood sheets delivered this week to complete the repair works to the scoreboard on hole 18.  At the same time we are expecting delivery of more boards for the bridge. If the forecast holds we are hopeful that next week we will see the contractors in to begin painting pergolas and buildings on the property.

We made a repair to the white tee on hole 10.  This tee will continue to be out of play while we allow the sod to establish itself.  Tee markers will either be on the green or blue deck weather dependent.

Driving range will move to the grass deck on Wednesday May 20^th.  A reminder the target green on the range is closed while it establishes from a resurface last fall.  Until a flag pole is placed in this green it is closed. 

A reminder for the early morning golf players that our expected pace of play is no faster than 3 hours and 30 minutes.  If you do catch the maintenance team it is expected that you wait and provide them time to safely complete their tasks.  These tasks being completed are important for the days experience for all members and it is important that we provide the time required for maintenance.   The Turfcare team begins work as early as they can considering the noise bylaws and good course conditions take time. At no point is an acceptable practice to hit your golf ball in the direction of staff working to provide you with the conditions you experience.

Course Update – May 14, 2026

The Turfcare team has made a repair to the white tee deck on hole 10.  Please be aware that this tee box will be closed for a few weeks while we allow the new sod to establish.  In the meantime the white tee blocks will be located on the either the forward tee deck or the blue tee deck dependent on the day.

We appreciate your patience while we allow this repair to heal.

Thank you,

Shawn Major