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 16th bunker complex has been rebuilt and we are busy working on the replacement of the 5th 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 16th 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 5th 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 5th 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 12th at which time we should start to see a more consistent putting experience.
- The 5th green will see the installation of irrigation later this week. Our goal is to have this green completed and seeded by May 10th. For reference the 7th green was seeded on May 17th and was opened on July 26th. We are hopeful we can turn around the 5th green as quick weather permitting. The 5th 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 16th bunker complex and 5th 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 4th green to the 6th tee box please continue to follow the cart path system. We do not want to create wear towards the 5th hole from the 4th 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