Goose removal and relocation took place first thing in the morning on maintenance day last week. In total 100 geese were captured and transported safely to the Whiteshell area. While this should reduce the number of geese on the property it can be expected at some point we may see a new family move into the ponds on course. Foxes continue to thrive on the property for the second consecutive year.
Over the past couple of weeks, the foxes have begun to cause some damage to the greens. Through the night they have begun to dig holes into the putting surfaces in the areas of 6 & 7. We repair these holes each morning and are looking into ways to deter the foxes from continuing this moving forward. The other issue with the foxes is their urine. They have been spending enough time on greens that when they urinate they are killing areas of greens from the high nitrogen volumes in the urine. We have also been busy trying to keep up with these repairs.
This week the greens program consisted of a vent. With daily rolling, lots of play, and some recent rain events the greens were in need of oxygen. This process, though minimally invasive does loosen the canopy and create softer and slower conditions for a few days. Monday we resumed light topdressing which will increase ball speed and trueness. With the recent rains, some heavy at times, a light topdressing is very much needed to improve greens performance. With the loss of a maintenance day due to the past holiday had the greens programs behind and in need of both these items to maximize their performance.