Irrigation System Winterization

Today we will finish blowing out the irrigation system.  The process has gone smoothly despite the weather we encountered earlier in the week. 

If you are a home owner with an irrigation system attached to the golf course you are more than welcome to utilize the provided air pressure to blow out your system as well.  Please call the maintenance office at 733-7802 if you have any questions.

Golf Course Closed

If the weather wasn't enough to get someone waxing skis and storing golf clubs, today we are officially closed for the 2016 golf season.  However, our work is never done.  With the severity of winters in our corner of the world, we are already preparing for the 2017 season.  The work done over the next few weeks is very important to how the golf course survives the winter.  For this reason, please be reminded that the golf course is closed to all traffic until the cross country track opens for the winter season.  Thank you all in advance, this closure helps ensure that we will complete our final preparations for winter in a safe and efficient manner.

Closing Day

The last day of every golf season is always bittersweet.  Today, the weather is matching this mood.    The conditions scream 'mud season'!  Our weather station has recorded over a half inch of rain in the last 24 hours.  With the rain there is no frost delay.  The first tee time will be at 10:00 AM and we will still allow carts today.  But please stay on the paths where they are available and look out for the random wet spot. 

Staying on the cart paths is particularly important this time of year as the turf is beginning to enter its winter dormancy period.  Any damage sustained now will likely take until next spring to heal and unnecessary compaction may effect how the course drains in the spring.

Thanks to all of those who enjoyed our golf course this year.  I hope everyone had a wonderful season...  I am already looking forward to next year!

Frost Delay

It was a cold one last night... the overnight low our weather station recorded was 20 degrees Fahrenheit!  While it is warming now, temperatures are still below freezing.  We are looking at getting the first tee time out at 11:30 am.  Please contact the pro shop for the most up to date frost delay information.

Frost Delay

Today we will have a 90 minute frost delay, putting the first tee time at 11:30 am.  Temperatures are still in the mid-20s, but rising, and the plentiful sunshine will help burn off the frost.  Please keep in mind that this time of year frost may persist in shady micro climates well into the day.  It is always best not to travel on turf with frost.  Thanks and enjoy the beautiful day! 

Frost Delay

With a clear chilly night last night, a heavy frost setup on the golf course.  Temperatures are still below freezing, but climbing... there will be a frost delay today until 11:30 am.  We apologize for any inconvenience and will work to get the course ready for play as quickly as possible.  Please contact the pro shop for the most up to date frost delay information.

End of Season Update

As all of you know, the last day the golf course is open to play will be October 16th.  I hope we get some good weather between now and then to enjoy the golf and fall colors before winter comes!

The fall agronomic practices on the course have gone well with the exception of the wet weather throwing off our fairway topdressing which we are working on now and hope to finish next week. 

As of October 17th, when the golf course is closed for play, it will also be closed to all traffic until the cross country track opens.  The date the cross country track opens, as always, will depend on the snowfall.  Keep an eye on this blog and the member newsletters for the most up to date cross country track information.

It is important for us to limit traffic on the golf course during the period between closing for play and the onset of snow cover for many reasons.  First of all, there are safety concerns.  Large equipment operations and chemical applications are just two of the many practices that may risk health and safety.  Our staff is trained to handle these practices in a safe manner, but the casual bystander may not be.  In addition, the efficacy of our chemical applications may be compromised by unnecessary traffic, and thus cause the golf course to not make it through the winter as well.  Also, as many of you know, it is a critical time of year for wildlife as they build up their stores for the winter.  Minimizing the impact on wildlife as they occupy or migrate through the golf course this time of year is an important goal for us.

I appreciate everyone's cooperation as we work through one of the most critical times of our year: preparing for winter in the Tetons!  Special thanks to our staff and the community for the hard work, dedication, and cooperation.  With all of your help we are able to maintain a beautiful golf course in this challenging climate!

Frost Delay

This morning tee times will be delayed one hour due to frost, but at least its not a snow delay!  With clearer skies and warmer temperatures predicted today we will work to get the first tee time off at 11:00 am.  Hopefully, the weather will cooperate with those of us looking to enjoy the golf course while we still can!

Frost Delay

The on course weather station just moved north of freezing!  There will be at least a 30 minute frost delay this morning.  With the clear skies the sun should burn most of the frost off relatively quickly. We will work to get the golf course ready for play as soon as possible. 

 

We apologize for any inconvenience, enjoy what looks to be a beautiful day!

Aerification Update

The rain last week put our approach aerification schedule on hold for the weekend, but at any rate, the golf course needed the rain so we are not complaining!  Today we are finishing up the work on the approaches. 

The plan on the calendar was to complete the agronomic treatments on the fairways this week, but with more rain in the forecast we will shift our focus to get out as much fertilizer as possible before the rains come.  Fertilizing before a rain event in the fall is always a preferable method as mother nature seems to be best at working fertilizer into the soil profile evenly.

Fortunately, the long range forecast predicts that we will have good weather next week for greens aerfication and we should be able to get back on schedule by the end of the month. 

Wet Weather and Wildlife...

 

The golf course has been soaking up the rain well, staying relatively firm with minimal wet spots.  We will still be allowing golf carts on the course today, but please use cart paths when available.  In addition, the grass is not the only thing loving the wet weather.  We have seen this bull moose around the property the last couple days, and as summer turns to fall it is likely we will see more wildlife in the coming weeks... So please be careful around the wildlife and wet spots and enjoy the golf course!

 

 

 



Frost Delay

With overnight lows similar to yesterday we are looking at another frost delay this morning.  We expect to be delayed one hour today.  The first tee time will be at 10:00 am, but we will work to get you all on the course earlier if possible.  Please check with the Pro Shop for the most up to date frost delay information.

Thank you.

Hard Freeze

Last night was our first hard freeze of the fall with our weather station recording an overnight low of 25 degrees Fahrenheit on the golf course.  Temperatures are still below freezing but slowly climbing.  We are hoping to be able to get the first tee times off by 10 am, but please be prepared for a frost delay of an hour or more.  Please contact the pro shop for the most up to date frost delay information.

Thank you.

No Frost... Again!

The last few nights mother nature has been good to us with relatively warm temperatures and no frost!  I hope everyone has enjoyed the early morning weather lately... However, we all know that the seasons are beginning to change and the forecast looks like we will have some cooler temperatures next week.  As is standard practice to account for the increased frequency of frost and the increasingly darker mornings starting tomorrow the first tee time will be at 9:00 am.  Throughout September the first tee time will gradually move later week by week as it is relatively certain that weather in this month is uncertain.  Please check with the pro shop for the most up to date tee time information. 

Stay safe and enjoy the holiday weekend!

Frost Delay

There will be a half hour delay this morning.  First tee time will be at 8:30 am.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Frost Delay

There is frost on the course again this morning... fall is coming! We will be delayed 45 minutes.  First tee time will be 8:45 am.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

Member/Guest Frost Delay

Good morning! It certainly is a cold one out this morning, with temperatures below freezing on the course there is even frost now in the short grass.  The Member/Guest will be delayed at least 30-45 minutes.  Sorry for the inconvenience, but we will do all we can to get everyone on the course as soon as possible. 

Frost Delay

It is not as cold as yesterday, however, we will still have some frost in certain areas.  We will have a minor delay this morning of 20 minutes.  The first tee time will be at 8:20 am.

Thank you.

Frost Delay

It is another chilly morning, but that is to be expected this time of year.  And you all know it will only get colder...  There will be a one hour frost delay as temperatures only now are beginning to climb.  First tee time will be at 9:00 am.

Stay tuned in the future for frost delay information, as this blog is seemingly the best vehicle to communicate these notices.

Thank you.

Strutting Grouse 2016

The first Tuesday in August brings our annual Strutting Grouse Tournament.  This is a great event that our Ladies 18 Hole League puts on to benefit both St. John's Hospital and scholarships for Jackson High School golfers. 

There was another great turn out this year and a lot of low scores posted!  I really appreciate all the work our Ladies League puts in to make this event happen.  And a special thanks goes out to our Golf Maintenance staff who served as "bunker caddies" ...remember The Open at Royal Troon where the caddies did not rake the bunkers after play?

 

 

Home Owner Irrigation Valves

As you all already know, we have had a bit of a heat wave lately.  In addition, it does not take a turfgrass scientist to understand that with the heat, the turf on the golf course just as the turf in your yard requires more water.  Many of you may know that many homes on the golf course are tied to the golf course irrigation system.  This is where our teamwork comes into play.  Historically, we have allowed a home owner watering window from 6:00 AM to noon.  This is in an effort to supply everyone, including the golf course itself, with the water we need while not over taxing our pumps. 

However, the past two nights our pump station experienced "system faults." This occurs when the pumping system is attempting to operate above it's capacity.  When this fault occurs, the pumps automatically shut down, cutting off water to everyone, including the golf course.  These two faults occurred because multiple homes on the golf course had their valves manually turned on attempting to water outside the scheduled window for home owners.  When operating in manual mode our computer system cannot account for the water use.  Therefore, the combined load of the golf course watering and unaccounted home owner watering was enough to take the pump station passed it's limit.

In order to ensure that our home owners and golf course get the water required during the summer months, we have changed the home owner watering window to 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. This water window will ensure that everyone has enough time and pressure to grow healthy turf during the mid-summer heat!

Thank you.

Like the vents on your ski pants...

Yesterday, we began our first "venting" treatment of the year.  I could use the words aerification or aeration, but those nasty words (at least in the opinion of some golfers) do not do justice to what this process does for the putting green and its playability.  First of all, the tines are flat and small, creating narrow, 3/4 inch long slot which allows water and air to move more freely through the soil profile (hence the "a" word).  In addition, because we are not creating a hole that will take time to grow in, no organic matter is removed, and the effect on ball roll is minimal.  Therefore, turf managers are using words like "venting" or "slicing" that to most golfers do not carry negative connotations in order to more accurately describe the agronomic process.


After sand topdressing and venting, we brush the green to work the sand into the newly created "vents" and plant canopy.   We generally do this process once a month during the peak summer season to help the greens tolerate the mid-summer stresses by improving water and air flow.  One should note that this has little effect on thatch and organic matter in the soil profile, so it will never replace traditional aerification and vertical cutting (we will get to those topics later in the season).

Later in the week, now that we have thousands of little open "vents" in greens, we will take advantage of the improved water infiltration conditions and apply our monthly greens soil treatment.  But we will save the "what's in the spray tank?' question for tomorrow...





Happy Independence Day!

 

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful 4th of July holiday!

 

Looks like visitors both young and old will be enjoying the golf course today...



Teton Half Marathon



This morning about 2,000 runners traversed the 13+ mile course to finish the Teton Half Marathon on our practice tee at the Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club.  Their determination was rewarded with the gorgeous view, medals, chocolate milk, and snacks...  Congratulations to all the participants!  Thanks goes out to the folks with Vacation Races for putting on such a popular event!  Special thanks to all the players that still got your morning rounds in despite the circus-like atmosphere around the practice area!  And to anyone like myself concerned about what all of that traffic may do to the practice tee and surrounds: we have scheduled light aeration, topdressing, and fertilization treatments and should see no ill effects going forward. 

Happy Memorial Day

A special thank you to all of our service men and women! I hope everyone has a wonderful day on a golf course, next to a bbq, or simply with friends and family!

National Golf Day in Washington D.C.

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend National Golf Day in our nation's capital as part of the "We Are Golf" coalition.  Members of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), PGA, USGA, and other allied associations met with members of Congress on Capitol Hill on May 18th to discuss various issues impacting the golf industry.  I have been volunteering for the GCSAA's Government Affairs Committee as a Grassroots Ambassador which pairs members of Congress with superintendents from their respective states in order to give a voice for the various issues affecting the golf community.



After meeting with Senator Barrasso (pictured above) and Senator Enzi sharing coffee, doughnuts, and ideas with other Wyoming constituents it was on to check out the National Golf Day exhibit in the Rayburn Foyer (I was curious if the Republicans or Democrats had a better swing...)

 

In the afternoon, I finished a busy day with a wonderful meeting with Representative Lummis (pictured below) who was kind enough to talk with us despite coming down with a malicious cold the previous day.   It was very rewarding to find that our Wyoming representatives hold similar views on the issues that concern the golf industry but had not fully realized how their work has or could benefit our industry.  Thanking them and sharing how the game of golf benefits our environment and so many people around the country was definitely the highlight of my day!

 

 

My thanks goes out to all the members of Congress who took time out of their day to meet with us, and many thanks to my staff at home for covering for me on the golf course!



New Blog for the Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club

Welcome members, guests, employees, and fellow golf enthusiasts to the new (and hopefully improved) blog for the Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club!  My name is Jeff Jensen, the golf course superintendent, and this will be the current and future home for golf course news... at least as I see it... whether it be a heads up on a long frost delay, current course conditions, future projects, or the latest wildlife sighting.  I am looking forward to "blogging" early and often so put this link in your favorites and check it out anytime!