Trails Update

With very little snow last night the ski trails and classic track looked pretty good during the morning track inspection:

In addition, three moose were seen within 25 yards of the trail this morning.  One adult female feeding near #17 tee box along with one adult female and one female yearling bedding near #1 green.  Please give be mindful of wildlife on while enjoying the trails.

Thank you. 

Nordic Track Update

The JHGTC Nordic Track will be open to members and their guests on Wednesday, December 18th.  Staff will groom the track twice per week and any time we receive more that 4 inches of snow.  As a reminder, dogs are welcome but please use a leash and clean up after them.  To access the track, simply park in the main lot at JHGTC and use the pathways to access the track via the driving range area.

As many of you are aware, large numbers of elk migrate through the golf course this time of year to reach their winter feeding grounds.  In addition to elk, we have spotted moose, deer, and bison recently during our track preparations.

Please give wildlife the right of way as winter is a critical time of year for their long term survival.

Irrigation Winterization

The maintenance team began the process of winterizing the irrigation system yesterday.  So far it has gone smoothly, and we aim to complete the process by mid-day tomorrow. 

For homeowners attached to the irrigation system, this afternoon is a good opportunity to use the air pressure supplied via the golf course.  As in the past, if we find the supply valve to your home's irrigation system closed, we will assume that you have already winterized the home site.

If you have any concerns that your home may get missed, please leave your system in its normal summer operation mode (7:00 am start time).  We will begin pressurizing the system tomorrow morning at 7:00 am in order to complete this extra check or automatic blowout for all homeowners.

Thank you.

Member Coffee at the Shop Tomorrow

Tomorrow from 8:00 am to 9:00 am the turf maintenance team will be hosting another "Member Coffee at the Shop."  Come by for coffee and doughnuts and a morning chat with turf maintenance staff!

Irrigation Update

Our technicians have completed today's repairs and maintenance tasks on our irrigation system.  They are currently in the process of bringing our system back online.  We should have normal operation of the irrigation system restored momentarily.

Once again, thank you for your patience and apologies for any inconvenience.

Irrigation Update

Today we are taking advantage of the recent rains to catch up on irrigation repairs and maintenance.  In order to accomplish this our pump station was shut down this morning.

If you have a home irrigation system that is connected to the golf course irrigation system, there will not be any water pressure to your system until the pump station is back online.  We aim to have the pump station up and running again by noon today.

Thank you for your patience and sorry for the inconvenience.  I will post on this blog when the repairs and maintenance are completed and the system is back to normal.

Upcomming Tuesday Night Maintenance

This Tuesday the turf maintenance team will perform the monthly vertical cutting and topdressing practices on the putting greens.  These practices help to smooth and firm up the putting surfaces.



In addition, there have been a variety of turf health issues on the 9^th green this season.  These stem from poor drainage and airflow in the soil profile.  Why only the 9^th green? That is because it is the only “push up” green on the golf course.  In other words, the soil profile is a shallow layer of sand on top of native soil instead of a sand profile that sits above a drainage layer.  Fortunately, of the two grass species in the putting greens: bentgrass and annual bluegrass, the less desirable annual bluegrass is the primary species that has been affected. 



Chemical applications have been made to the 9^th green throughout this season to treat the festering pathogens in the soil.  This has cured the disease, but we are still left with summer annual bluegrass decline primarily due to poor drainage. This Tuesday we will take steps to help correct the ultimate cause of these problems by using a “bayonet” tine aerification on this green in order to improve soil drainage and increase airflow. We will also use this opportunity to introduce more bentgrass seed in order to promote the more desirable grass species of our putting greens.



Photos of this treatment are below.  As you can see, this practice is minimally invasive and any effect on playability will be relatively minor.