The Muni Update
Staff
The maintenance grounds staff are the same team members as 2024. They have done an outstanding job taking care of the daily maintenance practices each season. They all have a lot of experience and take a ton of pride in the golf course and the work they do on a daily basis. We have dealt with a lot of issues out of our control the past few seasons and each one of these individuals are willing to jump right in and do what it takes to bring beautiful course conditions to our golfers each day. I’m really looking forward to their amazing work for another golf season.
The clubhouse staff has quite a few familiar faces returning for another season as well as a few new team members. We are still getting through the training process for some of the new staff and they are all doing a great job. Each one of our clubhouse employees has shown true dedication to accommodating our golfing public with pride and ownership. I’m excited for another season with a great group of people.
Irrigation System
There have been multiple irrigation issues in the past month. We had a broken main line behind #1 green and a broken lateral line on #15 blue tees. These two issues have been the most severe and required the system to be down for a short period of time. We were able to replace the 4” tee on the mainline behind #1 green and replace the 2” lateral line between the blue and black tees on #15.
There have also been a handful of valves that have been stuck in the on position overnight due to debris in the diaphragms. Some of these valves are noticeable where standing water is present near the irrigation heads on the lateral line side of the valve. We continue to monitor the system and make necessary repairs at the time of discovery.
Overall, the irrigation system has been functioning well and the new turbine pump has been a substantial improvement to the old PVC intake lines attached to centrifugal pumps. The irrigation programs were running for 20 days in the month of May and our submersible well pump operated for five days during May. We also received 3.25” of rain during the month.
Herbicide Applications
During the month of May I applied a pre-emergent herbicide to the fairways, tees, green surrounds, sand trap surrounds, and some areas of the rough. These applications were completed to eliminate the germination of crabgrass which is an annual plant that grows from seeds deposited late in the fall after we receive lower temperatures that create an overnight frost. This is an annual maintenance practice that is done to eliminate the presence of crabgrass and promote a healthier turfgrass.
I also completed herbicide applications on approximately 95% of the golf course to control the presence of broadleaf weeds, the majority of which were dandelions and clover. This maintenance practice is completed every spring along with spot treatments completed annually in the fall. I still need to treat the rough on parts of hole #15, the out of play area on #14, and spot spray around trees and other difficult to reach areas of the golf course.
Fertilizer Applications
The fairways, tees, and green surrounds were treated with a 30-0-12 granular fertilizer at the end of May. This product has a polymer coating on the fertilizer prill which allows for slow release of the nutrients through the month of August. A second fertilizer application will be completed in the same areas of the golf course in early September.
Staff still plans to apply fertilizer in some areas of the rough where we lost a little bit of turf over the winter months. This application will help fill these areas in and create better playing conditions. We hope to complete this process this week.
Greens and collars were fertilized with a foliar fertilizer and wetting agent last week. Foliar fertilizer is absorbed through the plant tissue and provides immediate nutrients to the turfgrass plant. The greens and collars have a healthier color and have started to grow more rapidly following this application. The wetting agent helps hold moisture in the soil and lessens the possibility of isolated dry areas. Foliar fertilizer applications, with fungicides included, will be done every two weeks as an approximate time frame through the golf season.
Shelter on #2
The Street Division assisted golf course staff with the renovation of the shelter behind #2 green. This project took a little longer than we anticipated due to rainfall and wet conditions during the month of May. The only remaining part of this project is to paint the structure which we hope to complete this week. The paint color will be neutral in nature so as to not draw attention to the shelter. We also narrowed the openings on both of our shelters to eliminate the ability to drive golf carts inside the buildings. This allows more golfers to seek shelter during inclement weather to provide safety if they are unable to make it to the clubhouse before weather conditions diminish.
Both of the shelters still need to be cleaned up around the perimeter and landscaping installed. The clean up process is to be done in the near future and the landscaping portion will be done after we start the renovation process of current landscaping areas around the golf course.
Security Cameras
There have been a total of five proposals submitted by area businesses to provide security cameras for the cart sheds and other outdoor areas. These have been submitted to City Manager, Kevin Robinson, for review and recommendation to the city council. Once a decision is made the installation process will begin.
Clubhouse Software
The clubhouse staff have experienced issues with our software shutting down on multiple occasions so far into this golf season. I met with Solutions, Spencer Municipal Utilities, and Peak Software to find a resolution to this problem. Our Watchguard has been rebooted and public WiFi limits have been lowered. I will continue to monitor the efficiency of the system during busy clubhouse hours and Solutions will investigate usage if there are issues moving forward. During busy times the system has stopped responding which causes a restart of the computer and software. This causes additional issues in operations as well as performance of the software. Hopefully we have everything moving in the right direction at this time.
Emerald Ash Borer
Currently we have about 25 trees that went out on the latest city bid proposal for tree removal in areas of city property. The majority of these trees are Ash but there are also a few other species that need to be removed on golf course property. The removal process will start once bids are received and the city council awards the contract.
In 2023 we started seeing the early stages of Emerald Ash Borer in our community. There were over 150 ash trees removed on the golf course property and hundreds more throughout the other city properties. It’s been a long process but thankfully the city had done a great job preplanning for this event.
I treated nearly 150 ash trees in the early fall of 2023 hoping to eliminate the loss through the Emerald Ash Borer. The trees that currently need to be removed were on the questionable side of successful treatment but I thought the risk was worth the reward of saving more trees on the golf course. This month I need to complete the second treatment of insecticide in the remaining ash trees on the property. This treatment lasts for two years before the next application needs to be made in the spring of 2027.
FEMA
I have been meeting with FEMA on Wednesdays for quite a lengthy period of time. After last week’s meeting I think everything from the golf course has been submitted to FEMA so they can close our portion of the overall city project. The most substantial of these golf course claims involved our pumphouse. The renovation and repair process has been completed, all documents and invoices have been submitted, and now we will wait to see if there is anything else needed from the golf department before the claim can be resolved.
Caddie Sculpture
Last fall I submitted an application with the Spirit of Okoboji to receive a grant for a chainsaw sculpture at the golf course. This was done through their Okobo Tree project which supports public art and local artists. This was a matching grant between their group and golf course staff to create a memorial for our Caddie whose life was cut short after six years of enjoyment at the golf course. We are very excited with the finished product outside our maintenance facility for all to see her memory live on. She loved to climb and play in this particular tree so it was only fitting to have the art piece created in that spot. I’ve even stopped a couple of times thinking it was actually her climbing up the side of the tree again. We miss her!
Upcoming Projects
We are going to be edging our sand traps in the very near future. This will consist of cleaning up the edges to create a sharp definition, repairing damaged areas, and hand raking sand to the face of each sand trap. The majority of weeds have been controlled around the sand traps and this process will help remove any grass that is creeping into the sand trap. It is a long process but the sand traps will look amazing once we are completed.
The other project will be our landscaping renovation. We will be removing the front row of blocks on all the landscaping areas next to our tee boxes, cleaning out the mulch and old plant materials, adding soil around the perimeter of the blocks, then installing new plant materials and wood mulch. This will tie all of the landscaping beds together with a similar look on each hole. It will take us most of the summer to complete all of the prep work and the new plantings will be done in early August.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions or would like additional information on a topic at the golf course. Cheers to a great summer of golf at The Muni!