Wildflower Golf Course Turfgrass Management

Fall Projects

2011-11-15T14:52:00.000-06:00

Here are some photos of some projects we are working on this fall. We wrapped up the bottom of number 8 the bunker is complete and ready for play next season. We are redesigning number 12 fairway a little bit. We will be removing a couple of the bunkers that are in the middle of the fairway and straitening the fairway out also. We are doing this to make it a lot easier to maintain. Right now we have to turn the mowers an incredible amount of times to mow that area. So with the fairway a lot straighter we will get done mowing sooner and be off the course for play. #12 is a spot where our mowers get caught a lot. As you notice in one of the photos we got in a little bit of hunting this fall also. Deer was 5 yards away!!!

Some early morning photos.

2011-07-14T08:42:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos I have taken during the mornings out here. There are some absolutely beautiful vistas! Really makes me love my job being able to enjoy this on a daily basis!!!

Employee Golf Outing

2011-06-26T09:05:00.000-05:00

The crew has been working very hard lately to keep the course looking in great shape. As a thank you for getting up early in the morning and working hard all day every day I let them off a little early one afternoon and took them out golfing. Thanks for the work guys!

Getting there!

2011-05-24T09:18:00.000-05:00

We are finally getting some nice weather! And we are getting our college kids in to work. Feels good to have the help around. We can start to get on our normal summer mowing routine now also. Please remember a few things while out there. Fix your ball marks, replace your divots, and keep out of the prairie grass with carts. Thank you!

A little slow release moisture...

2011-04-18T15:07:00.000-05:00

Got a few snow showers the last few days. Its good moisture for the course though. Whatever snow we have got has melted quickly. Need to get some good sunshine and warm temps to raise the soil temps and get the grass growing!

We are open!!!

2011-04-14T16:55:00.001-05:00

The flags, cups, tee markers, and benches are out. We are officially open! Hopefully the weather warms up so everyone can enjoy some golf. The course dried out well the last few days. Almost all holes are open for carts. Hopefully we will be mowing next week.

Spring Update

2011-04-05T09:07:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pictures from the course the last few days. A couple of greens had some significant ice accumulation that we had to remove. Snow is melting very rapidly and with the forecast things are looking very good. The frost has broke through in a few spots also. So hopefully it won't be long and we can think about an opening date. Until then keep those clubs shined up!

Snow Conditions

2011-03-16T14:36:00.000-05:00

I have taken a couple walks around the course lately and things are looking really good. Snow is melting all over. There are many parts of the course starting to show. The greens are coming out of winter really well. A few of the greens had some very large drifts on them. We cleared most of the snow off with our asv skidsteer to help the melt and prevent disease. As you can see in the pictures there is very little to no ice cover, which is a good thing. Hopefully this weather keeps up and things continue to melt!

Leaves!!!

2010-10-06T07:52:00.000-05:00

The leaves are falling fast. We are cleaning leaves off of the course every day. There may be times when we cant get to all parts of the course. We appologize if you cant find a ball due to the leaves but they will be done falling soon! Happy golfing everybody!!! There are still some great golfing days left!

Temperatures

2010-08-19T05:56:00.000-05:00

In the evenings lately the temps have been in the 50's and some nights touching 40's. This reduces the chance for disease greatly. There have been a good amount of acorns falling already and the leaves on some trees are starting to change colors also. All good signs that fall is just around the corner. The greens are ready for core aerification which is scheduled for Sept 13 and 14. This year we will also be aerifying tees and collars. The grass this year has had a long season and a lot of golf on it. It will be happy to get some oxygen and be able to breathe again.

The Open at St. Andrews

2010-07-13T13:07:00.000-05:00

I have been asked lately why some areas of the course are burning up. There is an easy answer to this question. We do not have irrigated rough. And so when the temps rise on a hot and sunny day some areas will tend to get a little "hot". Also we do not fertilize any of the rough either. Being a links style course we try to maintain everything to roll and run. The rough can be thick in spots where it does receive irrigation. But for the most part there is a lot of hard pan.

I read an interesting article that I have attached to this blog about the definition of links golf. Found it to very interesting and I would hope you will take a look at it. And for those who have golfed wildflower, keep the course in mind while reading this article.

www.worldgolf.com/features/links-golf-meaning.htm

Bunker Edging

2010-07-07T08:59:00.000-05:00

The bunker edging project is complete on all greenside bunkers. We only have a few of the larger fairway bunkers to do and the entire course will be done. We wanted this project done before the MGA Junior State Championship. Got 95% of the way there. Kudos to the guys for working as hard as they did to get that far. The bunkers have not been edged in years. I didnt take a before and after photo, but im sure if you have golfed here you know as well as i do that they were horrible! They are looking good now!

Great start to the season

2010-06-30T09:33:00.000-05:00

So far this year in detroit lakes we have had great conditions. We have recieved plenty of rain alongside plenty of sunshine. The course is in great shape and should play very well this coming weekend (the fourth of july). The greens have been very consistent and are as "true" as they can be right now. The wind is going to pick up and the temps are on the rise. We will probably be out on the course doing alot of handwatering over the weekend to keep the greens alive.