Home is where the heart is...
Living and working on golf courses in California and North Carolina I came to appreciate my roots in Litchfield, Connecticut. Seizing a tremendous opportunity I returned home 10 years ago this month and started as the assistant under former Superintendent Bill Bianowicz. He retired at the end of that year and I started my career as the head greenskeeper.
Another opportunity has presented itself and Chris Caprari has returned home. He was the assistant at Washington Golf Club last season and realized he wasn't a good fit. We are glad to have him back as the assistant superintendent. Welcome home!
His 20 years of experience working at the club is a tremendous asset to the grounds maintenance. He is well versed in all maintenance procedures and his return will ensure a smooth transition to the coming season. We all look forward to another successful season.
The soil temperatures are rising fast which is evident by the grass breaking dormancy. I expect to mow greens this week which is extremely unusual. Typically we are battling frost this time of year but we are 3 weeks ahead of a "normal" spring. That is good news moving forward and I expect to open the course for play perhaps as soon as late next week.
What's the holdup?
We have a lot of trees that were uprooted. This is labor intensive work. In addition to the tree work the wind storm scattered limbs and sticks all over the course.
Once we take care of the trees and limbs we will move onto the sand clean up.
I need dry and firm soils to sweep up the sand off the fairways. Stepping on the fairways too soon will damage the turfgrass. I hope to start sweeping this week and continue the process next week weather permitting. Once the sand is cleaned up I feel we can open for play.
I am filling out Audubon certification form requests for Water Quality and Chemical Use Reduction and Safety. I expect to submit the forms in a few weeks. I will update everyone as we go through the process. Our goal this year is to submit all certification request forms.
I moved the wood duck box from the pond down to the 3rd hole. No activity yet but it would be great to see a pair take up residence in one of our 3 boxes located on the property.
Please check back and look for the "Pins are in" post. Ill update the blog and send an announcement in the "Crier" when we open.
Think Spring!
Another opportunity has presented itself and Chris Caprari has returned home. He was the assistant at Washington Golf Club last season and realized he wasn't a good fit. We are glad to have him back as the assistant superintendent. Welcome home!
His 20 years of experience working at the club is a tremendous asset to the grounds maintenance. He is well versed in all maintenance procedures and his return will ensure a smooth transition to the coming season. We all look forward to another successful season.
The soil temperatures are rising fast which is evident by the grass breaking dormancy. I expect to mow greens this week which is extremely unusual. Typically we are battling frost this time of year but we are 3 weeks ahead of a "normal" spring. That is good news moving forward and I expect to open the course for play perhaps as soon as late next week.
What's the holdup?
We have a lot of trees that were uprooted. This is labor intensive work. In addition to the tree work the wind storm scattered limbs and sticks all over the course.
Once we take care of the trees and limbs we will move onto the sand clean up.
I need dry and firm soils to sweep up the sand off the fairways. Stepping on the fairways too soon will damage the turfgrass. I hope to start sweeping this week and continue the process next week weather permitting. Once the sand is cleaned up I feel we can open for play.
I am filling out Audubon certification form requests for Water Quality and Chemical Use Reduction and Safety. I expect to submit the forms in a few weeks. I will update everyone as we go through the process. Our goal this year is to submit all certification request forms.
I moved the wood duck box from the pond down to the 3rd hole. No activity yet but it would be great to see a pair take up residence in one of our 3 boxes located on the property.
Please check back and look for the "Pins are in" post. Ill update the blog and send an announcement in the "Crier" when we open.
Think Spring!
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