January 18, 2024 Course Update
To date the winter of 2024 could be defined as wetter than normal with near normal temperatures. With that said, this week we are experiencing our first real bought of cold artic air with temperatures forecasted to be below 15 degrees for several nights this week.
Farm Ultradwarf Covers
Thus far we have only covered two times, but the cold air this week had us working overtime on Sunday and Monday to not only pull covers, but we decided to add some extra protection by adding a layer of pine straw beneath the covers. Based on the current forecast we expect to pull covers and remove straw next Monday and Tuesday (1/22-1/23) and have the course reopened by Wednesday, January 24. As we have done in the past when we have used pine straw, the straw will be pushed off the greens to the sides and we will relocate the straw to our landscape beds over the next few weeks. We pine straw these areas each year in late winter and early spring, so there is no additional cost for the straw itself, but there is a lot of extra work that goes into this process.
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| Shaking the Straw |
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| Hydrating the Green |
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| Pulling the Covers |
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| Finished Product |
Too Much Rain
The rains have been constant and as of late they have been heavy. We recently had 2 inches of rain followed by three inches the very next week. The forecast next week, once it warms up, is for 6 consecutive days of rain. Above normal rains like the ones we've been experiencing make not only for soggy playing conditions, but they create a lot of extra work for the staff in the way of picking up sticks and debris and working on washed out bunkers. The bunkers on the Irving Park course have always been prone to washing in heavy rain events and a lot of work goes into fixing them up and making them playable again. When bunkers at Irving Park wash the staff has to go out and shovel off the silt and organic layer, which you never get all of because some mixes with the sand as it is washing. Once the sand is cleaned off it must then be pushed and shoveled back to the edges and large rakes are needed to smooth the slopes. The faces will need to be packed firmly to prevent plugged lies. Lastly, raking and smoothing the bottom is never easy after all the shoveling and gouging that occurs to move the sand back to the edges. The Farm bunkers have a newer style of construction that helps to minimize washout and more importantly prevents the subsoil from eroding into the bunker sand. We occasionally get complaints on the quality of the bunker sand at Irving Park but after 24 years of washouts with no subbase protection the quality of the sand eventually deteriorates to what we see in the bunkers today despite our best-case efforts over the past many years.
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| Righthand Bunker on 6 Erosion and Contamination After Rainstorm |
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| Front Bunker on 6 After Recent Rainstorm |
Tennis Court Improvements
There have been numerous improvements to the Irving Park tennis facility over the past year including new fencing, wind screens, adding a new patio area and a significant amount of landscaping to the pickleball court area are just a few of the things worth mentioning. The latest improvement included making repairs to the brick walkway between the upper and lower courts as well as adding access to the pickleball courts by adding a new set of steps.
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| New Access Steps |
Tree Work
The winter is also a time where we do a lot of tree work. This year we will remove nearly 20 trees that are all dying, already dead or present a safety risk to the golfers. A good example of a safety risk was the split tree we removed last summer on #8 at Irving Park. That tree generated a huge crack after a moderate windstorm and posed a huge risk to golfers due to its immense size. Another similar tree was recently removed on #6 at the Farm course, which had a large amount of lean, was dead at the base and had a large crack forming in the main trunk.
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| Dead at the Base with a Strong Lean |
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| #6 Farm Tree Removal Short of Green |
Indoor Work
On cold and rainy days, which we have a lot of throughout the winter months, the staff has plenty to do inside. The number of course accessories definitely adds up on any given golf course and each year all those accessories such as, tee markers, water cooler housing, trash cans, and hazard stakes all have to be gone through and refurbished for the new year. So, there is a lot of sanding, painting and woodwork that goes on behind the scenes each year to keep everything looking new.
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| Sanding Tee Markers |
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| Benches and Hazard Stakes |
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| Water Cooler Housing |
