Hello,
This will be the first newsletter for the maintenance department and this time of year brings warmer weather and more favorable conditions for growing grass. We had such a dry winter with a late spring that gave us quite a bit of moisture which has given the course a much needed kick to the turf growing season.

The department has had several new challenges to overcome by the tight budgets that have been enforced. Our difficulties will be dealt with on normal maintenance and finishing older projects as well as any new renovations that the course will go through this season. The plan we have put together will hopefully answer all of these financial restrictions but the entire golf industry is facing new equations on a daily basis.

The Wyoming State Forestry crew has removed several large trees on the front nine to correct some agronomic issues as well as addressing some safety hazards that were present. Another huge project yet to be finished is the drainage on the back nine as the process had several delays due to irrigation breaks, ground conditions for completion and lack of materials due to monetary status last fall. This work has continued and is on pace to be finished in the next few weeks as the weather has changed the soil saturation levels. There will be some major scarring that’ll be present after completion but this esthetic blemish will be worth the overall long term results.

The health of the turf continues to be the main goal of this department and the course will keep improving as we become more consistent with practices implemented throughout the season. We will use similar practices on the greens as we did last year but with a little better control on green speed as we reached several thresholds last year that saw some slick surfaces on certain greens. Speaking of greens we had a few that were damaged over the winter due to the lack of moisture and the wind drying up what available water was present for protection. These areas are slowly coming back and will continue to recover after the aerification process that will begin on the 17th/18th of May. This is always a sore subject as far as playability is concerned but the actual process is a necessary operation to ensure the stability of these crucial playing surfaces.

The water delivery system went through some energy saving and efficiency improvements since last year. This is very important as we all know how crucial our water storage and availability hinders this industry. We have already seen the savings with the addition of the new pump and the older system enjoys having a break every now and then.

The crew has finally arrived and we are starting our regular maintenance schedule so please watch out for them as we are trying to make up lost ground in the nonexistent March/ April. Our staff is excited to be out just like all of you folks to enjoy this wonderful game and partake in the beauty that the scenery brings with green grass and snow capped mountains.
We’ll see you out there!!!

Jason Aanestad
Golf Course Superintendent