Golf Course Report

April 19, 2018

The April Report is always filled with a little bit of - exhaustion, from the seemingly endless Golf Season; relief, from surviving the onslaught of 25,000 golfers in a four month span; optimism, from the light at the end of the short tunnel ahead that will allow my team to begin the process of making the course even better; and of course a little bit of pride, love and admiration for my team, they began this season under the most adverse conditions and constantly went above and beyond expectations.  We end each day at the time clock with a fist bump, a handshake and/or a hug and this year that interaction has a little more meaning.  We rise and fall as one, we are a True Family.

It is interesting to look back at the ups and downs, the goods and bad and the successes and failures.  Typically they all tend to revolve around weather.  From a record breaking wet summer to a not so nice storm named Irma followed by months of clean up.  This led right into a very cold January, record breaking heat in February, back to a seasonable March and now we are getting late cold fronts in the third week of April.  On a daily basis, weather effects our decisions on cultural practices, fertility, irrigation, mower set up, and a multitude of other functions.  That is the blessing of having a team that can adapt on the fly with the ever changing conditions and plans. 

We are all looking forward to the summer.  Well maybe me more than others. We have plenty of projects planned that will improve the golf course from a playability aspect and enhance the aesthetic value of your round. I anticipate some re-planting of perimeter buffers, some widening of playable surfaces, leveling and expanding a few tees, replacing the asphalt on #11 with concrete, a concerted effort to improve fairway conditions and a few other tricks up my sleeve to give Stonebridge a new look for next Season. 

My pursuit for perfection continues to motivate me to take Stonebridge to places it has never seen before.  If you think this year was good, wait ‘til next year!

Male Wood Duck

Osprey Cleaning Fish prior to delivering to the nest