Drought Conditions at Victoria Park

Drought conditions persist at Victoria Park. We have not had significant rainfall in over a month and the golf course and water reservoirs (ponds) are showing it. Both Victoria Park East and Valley get their irrigation water from a deep well that fills our irrigation pond. During dry conditions we draw more water to irrigate the golf course then our permit allows to refill the reservoir. Under normal conditions the timely rainfall will allow us to stop watering the golf course and to fill up the ponds. This has not happened and we are still in June.
Water restrictions will most likely be happening very soon for people and businesses with a Permit to Take Water

Water restrictions will mean we will have to cut back on the amount of water we can use and we will have to start prioritizing parts of the golf course we irrigate. Since we do not water the rough anyway we would have to cut back on fairways and tees. This would leave enought water for greens.
Even without water restrictions our irrigation system will never be as good as natural rainfall. Certain areas have gone dormant. The turf is not dead and it will come back when ever significant rainfall occurs. The golf course is stlll very playable and we should be happy with the extra roll our ball is getting. We must keep up with the times and realize that having the golf courses in lush green conditions during a drought is not sustainable. Thank you for understanding.
Until next time...
David

What happened to the Early Spring!

Yesterday's snowfall has certainly slowed down the early spring we were all talking about a couple of weeks ago. We did manage to get 18 holes open at both courses. We mowed the greens at least once and had power carts out for a couple of days. With the golf course closed for a few more days we are keeping busy with spring jobs such as painting and spring cleaning. Annette looks like a professional rolling paint at the Valley.  The weather does not look good for the next week or so. Some of you may be wondering if this will have any effect on the greens. I am not worried this is just Mother Nature letting us know who is boss. The greens will be fine.
Until next time...  David

Early Spring has Arrived

 The weather is sunny and mild and the golf course overwintered well. The greens did not suffer any winter kill this year. That is great news for Victoria Park East since the course experienced some issues the past two seasons. The driving range and temporary layout opened today - March 12. This may be the earliest we have opened the range. We will have the entire golf course open by Easter Weekend maybe before depending on the weather.

 Chris Schuurmans (Assistant Superintendent) and crew were replacing sod this morning on some of the greens that have experienced winter kill/ ice damage in the past. A small strip of sod was cut out in any low areas to allow for water to drain quickly of the greens during thaw and snow melt.

There is some minor snow mould disease on some fairways. This is minor and will grow out soon. I will try to keep my posts more frequent this year, See everyone soon.
Until next time...
David