All Facilities are Open

We have mowed greens and fairways multiple times. The course is in great shape! We are shoveling the sand in the bunkers to distribute it evenly after a winter of washing and blowing. Trees and shrubs have started to leaf out. It's Spring!

The 9-Hole Course opened March 20.

The 18-Hole Course opened Saturday March 24.

Off-season Green Fees (25% discount) are in effect through Tuesday April 3.

The Driving Range is open.

As of Sunday March 11, 2007 we are seeing positive signs throughout the property. Much of the snow and ice has melted. The ground is still frozen, trapping moisture near the surface. Now that temperatures are in the low 50ºs, we could use a nice heavy rain to complete the thaw. Night time temps that stay above freezing would also help. That combination could allow us to open the 9-hole course within a week or so.

As of Wednesday March 14, 2007 we have several areas of the course were the winter frost has left the ground. This allows moisture trapped at the surface to drain into the soil. Unless temperatures drop far below freezing, we should be able to open the 9-Hole Course in five or six days. We should be able to mow greens on the 9-Hole Course in about a week. The 18-Hole Course is probably still at least a couple of weeks away from opening. There is a wide disparity in the rate of turf growth throughout the property. Some areas are starting to green up, while others remain fully dormant.

As of Saturday March 17, 2007 most of the frost is gone by the end of the day, only to return when temperatures drop into the 20ºs at night. The 9-hole greens are dry enough to mow, but we don't want to mow them just yet and expose them to the cold over night temperatures, which would shock them and set them back. Barring significant precipitation, we should be able to clear the greens of debris and mow them on Monday so that the course can be open on Tuesday or Wednesday. Watch this space!

On Monday March 19, 2007 we were able to remove the 54,000 square feet of protective fabric cover from the driving range tee and open the tee to golfers. Tuesday March 20 we will open the 9-hole course. As of mid-day on Monday it is too wet and soft to drive maintenance equipment on the course. If the wet conditions persist, that will slow our efforts to do any course maintenance. At minimum, we will get the ropes down around the greens, cut new hole locations and set out tee markers. Our next priority will be to blow debris from the greens and mow them.

Tuesday March 20, 2007 - The 9-hole course opened for the season. This is a little later than normal, but not by much.

Friday March 23, 2007 - The 18-hole course will open tomorrow, six days earlier than last year. The greens are growing and are being mowed. We are on off-season rates (25% discount) because it is too wet to mow the fairways and the sand in bunkers is still scruffy from the winter. It will take us a while to get all of the bunkers in top condition, as the soft, wet ground makes it difficult to move equipment around the course.

Wednesday April 4, 2007 - Regular full price green fees go into effect. We are fully maintaining the golf course. Tees, greens and fairways are being mowed regularly and bunkers are being trimmed and raked.

When Do We Open The Golf Course For The Season?

9-Hole Course - We open the 9-hole course as soon as the frost is out of the greens. When there is frost in the greens, the layer of frozen soil prevents water from draining down through the soil. The greens are inordinately wet because all moisture is trapped between the surface and the frost line. Once the frost line dissipates, the moisture trapped at the surface quickly drains away.

Because the greens are mostly made of sand, they are the first part of the course to freeze and the last part of the course to thaw out. A good indicator of the presence of frost is ice on our lakes. Normally, the greens are free of frost within a few days of the the last of the winter ice melting off the lakes.

How Can We Tell How Much Frost is Still Down There?

18-Hole Course - We open the 18-hole course as soon as the creeping bentgrass on the greens is growing enough to be mowed. Depending on the weather, this is usually a week to ten days after the frost is out of the greens.

Average Date of Course Opening  - We typically open the 9-hole course around the middle of March and the 18-hole course toward the end of March. Only four times in our history have we not opened in March. Twice we were lucky and opened in February. Twice we were not so fortunate and did not get open until April.

The earliest that we have ever opened the course on greens was February 25 - the course was as green as mid summer and we were able to use motor carts. The latest that we have ever opened was April 8.

The bad news is that when the course opens in February, it does not stay open. Things tend to even out weather wise and bad weather in March can close us down if the greens freeze again. On the other hand, if the course does not open until April, it usually remains open from that date forward.

In 2006 we opened the 9-hole course March 10 and the 18-hole course March 30.

In 2007 we opened the 9-hole course March 20 and the 18-hole course March 24.