Snow - melt

Just like the rest of the country, this winter has been one of our snowiest and coldest in many years. We normally can play golf all year around here in the banana belt of northern ID, but this year we have been closed 42 days since Nov 1.

Recently we had 3" on last Thursday night, 3" on Friday night, and 4" on Saturday night.

Much needed moisture as the golf course was starting to get dry due to our dry fall and lack of rain

Expecting to be closed for another week or so was the feeling at the beginning of the week, then we got another interest phenomenon that happens around here and a warm chinook wind blew in from the south on Monday, coupled with a few small rain events and the course turned to complete slush and all the snow melted in 24 hours.

We kept a very close eye on the greens to see if we needed to squeegee and remove water from the greens as the snow was melting to prevent any water/slush from standing on the greens overnight and freezing, causing damage to the turf.  Things are very sensitive when you have free water sitting on the green.  Crown hydration, which is when the plant absorbs free water, the water expands when it freezes, and leads to rupturing of the cell wall.  This can happen in one night and could kill the plant if it froze that night.  Fortunately our night time temperatures have stayed above freezing so our turf is doing well.
The next day brought lots of water sitting on frozen ground due to the single digit lows and hi's near 15 that we had for 4 days prior to the snow storms.  This frozen ground prevented the water from soaking in.

The last two days have been above 50, which pulled the frost out of the ground allowing the water to soak in and drain off.  The course is now open again and playing well.

Canada Geese Control

One challenge we face all winter long due to our lack of snow cover, open water habitat, and nice grass providing a food source, is the large population of Canada geese that want to take up residency on the golf course.  They do look nice when they are swimming in the lakes and ponds but when they come up on land their numerous droppings, regurgitation of food, and pecking and digging at the turf really damper the playability of the golf course.

Over the years I have tried numerous different techniques to scare them away, some have worked very little while others have worked for only a short time.  Two things we do know is that geese will adapt to many things we throw at them, but also being persistent in trying to deter them from the golf course wil work if you stay after it day after day.

We have tried the predator method with alligator heads and cardboard coyotes.  They work for the first couple weeks until the geese realize they are not real, we also have tried to move them everyday and set them on swivels that will turn in the wind, but after a few weeks they all become friends.  We have purchased plastic "dead" geese and they again work for the first couple weeks.

Cardboard coyote acting as a predator

A plastic dead goose - this works fairly well about 3-4 weeks

 
We have tried also the annoying technique by harassing them and chasing them away with red and green laser lights.  Remote control boats to chase them off the pond.  Fishing line going around the edge of the pond about 6-8 inches off the ground to keep them from walking out of the water and up onto the golf course.  We have had some success with our golf course dog "BJ".  She does a great job of chasing them into the pond and even swimming out to clear out the pond, just make sure your dog will come back when you call as geese will try to swim out in front of a dog until the dog gets tired and could drowned.

BJ keeping the geese away

We have also had success with bangers that we get from our local State Fish and Game department.  They are a cartridge that is shot out and makes a bang like a shotgun shell once it has reached out about 50 yards.

Noise makers that travel out 50 yds and explode

These harassment techniques do work, but only when you are at the golf course to perform them, and so may times the geese arrive at dusk or even after dark for their nighttime feeding.

So this morning the staff put out our most successful technique, and that is to run fishing lines over the top of the ponds.

See the fishing lines in the red circles, 11 lines total going side to side across the pond

They are ran from side to side about 15-20 ft apart, stay about 3 ft over the top of the water, and have to be mono-filiment.  The mono-filiment makes the line so one side can be seen but the other side of the line is invisible.  The geese prefer to land on water and when they fly over they see these lines, but as the lines come and go into sight they do not know how many lines are out there, where they are located, or even if it could be a net over the top of the pond, so they just keep on flying to their next feeding ground or the next golf course.  The whole key is the deception of where the lines are located and how many are out there, and that is done by the visibility of the mono-filament line flickering and twisting in the wind.  

2 lines - 3 ft above the water

A line heading across the pond from its anchored point on shore

It does not hurt the geese at all, it does not make any noise for the homeowners and golfers, and most importantly it works 24 /7 even when we are not at the golf course or out near the ponds.  This is the 3rd year we have done this and even though it doesn't keep all the geese away, it does keep the large majority away.  The whole key is to take away their habitat as they like to land on the water, come up on land to feed, and be able to return to the water for safety to escape any predators.   If you can take away either the land or water source, i.e. lines over the water or a dog on land, then they will go find an "easier" place to feed.

A combination of several of these techniques and staying persistent with our harassment, does seem to allow us to win the battle over the mess the Canada Geese create.
        

Irrirgation system winterization / blowout

For the past 3 days the maintenance team has been hard at work winterizing and blowing out the irrigation system.  It is a long process to blow compressed air through all the pipes and heads to prevent any parts from freezing and cracking over the winter months.  We use two large compressors to fill the system with air and then go through each head blowing out the water til it is clear.  Everything went very good this year with no issues and everything is now ready for freezing temps.  Here are some pictures of the process the last 3 days.

One of the compressors hooked up to one of the pump stations