MGI and beyond

As your superintendent my first MGI tournament is under my belt and I think I can speak for the crew in saying, wow what an intense few days! First I'd like to congratulate the crew on doing an outstanding job getting the golf course ready and then keeping it tournament ready for four days. Second, a big thanks to all of the members who expressed their appreciation to me and the crew during the event and also to the pro shop staff and tournament committee for keeping us informed on the status of play. We couldn't have been more pleased with how the golf course stood up to all of the play. It was a fantastic experience here at Canterwood.

We recently prepared the golf course for the niners MGI, which went very well and we're looking forward to equally preparing the golf course for the Ladies MGI coming soon.

Golf Course Maintenance Update

We will be working in the days ahead on trying to eliminate some of the weeds in the ponds on #1 and #4. The majority of weeds are called Water Shield (Brasenia schreberi). They have been difficult to control chemically and we are going to be attempting to physically remove them by cutting the stalks under water. We will then apply some aquatic herbicide to help keep them in control. When used as directed, the chemicals applied are safe to use around wildlife


Additionally, after the Ladies MGI we will be once and for all digging into the mess at the #4 ladies tee box to see what's causing this to stay so wet and soggy. We will be removing a large portion of turf that is water logged and has a lot of thatch. We think that the area is either a spring or a possible leak in a domestic line that could be in the area.

Recent Vandalism

A few days ago we had someone cut some donuts with a vehicle on #5, #14 and # 15 fairways.While we were able to fix the damage quickly,  it tied up three of our staff for a day and half to repair. Things of course could have been a lot worse. Unfortunately there were no witnesses to this vandalism and we are working with security to gather more information. If anyone has information please give myself or security a call.

#14 fairway

#15 fairway

#5 fairway

#14 repaired

Golf Course Maintenance Update

As many of you know by now, we have removed some trees throughout the golf course. Our goal was completed and the improvements are already helping improve turf conditions and playability.

Area behind #14 green around restroom

View from #9 tee

Recently you will have noticed we aerated the greens using what we call needle tines. This process helps "vent" the greens. The holes are generally only visible for a day or two. This process helps get the water and  air down into the root zone. The holes will assist us in some of the localized dry spots you see on the greens as well. We plan to do this at least once a month during the growing season. The process takes about two full days to complete. Thanks for your patience during this time.

Aeration machine

Needle tine holes

On Monday of this week we started aerating the roughs. This process takes about four days to complete. It leaves a pretty good size plug on the ground. We will be dragging and mowing these up and most should disappear in about another week or so. Again thanks for your patience and please check in with the pro shop regarding current rules during this time.

Around the pro shop you will be noticing some new turf that will take the place of the ivy that was overgrown in this area. We plan to have this completed by Friday.

Project updates

I'm happy to report we are finally removing some trees around the golf course. The delay has been centered around the weather. The golf course needed to be dry enough to get heavy equipment in and around so we don't cause any turf damage. We started with the removal of some trees today (Monday) near #1 green and #2 tee. This will help during the winter months when we get frost. From there we removed some trees next to the #5 tee box to let in more light. Tomorrow ( Tuesday) we will be removing trees on #9 tee and down by the lake to open up the hole for enhanced playability.  After that is completed we have targeted some shade trees on #10 in the right rough on the other side of the lake. We have also planned a number of trees to be removed at the #14 restroom area. This is being planned for next Monday June 14th.  Be sure to check in with the pro shop before your round as we will be letting the pro shop know of our progress and detours, if any, while the work is being completed.

#5 tee box looking down towards #4 green

Sanding of the fairways took place today (Monday) with all fairways receiving about 3/16" of sand. This will really help in the long run by providing a smoother playing surface, improved drainage and help to reduce thatch.

Fairway sanding #14

Fairway Aerification update

We will be starting to aerify fairways today on holes # 1,9, and 18. We will be using a solid tine this go around. The solid tines will not leave a plug and will recover much faster. Sanding the fairways will commence tomorrow and into Friday.  A sanding contractor will be here on Monday to finish off the rest of the fairway sanding. This should be finished by Tuesday sometime. We'll do our best to allow play through and we are sorry for any inconvenience. We were unable to sand the fairways on our first aerification for a variety of reasons, most of which were weather related.

Fairway aerification and sanding update

Once again the weather has thrown us a curve ball.We also recently had one of our tractors go down with a steering problem. We will attempt to aerify and sand when we get a break in the weather and our tractor gets back up and running. Looking at the weather for the rest of this week it may not happen until after the holiday the week of May 29. We will keep you posted as we proceed.

Fairway aerification Update

We have rescheduled the fairway aerification and sanding to the week of May 21.