Here we go, guys and gals!!! Flip those calendar pages to May, trade in your winter sweatpants and hoodie for khakis and polos...a little side stretch to the left then the right, and LET’S GO...it’s golf season. May 8th, The Wilderness GC will be open for business, and while it’s been a busy few weeks here on the grounds crew, we couldn’t be more excited to have you out. Now let’s take a second and talk course, Corona, and Crew.
Course…
Now rumor has it, there was quite a bit of snow this winter...fortunately for us, that snow cover acted like a nice winter quilt and with all the fall precautions taken care of, the course came out of winter very well. While the tees and greens look absolutely great, we had some varmint damage on the fairways. We put out sand and seed to cover those areas.
Other than that, it has been a very productive couple of weeks. We pulled covers on the 16th…
Hole #10 Green above - Hole #17 Green below
and got our first mowing of the greens on April 23rd...fairways a few days after.
Hole #11 Green above - Hole #18 below (Lasers!!)
My grandfather used to tell me, “you make hay while the sun shines”...so with the beautiful weather we had, the crew got after it. First...
Hole #12 Tee
then we aerify...
Hole #11 Green
While we aren’t at mid-season form just yet...we are certainly on our way. Here is to a beautiful May.
While there is no one more excited to have golfers back than we are, don’t for a second think that Covid-19 isn’t on the forefront of our thoughts in setting up the golf course. Provisions will be made to minimize any contact, and we need your help to make it all work out. The biggest thing you will notice is that there won’t be a single bunker rake on the entire course. So it will be up to the golfers to pay-it-forward and give a little shoe rake of your stance and divot (assuming you hit behind the ball, :) There will be no ball washers on the course...make sure you put a little water on your towel before you get to the first tee. There will be no trash cans on the course...so please, please keep your trash with you until you return to the clubhouse. We will have foam in the cups to keep the ball from going to the bottom and the cup cutter will disinfect the flag every morning.
Some good news, in talking to a few doctors, they assure me, that there is no chance of spreading Covid-19 while fixing ball marks on the greens. (haha...a little ground crew humor...no, but really...ball marks, fair game) All joking aside, you can rest assured, that we are doing everything we can to make your visit a SAFE and enjoyable one.
As I wrap up my monthly newsletters, I want to take a moment and recognize many of the workers that I have the distinct fortune of working with...this month is Howard Ankrum.
Howard has spent his whole life in Minnesota, married with three children, this retired building inspector started here in 2008. Growing up on a farm, the big golf course equipment came easy to him. Well, except for the time he tried to mow the rough with a fairway mower. Asked what keeps him coming back, he said the crew. He enjoys the friendships that he’s developed during the season, and loves meeting a few new faces year in and year out. Howard is a volunteer firefighter and an avid hunter and fisherman (but isn’t everyone Up North). If you see Howard, say thanks, not only for what he has done, but for what he still does.
This brings us to the end of the page...I hope you have enjoyed, and maybe learned something new. If you enjoy this type of thing...feel free to follow along in our summer journey to provide the best this course has to offer. We have a new twitter page @WildernessGCM and our Blog ‘Between the Trees’. As always, we look forward to seeing you on the 1st tee and keep it between the trees.
Ryan VerNess