Week of March 20
- matthewbehl
- Mar 24, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 25, 2023
It was a very busy week on the course as we are now in full prep mode. Greens were rolled this week, cut for the first time, and topdressed with sand as well. Rain is predicted on Saturday and this rain will wash the sand into the turf canopy. This will help smooth the surface, dilute organic matter, and also provide some warmth to the turf surface. As you can see from the picture above greens already have great color and do not have the unnatural glow from a green that has been covered. As you all know, I am not a fan of turf covers for a variety of agronomy reasons.
Below are some pictures of the rolling, cutting, topdressing procedure
All play surfaces have come through winter in great shape. In my opinion, fairways came through winter in exceptional shape. It is hard to believe we were suffering from a drought and water shortage just last September. Fairways are also draining exceptionally well.
Much of this week was spent concentrating on cleanup. All play surfaces were cleaned of debris. The only play areas that were not cleared were areas where we still had some lingering snow cover. We have started the process of piling up the debris in the rough for pickup.
Below is a gallery of some of the cleanup process:
Also this week the short game area was prepped and is open for your use as well as the temporary course. Short game greens can be used, but the practice greens and regulation greens remain closed. Please remember to tee off from the designated areas on fairways while utilizing the temporary course.
The constant small nuisance snows that occurred over March has definitely set us back as far as cleanup. We basically had three weeks of snow cover right when we wanted to start cleanup. We still have a tremendous amount of cleanup work left.
Work on tap for next week other then cleanup:
First chemical and fertility application to greens
Pressure up the irrigation system
Chip brush on 4 and driving range field
Prep range for opening
Prune work to third hole
Stump grinder back in to touch up stumps mostly on 3
Start bunker prep
I am currently in the hiring process. The policy at Ipswich is that members children or relatives can not work at the clubhouse or any position with general member interaction (front of the house). They are welcome on the golf course agronomy team. If any members have anybody they know interested in work please have them reach out to me at matthew.behl@invitedclubs.com. I have a variety of positions available and women are encouraged to apply. Women are starting to take over this once male dominated profession.
Lead assistant Kevin Bird will be moving on and taking on an assistant position at Tedesco Country Club. His last day will be March 28th. Kevin has been at Ipswich since 2006! Through hard work and dedication Kevin worked his way into the lead assistant role. Kevin has provided a wealth of information on the property over my four seasons and I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with him. As a manager, I knew this time was coming and am grateful to have had 4 seasons with Kevin. From my first day at Ipswich, I have been working on a succession plan for when Kevin moved on. Michael Curtin will be moving into the lead assistant role. Marcelo Barrios (Irrigation Tech) who was my first hire at Ipswich will be increasing his responsibilities. Juan Reyes will be taking on an assistant in training role. New hire Jim Kindler who just recently obtained his pesticide license will be trained into our spray technician. I hope over the next 4 to 6 weeks to hire another assistant in training and work on taking two assistants in training to the next level for when the next succession happens.
