2024
WHAT’S HOT – August 24, 2024
1. Apologies. I’m really dropping the ball this season with keeping my submissions regular. Its been a very challenging time as of late.
2. Disease, irrigation, staffing, machine failures, communication, projects. It all gets overwhelming on occasion. Fortunately, the staff we do have, are super people and really do care about the place, making things less of a burden.
3. Wasps are really bad this year. If you come across a nest, TEXT and let me know where please. We’ll try and address the issue if possible. (306)441-2539.
4. We lost our river pump on August 16th. The pump that fills our irrigation reservoir. The pump runs on 3 phase power and we lost a phase on the pole. If the pump is running at the time, it destroys it. As was the case with ours.
5. We’ve started construction of an additional 3 forward tees on #’s 1, 10 and 18. Unfortunately it’s going to drag on a bit due to staff shortages. We have to maintain a golf course first.
6. Aeration and topdressing of the greens went extremely well. Then we lose the pump and had to ration irrigation. Not a good situation for hole recovery. The rain last night will definitely help.
7. Still have no idea where the fringe mower we ordered in January of 2023 is. Absolutely nothing has gotten better in manufacturing since Covid.
8. The same bus load of guys that have come several years now, are causing the same complaints each and every year. No respect for our course.
9. Mosquito repellent kills turf. Apply it standing in the parking lot or on a path.
10. Had a double pin day for both Men’s and Ladies nights this past week. Received a few inquiries why they were the same pin placements both nights. Well, setting up for a double pin event is extremely time consuming. 3 hours to do the legit pins. 3 hours to do the difficult pins, ¾ hour to put the flags out before the event. We lose an employee for almost and entire day. And this doesn’t take into account putting the plugs back in when the event is over. Our staffing situation presently doesn’t allow for different pins on different days. Sorry.
11. This summer has seen an incredible amount of past employees at the course. Either stopping by the shop to say hi, playing in tournaments with other past employees or just playing a round with their husbands, wives and kids. Its nice to hear their fond memories of the place and the lasting friendships they made.
12. A lot of positive comments about the condition of the compound parking road. You can set your watch by Danny grooming that road every morning most likely before any of you are up.
13. There’s a few leaves falling to the ground and I think more are to come very, very soon. We again will try our very best to keep those fairways clear of leaves. Hopefully we’ll have the staff to do the job.
14. I better update our job ads. Again.
15. After the 3 new forward tees are complete, we’ll start a bridge project at the 1st tee swale. Next season another bridge at the 10th tee.
16. Even though K&S Asphalt have an incredibly busy fall lined up, they still do intend to do some paving on the course. Planned is the 16th green to the 17th tee as well as behind the 17th green to the 18th tee. Both involve recapping what’s presently there.
17. Hopefully we will be able to find some time to move some trees from the nurseries onto the course. We’d also like to restock a nursery as well.
18. We’ve really being trying to clean up the perennial beds around the course this season. We were moving along pretty good until wasp season came upon us. One of our employees suffered over 20 stings. We’ve decided to postpone the project until next spring.
19.We sure hope the recoveries of Marty, Barry and Hayden are coming along well. 3 very valuable employees the Crew miss.
20. The worms are back in full force again. It was nice to get a decent rain last night but the trade off is those damn castings. Will cut back on irrigation for a few days to improve the situation.
21. We’ve been trying to prune back branches along cart paths lately. Admittedly, we could be more aggressive. I’ll try and get more involved.
22. Thanks for all those positive comments. Keeps the team chugging along in these challenging times.
Grant
WHAT’S HOT – July 28, 2024
1. Just like the rain all through June, the heat of July has us all saying, “you better watch what you wish for.” The combination of the two extremes has resulted in unbelievable growth condition. Growth we’re definitely having a difficult time keeping up with.
2. Another wind event Friday afternoon. Downed trees and branches everywhere. Another planned Saturday sleep-in down the drain.
3. Still playing catch-up from the June event schedule but getting a handle on most of the postponed maintenance.
4. Still waiting on delivery of equipment we ordered in January of 2023. Finally received the utility vehicle ordered at the same time.
5. I just went to website to read my previous submission. It’s been suggested I get repetitive with these things and want to avoid it. My mid-July entry is missing in action. No explanation.
6. Believe it or not, we are still advertising positions and still training new comers on the Crew.
Very difficult to get into any routine when our more senior staff are spending time away from their regular commitments with new employees.
7. A lot of disease on the course. Perfect conditions for it. Heat and humidity.
8. Due to equipment issues and staff shortages, we have no alternative other than to maintain our fringes with a fairway mower. Aswell, rather than 3 times a week, they are being cut twice a week.
9. Yes, we knocked off early last Tuesday to have a staff golf outing. Those staff that have stuck with us from the beginning and even the recent hires deserved to have some fun on the track they’ve produced through some extremely challenging times. They really enjoyed themselves.
10. The river is back down to uncomfortable levels. Our suction line is still in plenty of water but we have a way to go yet until we stop irrigating.
11. Thanks to the Lampitt and Hartl golf groups for their kind words and gift to the crew. Very much appreciated.
12. The condition of the driving range tee did decline through the early days of the heat-wave. We discovered the irrigation wasn’t coming on. I believe we’ve brought her back through a lot of manual irrigation.
13. We’ve had some very experienced staff leave us for various reasons recently. All are extremely difficult to replace this time of year.
14. Huge thanks to those that respect the course, the members and staff enough to share carts.
15. Hopefully we will be able to start hauling materials soon to our new forward tee locations on #’s 1, 10 and 18. We will make every effort so that construction does not to affect the course conditions.
16. We have some very dedicated volunteers looking after our flower beds, assisting with tournaments, and helping the crew with the most menial of tasks on the course. They are so committed to contributing to the success of our club.
17. It’s always our goal to stay out the way of players particularly on weekends. Be invisible.
18. The Blend Riverside sure treat the maintenance staff well. Much appreciated for what they did for the team on our golf outing.
19. We are going to install another bridge this fall. It will replace the culverts in front of the 1st tee. We will do another in front of the 10th tee next fall. Considering both are in-house projects, we thought it best to work within our means and do one at a time.
20. I don’t think anyone thought our forward tees would be used as much as they are. Its great to see and look forward to building more permanent ones.
21. We have the absolute best mechanic in the business. He’s had and incredibly challenging season and has gone to great lengths to keep us going. Always with the most positive attitude.
22. The plan was to cut in a new cart path to the new forward tee this week. Not entirely sure we’ll get the project completed considering the storm clean-up yet to be completed. On thing is certain, the crew will do their best.
23. Very difficult keeping a consistent green speed when the growth rates are what they are. We practice a weekly topdressing verticutting rotation. And no, we don’t change our height of cut.
24. Thank you to Vaughn from BSS Services for his kindness. The team very much appreciates his gift.
25. The new blower sure came in handy yesterday morning dealing with poplar debris. Managed to get most fairways playable before the 1st groups. It was nice to purchase it locally. Thanks to Triod Supply.
26. The positive comments regarding the condition and appearance of the sand traps is much appreciated. However, there’s been those who’ve appeared disappointed with the return of the fresh edges.
27. Huge thanks to Marshall Weber again for going above and beyond.
28. Damn Poplars !!!!!
Have great week.
Grant Sawchyn
WHAT’S HOT – June 9, 2024
1. Thanks to every one of you who share a cart. It shows your respect for the course and fellow members.
2. We’ve received numerous positive comments regarding the work we’ve done around the cul-de-sac at the club house. We removed the majority of the deer damaged plants and added fresh ground cover. No small task. The majority of the crew, took the majority of the week to complete the project.
3. Slowly but surely the new forward tees are recovering from a terrible winter. Killing desiccation and deer urine damage on the majority of the new turf.
4. When we hire in the spring, we hire per job we do on a daily basis. We don’t have that extra employee to pick up the slack. On Friday we were missing three. Was a little crazy trying to get ready for the weekend with a big corporate tourney that afternoon.
5. The new display board is for Men’s and Ladies’ Night purposes only. It was built inhouse to the dimensions given. I felt in necessary to build it strong enough to withstand the winds we experience here.
6. Yes, it took much too long to hand mow the hill in front of the 13th blue tee. My bad. Should have been done a week earlier.
7. Hopefully the weather will cooperate enough this week so we can address the dandelion situation.
8. Our regular fringe mower is presently out of use. We’ve been forced to adapt an old greens mower to take its place for the time being. Not a good situation.
9. Although we have not hired anyone new for several weeks, we’re still in training mode. Its frustrating but we’re getting there.
10. We’ve finally repaired our irrigation satellite issues and everything operating as it should. An irrigation tech from Edmonton was on site for several hours to get us up and going. He too is convinced the damage was caused by a power surge.
11. We continue to put an emphasis on divot replacement and divot filling. Any free time, staff is at the par3’s and some par 4’s.
12.Many positive comments about tree removal and high-level pruning on the 12th hole. Left side of the green is opened up.
13. We have yet to cut in a path to the new forward tee on #2. Watching the traffic patterns before we install it. It will be soon though.
14. To those that continue to suggest that the 8th and 17th holes weren’t irrigated during the satellite failure, someone gave you bad information.
15.All the rain is nice but the cool nights sure are not helping with winter kill recovery. Where it really shows is on the driving range tee. Our weekly overseeding is taking much longer to germinate than normal.
16.We plan on removing more deer damaged perennials out on the course when time allows. It’s definitely very labour intensive.
17. We plan on continuing our hand mowing of the 3 new forward tees for a while yet. Please ensure the staff are far enough out of the way before you hit.
18. Thank you very much to our flower volunteers. A lot of husbands involved this year too. Can’t wait to enjoy the beauty of their hard work. Our club has some great volunteers.
19. Remember, only PGA golf professionals are allowed to drive their golf carts on the range tee.
20. The decision to replace all the dead perennials we removed with new plants will be made later in the season.
21. We plan on doing more stump grinding soon. In fact, the contractor was prepared to be on site already, but I had to hold him back due to our tournament schedule.
22. Finally have an absolutely juicy day. Enjoy!!!
Grant Sawchyn
gsaw@sasktel.net
WHAT’S HOT – May 19, 2024
1. WORMS!!!!! They rank right up there with poplar trees. They make a mess, ruin our equipment, effect playing conditions and are the biggest nuisance for our team.
2. We were somewhat content for a few weeks that we had built ourselves a great crew for the year. Well, another hiccup has developed forcing us to start the search all over again.
3. We’ve decided to go ahead and remove all the damaged perennials on the course that were damaged by starving deer the winter of 2022. We’re starting in the cul-de-sac at the clubhouse. It’s been a big job so far and we’re just getting started.
4. There’s been a few more poplar trees earmarked for removal. So many have come to the end of their cycle.
5. Thanks to assistant Stu for going the extra mile dealing with some staffing challenges.
6. Going to put down a new worm inhibitor we’ve never used before and the only one available these days. In the past the products used have been liquid in nature. This new product is granular. Not sure how big the prill is or how long it takes to break down. Hopefully its effective.
7. Dandelion season is pretty much upon us. That means some very early mornings for a few of us.
8. Our 2024 fertilizer order was finally delivered this past week and just in time. I think the course is in prime condition to respond to a good feeding.
9. Received our 1st load of sand this past week. A second load would have followed if not for the rain. This week I guess, if the road dries up. Hopefully address some bunker issues in upcoming weeks.
10. Thanks to those who cooperated during the new internet excavation and installation at the clubhouse. It went pretty smoothly.
11. Incredibly busy June for the maintenance team. Several tournaments which likely result in very little project work or cultural practices getting done the entire month.
12. Finally got that range netting repaired. Had to wait for a calm day. Thanks to the pro shop for shutting the range down for an hour.
13. While we had the man lift here for the range, we went over to the 12th tee to do some high-level branch removal. Combined with the tree removal on the left side bush a few weeks back, we believe it opened up the left side of the green allowing us to use more of the tee.
14. We addressed several deer urine kills on some greens. That’s right, deer pee kills turf. AND MOSQUITO REPELLENT !!!!
15. We plan on continuing our applications to address moss on the greens. At present, I’ve only seen it on one green. But all greens will receive an app a couple times this season.
16. Received another comment regarding inconsistent green speed. Even an accusation that all greens aren’t being cut. Fact of the matter is, those damn worm castings build up on the rollers of the mowers, changing the height of cut slightly. As well, those castings contain a great deal of sand which is very damaging to the mower reels, resulting in a poor quality of cut.
17. The orange circles on the fairways are cup and pin locations for junior golf.
18. Unlikely we’ll get the bunkers edged in June like we normally do. Too many events taking place. Enjoy putting out of them for a while longer.
19. The weekend team just finished their shift and off they go to Timmy’s for a breakfast sandwich. You gotta love the team building.
Any questions or comments?? gsaw@sasktel.net
Grant Sawchyn
WHAT’S HOT – May 4, 2024
1. Wow, May already. Time flies when you’re shivering every second day. Definitely am ready for some seasonal temps.
2. Well, Monday morning will be the first day with our entire crew. The students and part-timers start. The majority of the bunch are new to the golf biz and will require training. We’ve got a head start on training with the fulltime people who have been with us a few weeks already. They’re definitely showing potential.
3. Irrigation challenges are definitely getting the best of both Stu and myself. We’ve even brought mechanic Danny into the irrigation world and he’s helped tremendously but when you’re dealing with a failing communication satellite, its like looking for a needle in a hey stack. It could be a hundred different issues. The good thing is we can still irrigate manually until a tech shows up to give us a hand.
4. We used this past Thursday’s crappy weather to address the cat tails in the ponds on 9 and 18. It’s a very difficult job to do on a busy golf course like ours. Dangerous in fact when you have balls flying at you from all directions. Crappy weather means no balls and a ton of work gets done. Very disappointing we couldn’t finish the job the next day but hopefully we’ll get another opportunity soon.
5. The most difficult aspect of training new people on a golf course is time management and attention to detail. They are required to get good at operating a strange machine in a short period of time in order to complete their job within time parameters we have given them. As well, they must develop an understanding for both prime golf conditions and our expectations for an aesthetically pleasing environment. It can be overwhelming for someone new. I think this bunch is going to handle it in very short order.
6. From what I hear, the Spring Scramble was a lot of fun. Thanks to those that participated.
7. This past week, I spoke with 3 flower volunteers, each responsible for separate flower beds. They’re definitely focused and determined to produce something great in their flower beds. We are so lucky to have individuals willing to help provide a wonderful golfing experience.
8. The river level actually went down this past week. To say we’re just a little worried is an understatement.
9. Our maintenance compound is almost impassable due to soft muddy conditions. As dry as it is everywhere else, there still remains a very high water table at that end of the property. Likely the reason for a tilting machine quonset and crooked fences including the cart compound.
10. With the extra staff coming on board, we’ll be able to address additional leaf issues on the course. The focus will definitely be around the tee complexes.
11. Its very difficult for me to watch foursomes riding individual carts.
12. Our irrigation is controlled by a computer in my office. The computer program contains start and run times for each individual sprinkler on the course. At night, the computer sends wireless messages to the satellite controls throughout the course. The satellite interprets what the computer is telling it and sends its own message through wires in the ground to the sprinklers. When to turn on, when to turn off. One of our satellites is having difficulty interpreting the message it’s is being given. There is no rhyme nor reason to what is coming on and off. Most of the time it’s the same ones all night long.
13.We plan on redoing the new rubber matting on #13.
14. Until further notice, the blue tee markers on the par 3’s will be moved on the gold tee boxes each Tuesday and Thursday. Trying to take some of the pressure off them from the heavy traffic.
15. We’re going to try and get additional stump grinding done in the next few weeks. We don’t possess a skid steer and stump grinder and the job is contracted out.
16. Please report evening vandalism to the pro shop or a marshal if ones on site.
17. All maintenance teams on any golf course, consider the 1st 3 hours of the day, the most important. If they get caught up in too much early traffic, other less intrusive maintenance or projects don’t get done. We have a very strictly scheduled morning regime that allows us to address the most important areas within the 3 hours. As a result, our members and guests have a more enjoyable golf experience and the team gets a lot more other work done.
18. Our employees are told never to shut their mowers off when waiting for players. They are told to idle the engine down. Shutting a hot engine off is very hard on the engine and can lead to catastrophic damage.
19. All that turf we cut out to build the forward tees and paths is stock piled and turned several times a year. It becomes excellent topsoil we can reuse. It’s a huge savings as well.
20. Please cooperate and replace your divots particularly on the par 3’s. If there is nothing left of it, fill it with the sand and seed mixture.
Any questions or concerns? gsaw@sasktel.net
Grant Sawchyn
WHAT’S HOT – April 27, 2024
1. Well, we’ve been open since the 24th and its been booked solid every day. We were planning on opening on the 20th but Mother Nature won again.
2. A whole bunch of new staff this spring. It will mean a great deal of training again. Its very time consuming and holds us back from regular spring work.
3. Fired up the irritation system on Wednesday. Had to put the river pump in first which went very well other than we sat the suction line on a huge block of ice just under the surface of the river. Fortunately, we were just barely able to pump water to the reservoir.
4. Although there is some ice damage on the course, its not to the extent I was fearing. Once again #8 took a licking. When soil temperatures warm up, we’ll pull out the over-seeder and address the weak areas of the green as well as some smaller areas on other greens.
5. I just can’t believe how few applications came from university students. We’re still trying to fill 2 positions.
6. I’m extremely happy how well the team has cleaned up the poplar leaves thus far. There still remains a ton of hand work but for the most part, the in-play areas are pretty nice.
7. We still have to address some rips in the range netting. The ground was too soft for the longest time and wouldn’t allow us to operate a lift safely. And then the constant wind. Once we do get around to doing it, we may request the pro shop shut the range down for a few hours while we’re up in the air. Safety first.
8. It usually takes 24 hours to pump enough water into the reservoir before we can fire the irrigation up. Then there’s a couple of days of manual watering to iron out the kinks in the system before using automation. And remember, “the only thing that works the same in spring as it did in the fall, is a potato masher”.
9. We really appreciate those of you who continue to cooperate and ride two to a cart. To those of you who insist on riding single in individual carts, please reconsider.
10. Once again, a reminder to replace your divots when possible, on the par 3’s. If its too damaged to replace, fill the divot with sand/seed mix and level.
11. Its concerning that we are already worried about the low river levels and our ability to pump out of it. Hopefully not another year of irrigation rationing.
12. We are planning on cutting in gravel cart paths adjacent to our new forward tees soon. Eventually when we build more forward tees complete with gravel cart paths, the paths will be paved.
13. We were hoping to get some stump grinding done last fall. Unfortunately, our contractor couldn’t fit us in. Hopefully, this spring some can be done.
14. If you witness any vandalism on the course, please report it to the pro shop. Last season, there were multiple mornings we came to work and discovered divots out of greens, broken rakes, broken tee markers. Day time etiquette should definitely continue on into the evening rounds.
15. I was very disappointed when I arrived at the course on Sunday to find that we only received a fraction of the rain that fell in town. I hope its not going to be another one of those years.
16. We overseed the range tee deck every Tuesday morning. It’s a labor-intensive process that takes a bit of time to complete. We literally throw seed into the divots and hand shovel sand to cover the seed. The team refers to it as feeding the chickens. We’re proud of our range.
17. We’re already seeing carts parking with two wheels on the turf. Please keep all 4 wheels on the path.
18. We’re having difficulty with irrigation communication on #8 and #17. Until we get the issue resolved you may see the odd sprinkler going on the fairway.
19. Can’t wait to see what our flower volunteers have in store for us this season. We’re so lucky to have these dedicated members beautifying our course every year.
20. Communication hick-up by me to the staff. Should have been knew cups in the greens this weekend. My Bad.
21. Any concerns comments or complaints? gsaw@sasktel.net
Grant Sawchyn
WHAT’S HOT – March 16, 2024
1. Well, I’ve had one no-show for an interview already this Saturday morning. Have two more scheduled today. Hope I have better luck.
2. Indzi’s Courier Service or as the Saskatoon venders refer to her as Chipper Courier, brought me a couple boxes of golf course furnishing materials. One product is vinyl shrink wrap to put on some older rake handles. With the price of paint these days it’s the most economical. Looks better too.
3. Got those brush piles burnt this past week. Took a couple days, but Stu and Mark got it done. Perfect weather. Slight breeze keeping the smoke out of the city.
4. Man the snow sure melted down the last couple days. Plowing roads out to greens shouldn’t be as difficult as I was expecting.
5. Had several inquiries last summer where our weather station is located now. Well, its presently high up on a shelf in the shop. We were forced to take it down when we built the 4th hole. Hopefully we can get it back up. I personally miss the data it provided us.
6. The loading ramp in cart compound parking lot got damaged last fall. We’ll have to get it repaired prior to opening day.
7. There was still a ton of snow on the brush piles making it difficult to keep the fires going but Assistant Stu came up with great idea. Both he and Mark got out there with blowers and really fired things up. Those piles were never going to go out they were so hot.
8. The hiring process is so time consuming and at times exhausting. By the time you create accounts at the all the colleges to post jobs as well as industry websites and government sites, several days can go by. And then sorting through applications, the majority of which are from out of the country, then contacting legitimate applicants attempting to arrange interviews, many of them not returning your calls, texts and emails. After a couple weeks, it plays you out.
9. If you cruise down Riverside Drive, you can see a ton of porcupine damage in the river valley. Hopefully, those suckers stayed away from the golf course. Its disheartening to lose a 25-year-old tree to the pests.
10. Would be nice to have a couple familiar faces cutting rough this year. Those gals are always hard to replace.
11. Don’t be surprised if some of the furnishings are slower than normal getting out onto the course this spring. There wasn’t anyone around the shop from mid-January to March to put a coat of paint on items I didn’t address prior to my medical leave. We were starting to get back at it when the storm rolled through. We’ve been either pushing snow or hauling snow since.
12. On the par 3 tee boxes, there is going to be an emphasis placed on both replacing divots or filling divots with sand/seed mix this season. Of course, we prefer replacing your fresh divot if possible. Our par 3 tee boxes are much too small for the amount of traffic we are putting through. We need everyone’s cooperation on this one.
13. Golf Saskatchewan no longer allows single rider carts in their tournaments. They recognize the detrimental affect the additional traffic has on turf quality. Thank you to those who follow their lead on our course.
14. I saw several delivery trucks up at the clubhouse last week. Most likely merchandise for the pro shop. Dana is certainly going to be busy putting it all out on display for opening day.
15. I swore I wasn’t going to mention those vile weeds this early in my submissions, but as hard as we worked last fall blowing and picking those damn leaves, the place is a mess under the snow cover and will need additional blowing and picking of damn leaves when its dry enough.
16. Minutes away from interview number three. Number 2 was very good.
17. Looking forward to the arrival of our new utility vehicle this spring and being able to put the sprayer on the old vehicle and leave it on. Putting it on and off is an accident waiting to happen. It takes a minimum of six bodies to do it safely. We were short some bodies taking it off for winter and the job was a little shaky.
18. What a beauty day to get on a tractor and move some snow but I better not. I should take of the new hardware a while longer. It’s a long season.
19. I read on an Alberta government website that the snow pack is only 87% of normal in the mountains. We irrigate out of the North Saskatchewan River and it’s fed from those same mountains.
20. Very frustrating trying to put a crew together this time of year. All government departments are doing their seasonal hiring and its very difficult to compete with them.
21. The snows starting to melt these days, so it shouldn’t be much longer until we can get out on the course and get the place ready for all of you. But in the mean time if you have a question, concern or a crew …….gsaw@sasktel.net
Grant
WHAT’S HOT – March 2, 2024
1. To think that on February 12th I included in a report my concern about a lack of snow cover on the course. I went on to suggest it likely won’t be necessary to blow the greens off this spring. Well, it seems like its been snowing since, particularly this, the first weekend of March. I think I spoke too soon and better start making plans to deal with the stuff. 2. It’s that time of year when we’re trying to put a crew together again. Similar to recent years, there is expected to be a large turn over in staff again. We’ve been advertising numerous positions since early January and I can honestly say we’ve received twice as many applications from over seas as local. These are strange times. Strange frustrating times.
3. The budget process went relatively smooth this past fall. Once again, things will be relatively tight. There continues to be so many unknowns these days regarding cost of supplies as well as their availability that you really do tend to take the safer route and in many ways, deprive the course of things that previously were considered essential and the norm.
4. I heard numerous comments in early December how good that rain was for the course. Yes, things were getting pretty toasty out there, however, that rain fell on some pretty frozen ground. And much of it pooled in bowled areas of the landscape such as several greens. Putting greens do not like ice. Turf anoxia
5. Still waiting for a fringe mower and utility vehicle we ordered in January of 2023. We desperately need both.
6. Thanks to our good friends at K & S Asphalt we were able to do a substantial amount of paving and skim coating on the course last year. It was an absolute pleasure to hear all the positive comments the projects created. The new pavement on #4 completed what’s turned out to be an excellent hole. And the great ride from the 10th green to the 11th fairway was the result of some skim coating over poplar roots in the aging paths in the area. We’ve budgeted to do more skim coating in 2024.
7. Very much looking forward to working with Assistant Super Stu Williams this season and into the future. Stu’s a small-town farm boy originally from Alberta where he worked at Wolf Creek for several years prior to moving on to a couple courses in B.C. We’re definitely lucky to have someone of Stu’s experience and enthusiasm for the golf industry. I’m sure all will make him feel welcome.
8. Last season was a very worrisome and frustrating year when it came to irrigation. The river levels were so low the entire year. Each day you’d come to work with fingers crossed, praying there was still enough water to irrigate that night. Several times we ran out of water to pump.
9. Our first 3 forward tees were built last fall and we plan on building another 3 this year. I don’t think anyone predicted how popular they would become last season.
10. The 2024 budget includes the replacement of equipment. Based on our 5 Year Equipment Replacement Program we will be purchasing a tee mower, a rough mower, leaf blower and leaf picker. The mowers were ordered in February. It’ll be interesting to see if manufacturing and delivery has improved in the past year.
11. I think Assistant Stu is going to be pushing snow all day and probably into tomorrow as well. Our poor little John Deere Tractor. Not exactly built for what we ask it to do. Hopefully one of these years a skid steer loader will become part of our maintenance arsenal. A heated skid steer. Dare to dream.
12. Huge thanks to James Seed for plowing the snow to the shop for us. He happened to be finishing the Sask. Hospital lot and saw Mark struggling with our little tractor at our gate. He wheeled over and opened things up for us in a fraction of the time it would have taken Mark. James is another great friend of the course that we know we can rely on. I have a feeling its going to take James considerably longer to blow our greens off this year.
13. Cart paths will be installed to all new forward tees. They will be gravel for the time being until we can coordinate paving several at once. Similar to all existing tee complexes, we ask you keep all 4 wheels on the path unless you’re and individual with mobility issues. For those with difficulty, explain your circumstance to the pro shop and use your best discretion to drive where it best provides ease of using the tee.
14. Going to try and build another bridge across the #1 swale. Eventually #10 as well but trying to work within our means. We never know what our staffing situation may be in the fall.
15. Well, there. How’s that for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, punctuation mix-ups and statements that make absolutely no sense. Being this is the first submission of 2024, you can expect way more in upcoming weeks. Until then, if you have ant questions or comments feel free: gsaw@sasktel.net.
Grant Sawchyn
