Winter Wonderland 2017

Our golf course has made its transformation into a beautiful winter wonderland. Ipswich received 6.5 inches of soft, fluffy snow on Saturday. The coating, while beautiful may be temporary. Rain and warmer temperatures are in the forecast, both of which will do a great job of turning soft, fluffy snow into wet, sloppy slush. Enjoy it while you can!

Standing near #4 red tee looking back toward #3 green.

Tree Work on #11

The large tree in between #10 and #11 had a limb growing from it that needed to be removed. The limb showed signs of rot and was becoming a liability. We decided to remove the limb from the tree last week.

We decided to climb the tree and cut the limb down piece by piece. This was done so that each piece of the limb could fall safely onto the ground without any risk of one end of it hitting the ground and the other end coming back at the person climbing.

The strategy was implemented well and the limb was cut down safely.

Some of the visible rot

DJ clearing away small of the small branches on his way up

Another angle of DJ clearing small branches

Tree Work: Pine on #12

Last winter during a period of strong winds, a large pine tree on hole #12 fell down. The tree fell into another tree that stood next to it, snapping off a majority of its branches on one side. 

The tree that was left standing needed to be climbed and pruned of all of its damaged limbs. 

We climbed the tree without any issue and removed the damaged limbs. 

Dj climbing and limbing the damaged tree.

Leaf Clean Up Fall 2016

Fall has come again to the Ipswich Country Club. The autumn colors are vibrant and beautiful. They are one of the many reasons that make golfing in this season wonderful. 

And also very challenging.

The same leaves that contribute to our picturesque golf course are the same leaves that attempt to cover every square inch of it. 

Lost balls are a nuisance for everyone and we are doing everything we can to keep the leaves at bay. 

Each day we start by blowing off greens and tees and afterwards we begin to pick up as many of the leaves as we can. We will continue to do this until the snow falls.

Have a happy fall and don't lose too many balls in our leaf piles!

#10 Fairway on a day with strong winds and heavy leaf fall.

Bee Tree

The bees in the large pine tree on hole #10 have left their nest. The tree has been showing signs of becoming unsafe for a few years now. It had exposed rot at the bottom of its trunk and had been losing limbs regularly. Now that the bees have moved on, we decided that it was time to bring the tree  down.                                                                                                       

 Once the tree had been been felled we found a large abandoned hive in the hollow truck of the tree.

Divot Recovery

Despite the extreme drought that has been afflicting the entire state, we are still seeing good divot recovery on tees and fairways. We can expect to maintain this level of recovery for the rest of the year.

Divot in recovery on #5 tee

Brushing Greens

Last week we began to experiment with brushing greens before we mow them. Our aim was to stand the grass up that had been laid over on its side so that we could get a much better cut on the greens. Getting a better cut on the greens will help them to remain fast and smooth.

Four of our hardworking greens keepers getting ready to brush #1 green.

We used four large brushes and had four members of the crew brush each green on the course. We then hand mowed the greens immediately afterwards.

Jared making one of the first passes with the brush on the practice green.

Our greens mowers cutting after the brush.

The procedure was a complete success. We observed a phenomenal cut after the brushing. We plan to continue this practice every other week (weather permitting).