
If you think this streak of continued frosts and freezes is abnormal, I was reminded this morning that we had a trace of snow fall accumulate on Mother’s Day last year, and the last freeze was on May 1. Looking at the long range forecast, there is light at the end of the tunnel for warmer weather at least.

Given the below normal temps, the color of the turf on greens, tees, and fairways is quite slow to come. I am hopeful in 2 weeks time to see a much improved difference in turf color out there. A couple of quick updates on projects we have been working on:
The renovated practice green will open for use on Saturday, April 30. The goals of this renovation were to provide a better representation of the green topography (i.e. flatter) on the golf course, provide additional cupping areas, and alleviate drainage issues that the old green had. These goals in my opinion have been achieved. A couple of friendly reminders as you start using this green:
First, we still have smoothing work to do on the south and east end of the green where the soil continues to settle, pictured in the above slideshow. We will be working on these transitional areas in the next week and they will be marked so that traffic stays off of them. Secondly, with the weather putting us behind everywhere, this green will need a full season of maintenance to fully mature into a smooth, consistent putting surface like the others on the course. The process of using the existing sod is one that allows a more immediate impact visually and provides better consistency with the other greens on the course, but takes a lot of extra rolling, topdressing, fertility, and maintenance to fully heal all seams and smooth the surface out. The maturity timeline will be similar to the renovation of 18 green, in which it did not fully perform like a mature green until later in the fall. We will do everything in our abilities to quicken this process, and I appreciate your understanding in this matter. Please reach out to me if you have questions regarding this.
Our staff is finishing up installation of the drainage sump pit on 17 fairway this week. This pit has a pump that operates off a float switch that when triggered, will pump any excess water towards our turf nursery to the east and away from areas of play. The pit will be operational very soon and our goal is that this improvement will make this area much more playable for you.
Finally, I have received word that Audubon International has again recertified Elcona as one of 6 Certified Golf Course Sanctuaries in Indiana. For those new to Elcona, designation as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary is awarded to any golf course upon meeting environmental management standards in 6 areas: Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management. Achieving certification demonstrates an organization’s leadership, commitment, and high standards of environmental management. To be designated, golf course personnel develop and implement an environmental management plan, document the results, and host a site visit with Audubon International staff. Recertification is required every three years to maintain the Certified Sanctuary designation. Elcona has been a Certified Sanctuary since 2011 and is an achievement every member should be proud of.
If you have any questions, please reach out to me at ryan@elconacc.com. Thank you have have a great week!

Ryan