Cart Etiquette

As Spring has finally graced us with it's presence, I would like to take a moment to ask for your assistance in assuring the best course conditions possible.  Worn grass from cart traffic has become increasingly obvious as the grass struggles to break it's winter dormancy.  Without actively growing turf, the damage caused by carts will not recover.  Please take a moment to review these items that will help protect the quality of the course throughout the year.

1.  When cart paths are available, please use them.  This is especially important around greens and tees.
2.  Please obey all cart directional signs.  These are placed to minimize damage around "pinch" points.
3.  Only two carts per foursome and one cart per twosome will be allowed.  This is to minimize cart traffic, therefore, aid in the quality of the course.
4.  All par 3's are cart path only.
5.  Golf carts will no longer be allowed on the practice tee.  Please use the cart staging area to the left of 10 tee.  Significant damage is occurring from carts driving to the range.
6.  Do not enter native grass areas or neighbor's yards.
7.  If you see an area that appears to be worn, "scatter" your traffic to reduce the wear on that area.
8.  We allow carts on the golf course under most conditions.  Be aware of any wet areas and try to avoid.
9.  Hold the players in your group accountable to these rules.

The members of The Moors have always been extremely proud of the conditions on the course.  I thank you in advance for helping maintain this trend.

You can find all of the course etiquette items here.

Back 9 Open!

Good news!  The water has receded enough to allow play on the back 9.  Please follow the ropes and plywood to minimize damage to the turf.  At this point, there hasn't been any adverse effects from the high water levels.  We are pretty fortunate as this condition often results in death of the turf.  We are not completely out of danger but the major playing surfaces are.  One step closer to Spring!

Soft Opening for the Golf Course

Looking at the 7-day forecast, there is finally some hope for Spring.  Starting Sunday night, the lows are above freezing which will get the greens into the "safe to play" range.  Leading up to Sunday night, we will still be encountering some sub-freezing nighttime temperatures.  However, we do plan on opening Friday at 1:00 PM.  This will give the greens a chance to warm up and avoid any damage.  The course will also be available on Saturday and Sunday starting at 1:00 PM.

With this soft opening, the Back 9 will remain closed.  There continues to be significant flooding on the last 4 holes.  The water has receded considerably, however, we are still unable to direct play through here.  We are hoping that the water continues to drop at a quick rate so that we can get back there as well.

Thank you to those of you that have been patient.  Delaying the opening of the course for the benefit of the greens will prove to be beneficial come summer.

Course to Remain Closed Until Weather Turns

It has been a frustrating few weeks while we wait for a break in the weather.  We are as tired of being cooped up as you are.  We ask you to continue your patience a little bit longer.  The 10-day forecast continues to have freezing temperatures as their lows.  This is the main concern at this point.  As the temperatures drop below freezing, the surface freezes every night.  The root system is then at serious risk of being damaged.  We spend all year trying to grow healthy roots.  These could be compromised (sheared) with foot traffic during the freeze/thaw cycle.  According to our soil sensors, the soil profile at a half inch depth does not get above freezing until 2:00 in the afternoon on average.  After a heavier freeze, the soil would remain frozen further down making it even later in the day.

Unfortunately, the course will remain closed through this weekend and until further notice.  We will get the course open as soon as possible.  Thank you for your patience.

2018 Spring Flooding

After a fairly tame winter in terms of snowfall, we recently received nearly 2 feet of snow.  This alone would have caused water level issues.  Unfortunately, this past week we received an abundance of rain that melted all of the snow and caused significant flooding of the back 9.  The good news is that all of the snow is gone.  The bad news is the course is saturated and portions of it are unplayable.  We are hopeful that the water recedes soon, however, we do not have a prediction of when that will happen.  The water you see in the pictures below is the level of the wetlands.  The flooding is not a result of frozen ground.  

We will open the front 9 when we feel the course is ready.  Thank you for your patience!

View from behind 16 Blue tee

Water has breached the wall on 15 Green

Right half of 17 Fairway

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New Equipment has Arrived!

Many of you have noticed our new maintenance vehicles cruising around the course this fall.  We have made a major investment back into the course conditions by upgrading and refurbishing our current fleet.  A few of the items that were purchased include a new fairway aerifier, tractor, fairway mower, bank mowers, sprayer, blower, and maintenance carts.  Since arriving at The Moors in 2002, we have made a concentrated effort on keeping our equipment operating at an elite level.  This is important to provide the quality conditions as well as creating efficiency.  Technology is prevalent in turf equipment as it is in most all industries.  The improvements to the machines are significant and the difference is immediately noticeable.

Our strategy for equipment purchasing hasn't wavered since 2002.  Every five years, we begin a new "package" that replenish and updates our fleet.  At the end of five years, we own the equipment from that package.  We will then enter a new package replacing other machines or adding new machines for specific tasks.  Machines lifespans vary from 5-15 years.  We take all of this into consideration and keep the machines in proper working condition until it is time to upgrade.  This has enabled us to push the course to new levels each and every year.

As we enjoy this beautiful Fall, keep your eye out for the new shiny equipment!  Enjoy the rest of the season.

Aerification Update

Small light color circles are the result of many years of
aerification and filling with sand.

Here is a side view showing the channel that is created by the sand incorporation.

Another year of greens aerification is in the books.  The weather was not as cooperative as we would've have like but nonetheless, we were able to accomplish the process.  We incorporated 60 tons of sand into the greens.  That is an average of 3 tons of sand per green!

Our main goal is to incorporate as much sand into the green as possible.  The sand channels are ideal for root growth as they provide better drainage and gas/air exchange.  As you can see from the pictures above, we have created several channels through the consistency of our aerification program.  The most important thing to understand about turf is that the quality of turf on top is a direct result of what is happening in the soil underneath.  The sand helps dilute the organic matter that builds up from the natural process of leaf and roots senescence or dying off.  Too much organic matter causes problems with drainage,compaction, nutrient exchange, and more.  With our ability to consistently perform this process, we are able to grow turf that can remain healthy in all conditions.

Following the completion of aerification, we wait a couple of days before mowing so that we don't remove any sand from the greens.  We then begin mowing at a much higher height of cut to stay above the sand.  Each day, we drop the height of the mower until we get down to our normal height which will be early next week.  Green speed and smoothness will return shortly after that.

Tees and fairways have also been completed except for 1,9, and 10 fairway.  The main idea here is to simply remove thatch and reduce compaction.  Once again, weather hasn't been on our side for some of this process.  Unfortunately, an ideal day for aerification is also an ideal day for golf.  Thank you for your patience while we are performing this process.  The conditions of the golf course are largely related to what we do during these two weeks.