And We're Off

We are opening the greens and tees today, (or tomorrow depending on when you read this) with the exception of the 7th green, which will remain temporary. Thank you for your patience. It was a long winter, and the extremely cold temperatures over the last few weeks kept us behind schedule on our project work. However, we are now up to speed and ready for you to get out on the course. Reminder — its only April!

Country Golf and I were here all weekend getting sod laid and watered on holes 3, 7, 11, and 13, as well as the lesson tee. Sand is going into the new bunkers today before we rope those areas off. Now we need to keep the grass moist and warm so it can establish roots; our current soil temperatures are 38°. We’ll install the remaining course accessories over the next couple of days and then work to get traffic control in place shortly after. Once those measures are in place, we will begin allowing carts out on the course. I’m hoping that will happen by the weekend.

The team removed the covers from the greens for good last Monday, in record time. Conditions look solid. The aeration holes from a few weeks ago are mostly healed and should be fully ready once we get some warm weather and rain. A warm rain would be especially beneficial, both for the greens and the newly laid sod. All short surfaces have been mowed, and the greens have been rolled numerous times to help smooth them after equipment use. The shock of removing the covers, combined with cold nights, will slow both growth and healing. Fertilizing for quick recovery or growth at this point is largely ineffective—most products don’t perform well in cold temperatures, and forcing growth now is not in the plant’s best interest.

The next few weeks are among the busiest of the year for us. Much of our success in managing pests—including weeds, insects, and fungi—depends on applications made in the last couple of weeks of April and the first two weeks of May. Grassy weeds like crabgrass are controlled with one type of product, while broadleaf weeds such as dandelions, clover, and plantains require others. Timing is everything. Preventative fungicide and insect control applications are also scheduled during this period. A significant amount of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) goes into the next month, including scouting for pests and monitoring historically high-pressure areas. Each section of the course is treated differently based on mowing height, using different products, rates, and combinations. Areas are categorized into greens, tees, approaches, fairways, roughs, native areas, and green and tee surrounds. As you can imagine, this process is very time-intensive.

Homeowner Tip: Make sure you read the label. Some products, such as crabgrass preventatives, need to be watered in, while post-emergent granular crabgrass applications must remain on the leaf and be applied when there is dew. Granular broadleaf weed products should be applied to dewy turf and not watered in, while sprayable products often work better for broadleaf weeds. There are many different formulations for nearly every product on the market, but the most important rule is to FOLLOW THE LABEL. Everything you need is there—read it and follow the directions.

Project Work:

The work areas on holes 3, 11, and 13 will remain roped off until the sod establishes. It’s difficult to say exactly when these areas will be back in play, as weather will have a significant impact on how quickly they take. That said, I’ll open them as soon as possible. As mentioned earlier, a few warm rains and mild nights would greatly accelerate progress, but none appear likely in the coming week. My best estimate right now is sometime in early May, but only time will tell.

Please stay out of the work areas as much as possible. The sod will be kept very wet, which will make some areas quite soft. The subsoil underneath is very dry, and we need moisture to help everything bind together. If your ball comes to rest in a roped area, please retrieve it while minimizing foot traffic on the sod, and then take relief at the nearest point outside the ropes. 

I’ll continue to provide updates as conditions improve, but I wanted to share a quick post before opening  Here are some photos of the completed work

March 31 Update

We are getting closer but still the weather is giving us a jab. The cold nights, especially last weekend have continued to make things lag about 2-3 weeks behind. Believe it or not, there is still some snow out here. We will catch up over the next week or two but with April's long range "colder than normal" forecast definitely not enough to try and hit our normal target for opening the weekend of the 90th Masters. I'm guessing it will be sometime closer to the following week or in that general vicinity.

We've been bouncing back and forth between different tasks and projects to stay efficient and productive. The course has been cleaned up of most debris but for the massive amount of goose droppings. Yesterday's dry weather allowed us to drag all of the fairways and start that cleanup; we are through the 10th hole. It looks like the rest of the week will be wet; we will play it by ear from here. The greens with the exception of the new 7th have all been aerated, topdressed and rolled before being covered back up. Its been a busy week of taking covers off and putting them back on to perform work. We did our traditional 3/4 inch solid tine on most greens but pulled a core on 2,11 and 17. Eleven and 17 had a little extra organic matter that needed managing and I wanted to incorporate some additional organic material into the 2nd green. While 2 is a few years old it is still considered a new green. It takes a green between 5 and 7 years to really perform like a mature surface. The majority of other green surfaces look really solid; I do see some weak spots in the typical areas that hold water and don't surface drain the way you would want them to but nothing at this point that will keep them closed. All greens have been sprayed and the covers have been put back on. I would like to try and take advantage of the covers heat generating capabilities a little longer in order to speed up aeration healing. 

We've been picking away at some smaller and  larger projects, bringing a lot of material in and around the last week or so. I roughed in some mounding and new forward tees on holes 13 and 3 in accordance with the Enhancement Plan. Our architect Robert McNeil was out last week to go over some of the modifications and Country Golf got here on Friday to start the finish work. We are also reworking the surrounds of the 11th green, replacing some old bunkering, adding drainage as well as enhancing the bracing mounds on hole 13 and improving the play in area to the right and in front of the green. Robert will be back this afternoon to look at the roughed in bunkering on 11 and make a few tweaks before we try and finish it up. It usually comes together pretty quick once the majority of the material is moved around. We will add the irrigation to the new areas where needed once the finish raking is done and the sod is ready to be laid. I'm hoping to have all of these areas completed prior to opening the course. You'll definitely see things roped off from play but more on that once its done. We are also replacing some old drainage on the 9th hole and have discovered and replaced a little drainage by the 11th/rear 9th tees. 

We will get you out here as soon as possible. The goal is to get the course ready, hopefully have the aerated greens recuperate under the covers for a bit and give you an extended period of solid puttable surfaces until the end of August before we ruin them again! Ideally, you'll be enjoying smooth greens while most other clubs are closed and aerating for a few days later this spring. I'll do my best to keep you posted here on the blog and will have another coming around opening with some photos of the finished project work for those of you lucky enough to stay warm into April and May.

2026 St. Patrick's Day Update

What a winter! Snow that came in bunches and stayed around; snow that is finally going away begrudgingly. Apparently the groundhog knew what he was doing when he saw his shadow last month. Two storms this winter, one of which was a blizzard, dropped over 2 feet of snow here in Gloucester. Cleanup was slow and painful for everyone on Cape Ann. A number of trees went down across the course as well.

The winter included plenty of snow cleanup, some tree work, brush clearing, equipment maintenance and supply refurbishing. We finished the mound work on the 3rd hole and started some master plan projects on 3 and 13 until we got snowed out. We will continue these when the weather permits. 

Last week we were out on a few greens with the snow blowers and the loader to remove very heavy pockets of snow. Greens like 5,10,12 and 17 still had over two feet of snow on them. Greens 1 and 10 had 4-5 inches of water sitting on them under the snow- less than ideal. Our goal was to remove the snow to allow the water to vacate the surface. I am typically not a fan of removing snow, especially during the winter months but the trapped water paired with upcoming temperature swings is a recipe for damage. Our hope was to alleviate some of this and limit the water on the surface that encourages the plant to hydrate and wake up. 

The course still has a few pockets of snow after the brief cycling warmups and cool downs of the last week. We had about an inch of rain yesterday making the course a soggy mess and now we have the upcoming forecast of swinging temperature I previously mentioned. As of right now I feel pretty good about the turf conditions coming through the winter. March however is a very touchy month when it comes to winter damage. Wet conditions followed by prolonged temperature swings put the plant into limbo giving it mixed signals of "wake up" and "go to sleep". This rapidly decreases food stores and makes it susceptible to low temperature kill. Note the lows for the coming week plus.   

We are currently cleaning up the fallen trees and starting stick cleanup now that the course and dump are accessible.  There is a ridiculous and disgusting amount of goose poop on the course. Once things dry out we will attempt to drag it and blow it off. 

We are quite a bit behind schedule both in terms of tasks and plant development. For reference, a season ago we had already uncovered greens, aerated them and covered them back up as of last week. I don't see a window to do this any time soon with nighttime temperatures going into the 20s and even teens. There is still a fair amount of frost in the ground in places which won't come out until we get warmer nights  Our team will bounce around working where we can to prep the course, clean up debris and get some projects completed as we can. I wouldn't expect an early or typical opening this season as far as timing goes. The long range forecast could change and with that my opinion but I'm trying to be realistic.

We are looking forward to seeing you all back soon!

November Update

I thought I might just put together a quick update this morning as things start to wind down. We have a few things going on as we get through the next few weeks before we go to temporary greens in December. 

On Thursday we used our tiny Emperor Tines on the greens at 2.5 inch spacing to pop a little thatch and put down a light topdressing. The playability is basically the same. This will allow some gas exchange and aid in some late season thatch removal without any mechanical damage to the turf. We picked away at and have completed fairway aeration over the last couple weeks. We also core aerated our typically thatchy tees on holes 7,9, and 12 as well as the new tee on 8 and the new 7th approach. I also aerated the lower, wet portion of the 3rd fairway a second time and have been trying to work some sand into the thatch to help firm it up. This is a little bit of a test project that hopefully really improves playability on the first half of the hole. Most of the mounds on the left of 3 have been rough shaped, I have to bring material to the left of the green for that larger mound over the coming weeks as we get access from the hotel. I think these will really make this hole stand out and should fit in beautifully. Our architect Robert is also pleased with this so far. 

We started with the brush removal to the right of the 7th green and will move on to the corner on the left side when we are done. Our plan is to only remove the scrub brush below the tree canopy. The smaller trees will also remain with the exception of the large sumacs (weeds) that were on the immediate edge of the right bunker. Once the brush is removed we will grub out the area; I hope to hydroseed it next spring with a fescue mix that will give it a similar appearance and  playability of the area between 4 and 7. I cut the new 7th green for the last time on Saturday morning; all other surfaces were cut for the last time earlier last week so that's a wrap on that. Here are a couple photos of what she looks like; I am extremely pleased with where we are.

Tomorrow, Tuesday Nov 11 we have Sportscapes coming in to do our deep tine aeration on greens. I hope we don't have a long frost so they can get in and out. The compressor is coming Wednesday for us to blow out the irrigation system, the clubhouse system and the on course bathrooms. Leaf cleanup is ongoing but we are making great progress; most of what is left is the oaks which will hang on until the very end. We will be making our snow mold applications sometime in the coming weeks when the weather is cooperative and will begin covering on Monday, December 1 following Thanksgiving. Temporary greens will be available through the winter as always with the exception of the 2nd hole. There are a couple trees by the lower tennis courts that are dead as a doornail. I am planning on having Mayer Tree come in to remove them sometime over the next 2 weeks. We also have some that are hanging on but are fighting a losing battle to an invasive pest, the emerald ash borer. 

Jim is cranking it up in the shop. He has started breaking down reels in preparation for servicing bearings and sharpening both reels and bedknives. This will take him to Christmas and then the full service on everything else will start. We're getting a lot of orders in for service season, repair parts etc. I have much of my fertilizer, seed and chemical order put together already and certain items will be arriving next month through March. Using early order and payment saves us a decent chunk of money and allows us to stretch things next year. 

Enjoy the next couple of cold weeks while you can because winter WILL show up eventually. 

Turkey Season

November is coming, leaves are falling and its almost Turkey Shoot time. The weather this month has been great for grass with an almost weekly rain event,  warm days and some moderate nights. No frost delays as of yet at Bass Rocks but the sun is coming up much later and going down earlier. Its been a challenge the last few weeks getting out in the pitch dark with our smaller fall staff. I'd like to mention a few upcoming items as the season is coming closer to the end, mention a few items from this last year and look forward to next year.

One great question I was asked last week was about my staff and it was basically about the size and visibility of the maintenance staff. During peak season we run between 18-20 people, many if not most of them are part time staff comprised of high school and college kids as well as a couple retirees. They allow us to complete tasks early while the course is quiet. This is extremely efficient and  is a win/win for the club and the employees. We need them more in the morning and many of them don't want to work a full time job to enjoy their afternoons at the beach. Many of them punch out around 11am. After they go back to school, which is typically around Labor Day, our staff shrinks to 11-13 people depending on the way things shake out each year. The number of tasks actually increases as the fall goes on because leaves need to be blown off or picked up prior to mowing, outings and other course events are more plentiful, limiting on course maintenance time for the staff. The staffing decrease requires us to shift focus, prioritize tasks in a different manner and rework our typical regimen. We are now doing primary tasks then coming back around to complete secondary jobs. As you might imagine, doing this in the middle of play is more time consuming and I realize, at times, this may be inconvenient but I just want you to know we're doing our best to minimize disruption while still trying to do our jobs. As always, thanks for your understanding.

We still have a number of maintenance items to address over the coming weeks and months as the season starts wrapping up. Fairway aeration and approach verticutting are still on the docket; we plan on starting  next week by doing a few a day in house as weather and time permit. Please be aware of the staff and keep their safety in mind if you are playing and notice them out cleaning up. We will have Sportscapes Unlimited in to help us with some of the double fairways on November 18th and/or 19th and our annual deep tine aeration of greens is scheduled for November 11th. These are both contracted services. Deep tining gives us a long 9-10 inch solid tine hole with a "kick" that fractures the subsoil and aides in drainage during the winter, Greens will be rolled after but left open to allow water to exit the root zone. 

Multiple light sand topdressings will be made as mowing comes to a halt. The sand will help protect the putting surfaces from injury and aid in thatch reduction and green firmness. Frost will become a problem especially as it pertains to our ability to get out early and in front of play. November 12th is the day we've rented our compressor for irrigation blowout as well as winterization of the on course bathrooms, drinking water and pump stations. Our snow mold fungicide applications will be made as weather permits mid November and we will start covering greens and tees on December 1st. As always, temporary greens will be out there for you to play during the off season. 

The 7th green is coming along nicely, the roots are still very shallow but that is to be expected. I'm hoping for some decent spring weather to help us get the roots we need to open it as soon as possible and we will as soon as it is ready to handle the traffic. Thanks to Country Golf again for a great job making Robert McNeil's vision a reality. I think the Green Committee and the Board hit it out of the park with this project. 

Its been a busy year at the club with the patio installation, the 7th hole, some mound work we've started on the 3rd hole, a pond dredging feasibility study along with a few other things I know I am forgetting. I'm already excited for 2026 and will keep you posted with what is to come as we close out 2025. For now lets focus on Halloween candy and a Turkey Shoot that we know you'll enjoy. Kyle and Chris have been scheming up some things to give you all fits to close out the season.

Finally, I would also like to take the time to acknowledge all of the people on the maintenance team that make things go around. My assistants Kyle Franey and Chris Grady are two great men that truly care about the course and the club. Their tireless efforts and hard work cannot be appreciated enough. Jim Fox has things humming in the shop and keeps our reels sharp, equipment in top shape and has us all laughing with his silly one liners. To the main team of Chris Luke and our boys from EDA Jonny, Marcos, Jose, Hugo and Angel, thank you for offering to pick up extra weekend shifts with our busy schedule. These guys simply gets stuff done and they do it well, muchisimos gracias. The seasonal crew of Jim Doyle, Brady Sullivan, Charlie Donato, Aiden and Cole Doke, Ben Sperry, Jackson Colbert, Drew Johnson, Brooks Slingluff and Shawn Gildden who didn't get sent home early one time from rain this season; thanks for doing a lot of the little things that just need to get done to make things look good. Last but not least, Cheryl Bonin and Lorena from Plant Creations who make the flowers and perennials look better each and every year at the club.