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!