Audubon Society Sign

You may have noticed the new addition to the flower bed under the flowering crab near #1 Tee. Last week, we installed a sign recognizing Minnesota Valley Country Club's dedication to the Audubon Sanctuary Program. Minnesota Valley is a leader amongst fellow clubs involved in the Sanctuary Program, we are very proud of this and felt adding a sign that every member and guest who visits our club becomes aware of the club's dedication to the Audubon Sanctuary Program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sign was custom made by Redwood Signs in Osseo, MN. They did a great job, and we are quite pleased with the look after it was installed. Redwood Signs also made two new pesticide application signs that will be posted any time spray applications are made.

Speaking of the Audubon Sanctuary Program, look forward to a new blog post in the coming days with an update of our Bluebird Trail. Reports are coming back very encouraging and we should have some great photos to share soon.

On Course Projects

Over the past week a couple of projects on the course have begun. Work has started on re-seeding our turf nursery. Over the past couple of years nearly all of the nursery has been used up. Around 4,000 square feet of the nearly 15,000 of available space remains. Some minor grading and soil work has been done to prepare for bentgrass seed, which will be put down in the coming days. The turf nursery is a vital tool for many projects that are completed at Minnesota Valley. Turf from our nursery is used on numerous projects such as turf renovations due to loss of turf over winter, new tee construction and green renovation and expansion. Many "plugs" are often taken from the nursery throughout the season to repair small, minor blemishes on the putting surfaces.

The following photo shows the large size of the turf nursery, all of the soil in the photo will soon be seeded and maintained as a regular putting green.

Area to be seeded in foreground, existing sod in back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work has also begun on improving the perennial bed that was added last year on #8 Tee. We found that during heavy rains much, if not all of the mulch and much of the soil would wash out the bottom of the bed onto the cart path. Timbers are being added to hold the mulch and lessen the slope. Soil will be added on the back side of the timbers and some plants will be added. We feel this bed has been a nice addition to the course, with a little improvement it will improve it even more.

New Tree Plantings Behind 17 Green

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourteen Black Hills Spruce, Picea glauca densata, and one specimen Autumn Spire Red Maple, Acer rubrum 'Autumn Spire', have been planted behind the 17th green. These trees were placed there to provide a buffer between the turfgrass maintenance building and the green. They are planted far enough away from the green, so the tree roots will never compete with the turfgrass on the green for water and nutrients. We purchased these beautiful trees from Wilson's Nursery, a wholesale nursery business in Chanhassen. Wilson's has several growing ranges including their largest along the south side of Hwy. 7, near New Germany, MN.

The Spruce will grow to H 35-45' X W 20-30', which required us to plant some distance apart. They are nicely shaped and ornamental with short bluish foilage and is very useful as a buffer, windbreak, or hedge. This particular Red Maple, the Autumn Spire, is known for it's consistent red fall color. It's a columnar form introduced by the University of Minnesota, with a mature size of H 50' X W 20'. It also has showy red flowers, yet is one of very few maples that does not produce a seed pod. I expect these trees to attractive from the start, and eventually create a needed buffer between the busy maintenance building and the golf course.

 

In addition to these trees, we will be planting six Dakota Pinnacle Birch further west in the same general area. These trees should be arriving later this week. They have a narrow, spire-like habit, are tough and attractive, and they also produce good yellow fall color. More on those once they're in. Hope you like the new trees! I know are feathered friends will!

MVCC Relic For Sale - 1951 Worthington Tractor

After many years of use on the golf course, we've made a decision to sell the 1951 Model G, Worthington Chief Tractor. This tractor is in good running condition with a four-cylinder Ford flathead engine with 40 horsepower, and a heavy duty transmission with four speeds. This tractor really can get up and go, with speeds reaching around 40 mph. It's been used over the years to pull various pieces of machinery, like a leaf picker, but has become obsolete in our work. I thought there may be a member interested in an antique like this, so if you or a friend are, please contact me.

New Bunkers Being Installed on 5 & 14

Two new greenside bunkers have been installed on #5, with one new greenside and one new approach bunker on #14. Sand has been installed in all but one, the appraoch bunker on #14. This bunker will be completed soon.

All of these bunkers were part of the original design of the course and had sand in them at one time. Quite a few years ago, they were converted to grass. The locations are ideal for sand and will add a nice element to both holes. Two of the new bunkers are behind these greens, and can be called "save" bunkers. This term was coined for the reason that they should allow players a better opportunity to get up and down by providing a more predictable lie and shot.

You'll notice that we have returned them to their original style and shape, flat-bottomed, with square corners. In fact, many of our green surfaces were also originally sqaured up on the corners, especially on the front sides.

Turf Renovations

During the course of the past week renovations of fine turf areas took place. These areas did not survive the winter due to ice and water. We are in the final stages of completing this process and will remain diligent in establishing these areas and return them to normal play. Through fertilization, topdressing and rolling this should be just a couple of weeks. Many of these areas have been roped off and marked Ground Under Repair, by keeping carts off and foot traffic to a minimum the establishment process will go quickly.

The following outlines the areas that were renovated:

Greens- #7 and #14. Very small areas on the front of the green that have been sodded.

Approaches- #5,10,14,16. These areas have been sodded, roped off and marked Ground Under Repair.

Fairways- #1,13,14,15. Small areas of these fairways have been aerated and overseeded, some areas have been roped.

Greens Aeration Complete

Greens Aeration was successfully completed yesterday (Monday, May 2nd). Despite the cold weather, all aspects of Aeration went very smoothly. The following photos show the steps taken to complete this process.

Greens were first lightly top-dressed with sand.

One pass was made around the collar of each green, 1/2" cores were pulled.

The cores from the collars were then cleaned up.

Solid, Deep-Tine took place.

Greens double-rolled to smooth the surface.

Fertilizer applied and watered in.

End-Result.

As you can see in the above photo the holes are relatively small. The surfaces should heal rather quickly, smooth out and will return to optimal putting conditions very soon.