This blog post will be a bit of an update as to what we have done so far to the course. While also a bit of a step by step on the irrigation shut down for winter.
We do have our winter cups out on the River course and on the Rock course and will be changing them through out these next couple months so there will be some variety for you guys. The tee markers have been picked up so feel free to use the entire tee box to your advantage!! We will be sanding the tee markers down and repainting them so they are looking fresh and clean for next years play. The exit posts were brought in from the course. We have sanded them and put a nice new coat of paint and clear coat for moisture protection.
One of the big projects that we undergo every winter is getting the irrigation shut down and winterized. During the winter we don't want water in the irrigation pipes or heads to freeze and crack to cause us headaches in the future and wet spots for golfers. This means closing the main line valves so that the water is not actively trying to move into the pipes. Once the water is shut off there is still water sitting in the pipes that can still freeze if or when it gets cold enough. Now we can go around and open the drain valves throughout the system so the water can drain out of the pipelines. But we have a bit of help to push out the water, we use big air compressor that has a special attachment that we can plug in to the irrigation system. This will blow out any remaining water that is trapped in low spots that haven't quite drained out. We go around the course to every hole to make sure that all the water is out of the system. Plug in and turn on the irrigation heads so we can blow those out as well, because the irrigation heads are the most susceptible to freezing and cracking.
Once again we are all wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Hunter Hill
Assistant Superintendent
Heart of America Golf Course
