2026
WHATS HOT – April 19, 2026
1. If I only had a nickel for each time someone asked me, “so when do you think?”
2. Needless to say, the weather is driving us nuts. On March 19th, our friend Joe at K&S plowed roads for us out on the course. Once we got out there, we were pleasantly surprized with how little snow there was and considering the weather that day, felt it would be gone in no time. No need to blow the greens off. Nice.
3. That first tour of the spring also showed very little sign of porcupines. Also nice. Until last Wednesday. Again, the pines and elm on #14 took a licking, but also those beautiful tamaracks on #6 got chewed to hell. Very sad to see.
4. Once again putting a crew together is proving to be a challenge. Very few applications particularly from students. Times have definitely changed considering that’s all we used to get. We’ve managed to attract a few fulltime staff though. At least enough to open the place. Still have a way to go though.
5. We are waiting on some new equipment to be delivered. Several months ago, we ordered two new fairway mowers and a fertilizer spreader. Dealers don’t stock equipment like they used to. Its basically ordered from the factory and seldom is it manufactured until ordered.
6. We went for another tour of the course on March 28th. We couldn’t believe how much more snow had accumulated since the 19th. James from Seeds Landscaping is our go-to guy and was called immediately. Blowing the greens off was a must.
7. Last season, I thought we had the silvery moss on our greens under control. In fact, I didn’t see a speck of it the entire year and trust me I was on the hunt. However, at the end of October when we were putting the tarps down, I noticed some. Although a very small amount, we’ll have to address it as soon as favorable conditions are here.
8. All our equipment purchases are based on our 5 Year Equipment Replacement Program. We developed it back in the early 90’s and have stuck to it as much as possible. It’s served us well by avoiding costly repairs and ensuring good trade-in value.
9. What’s particularly disappointing about the porcupines attacking the tamaracks on #6, is back in 1996 when I planted them within the new mounds, a lot of grief was thrown our way over it. The clique of the day suggested that the 36 coniferous trees would never catch in the dry sandy soils and it spread like wild fire. I think we can all agree those particular trees on both sides of #6 have done well and its something we have been very proud of.
10. As for construction this year, we are building three more forward tees on #’s 5, 9 and 11. They will likely be the final in-house tees we construct. The final four are the par 3’s and considering the amount of materials required to expand them, we just don’t have the resources. A contractor with large equipment will be required.
11. Thanks to maintenance team members Mark, Tim, Ethan and Kristian for coming in on their day off Sunday to get a head start on the week. We all feel under the gun to get this place open and still have a long way to go.
12. Silvery moss is new to the province’s golf courses and some have it much worse than others and, in many cases, based on their cultural practices or lack there of. Some of causes for the development of silvery moss are low mowing, excessive irrigation including morning dew, shade and compaction.
13. There’s a huge amount of poplar branches laying around the course this spring. And probably more under the snow that we haven’t seen yet. It was an incredibly windy winter. Several days hitting 70-80 kms per hour. Those branches might have to lay there for a while yet until higher priorities are addressed.
14. We basically completed the bridge installation through the #10 swale last fall. However, we didn’t turf the area of fresh soil. We wanted the spring run off to cut its natural path going under the bridge first. Plus, considering the time of year the project was done, it would have been unlikely any new turf would be rooted in and the spring’s rushing water would have taken it away.
15. We are considering putting out the old yellow flags on the greens this spring. Just for a couple weeks. The most frustrating thing about new staff is they’re not knowing their way around the course. Every hole looks the same, they get lost and certain areas don’t get addressed or jobs take much longer than they should. We’ve received complaints in the past for using them but numbered flags help new recruits find their way around and frees up experienced staff from prolonged supervision resulting in more jobs getting completed.
16. Blowing the greens off this spring was extremely difficult. There was three very distinct layers of frozen crust within the snow pack most likely due to the two mid winter melts and the rain event earlier on. As well, on the surface of the greens, was a very thick and solid layer of ice and we all know what that could mean.
17. We plan on replacing the railway tie steps on #5 gold tee once we have our crew trained up on our regular daily maintenance regime. The ties will be replaced with treated timbers similar to those at the 13th tee.
18. And back to the silvery moss issue and specifically increased development of it due to compaction in our greens’ rootzones. We no longer aerate to the same extent as is required mostly due to tournament scheduling. Last season we didn’t aerate at all. Now then, silvery moss will never out compete healthy bentgrass or poaannua. It moves into thin stressed turf and compaction is the best way to create those conditions. Compaction leads to poor gas exchange and reduced root growth resulting in slower recovery and thinner turf. Silvery moss quickly invades all the open spaces.
19. Its absolutely heart breaking to see brand new tarps eaten away by mice. The tarps we use are as much as $4,000. We’ve never had much of a mice problem through the years, however when we have its been winters of drifted snow and crusty layers in the snow.
20. We have a ton of work to do before we can open. Firstly, the weather has to cooperate and dry the place up. The greens have to be dry before we remove the tarps and drag the winter topdressing into the turf canopy. The greens have to be cut several times to pick up the residual sand to produce a quality putting surface. Can’t be done if they’re damp and we’re leaving tire prints. Fences have to be removed from tee decks and the accumulated leaves blown off and ice formations along the fences broken up. Not until they’re dry can we drag last falls aeration plugs into the canopy. And the fairways, always the last to dry. The fall’s large aeration plugs still remain and are the last to dry. If not dry, the mud plugs our mats. And obviously we can’t allow traffic on wet fairways. So, what are the guys doing on a Sunday? They are putting furnishings out and blowing as much debris off “semi dry” tarps as we can. Just trying to get a step a head in a rather frustrating spring.
21. So that’s it. And as always, any questions or comments gsaw@sasktel.net.
Have a great week and hopefully we’ll see you at the Spring Scramble May 2nd and 3rd.
Fingers Crossed.
Grant Sawchyn
WHAT’S HOT – May 10, 2026
1. How about that weather. The Crew sure had their fill of the cold stuff. Even lost a new recruit due to the cold. He figured he just wasn’t cut out for outside work. Oh well, he put in a solid 5 days.
2. The team is slowly coming together. Some returnees, some new recruits and even some very well seasoned vets. I’m looking forward to building an efficient and fun team.
3. We started pulling the tarps of the tees and greens April 21st. Unlike other golf courses who can immediately put their greens into play, we still have a considerable amount of prep work prior to play.
4. We got the irrigation system fired up May 3rd. Like everything that’s put away for an extended period of time, there’s a few little glitches in the pump station that required tending to. Nothing serious and nothing that held us back from our regular protocols.
5. There still remains a lot of frost in the ground on some areas of the course, particularly #’4 and the 19th fairway. I’m not sure of the science but the high alkali areas hold the frost substantially longer.
6. There’s been a substantial amount of poplar tree clean-up first thing this spring and recently. Several high wind events through the winter really did a number on the trees as did recent winds. Vile weeds.
7. Yes, we plan on addressing the poplar roots in #’s 2 and10. Serious communication problem last season. Very embarrassing too.
8. Prior to putting the tarps down in the fall, we aerate the greens and cover them with a heavy sand topdressing. To rid the sand in the spring when the tarps come off, the sand is dragged into the aeration holes. The greens must be dry to pull the heavy metal mat around.
9. Although the irrigation system is running, we’re always reluctant to let it run automatically for as few days. We prefer watering manually in the early mornings to work out some bugs and see what repairs may be necessary.
10. The greens were absolutely beautiful when we pulled the tarps off. Unfortunately, snow and -12 wind chills came along a few days later. It set them back a bit but I’d still consider them pretty good considering the winter.
11. We can not put the circulating pump in the well at the #’s 9/18 water hazards. The water in the well is still frozen solid. No babbling brook. Sorry. And the fountain will go in when the pump goes in too.
12. Yes, I’m the guy that labeled the cart compound. If there’s any errors, I apologize. I was working under duress. It was the day before we were opening.
13. I’m not sure what the deal is but we receive very few student applicants these days.
14. The cul-de-sac ponds take a considerable amount of cleaning each spring. Hopefully we’ll get at it soon.
15. Not like we’re fertilizing tomorrow but we still haven’t received or order. Supply chains still haven’t rebounded from the pandemic.
16. Can’t wait to see our flower volunteers doing their thing in the beds around the course. They’ve had a whole winter to think about it. Should be good.
17. When we start using the new forward tees on #’s 14, 15 and 16, the height of cut will likely be slightly higher than the others. At least until their rooted in well at which point we’ll shave them down.
18. Hopefully the river stays at a decent level this summer and we don’t have to ration irrigation while we wait to have our inlet dredged out. Its supposed to be hot and dry so fingers crossed.
19. We are going to have a few new faces on the crew this season who are going to require considerable training. Please be patient while they are learning to operate in a very different and at times difficult work environment.
20. Had my first comment about why the greens are so slow.
21. As always, gsaw@sasktel.net with comments and questions.
Grant Sawchyn
