We Are Prepared For Hurricane Irene!

Our maintenance program has shifted into a new gear. We are, and have been, preparing for Hurricane Irene to make landfall sometime on Sunday, August 28th. We have a written plan in place. There are some things our members may notice over the next couple of days. We are slowly removing some of our susceptible course accessories, ponds are being lowered and course conditions are very firm. Our goal is to be very pro-active before the anticipated event. We want to plan for the worst and hope for the best.

What is the golf course maintenance staff doing to prepare?

• Bring in / secure course accessories that can be effected by high winds

• Lower water levels in ponds to reduce flooding

• Secure any loose “debris” on our 150 acres

• Clean all drains and surrounds of those drains

       o On course drains

       o All “in street” drains surrounding our property on Cheshire Road, Parker Farms Road and Gaylord Farms Road

• Prepare our gravel / dirt maintenance driveway for the heavy rain which could keep maintenance staff from accessing the maintenance facility
• Service, fuel and prepare all maintenance equipment that is needed for repairs after this significant weather event

       o Loaders / backhoes

       o Pumps

       o Dump truck

       o Maintenance vehicles

       o Chain saws

       o Blowers

       o Etc.

• Contact tree company in advance to make sure we are the highest client priority in case of extensive damage that we cannot safely handle “in-house”.
• Updated employee phone “tree” has already been instituted.
•  Maintenance staff is on call.
• We will not put our maintenance staff in harm’s way of hurricane Irene and will make their homes and families a #1 priority.

Our advance planning will ensure their success both at home and on the job.

I feel confident we have put our team in the best possible environment to survive and succeed, regardless of what Mother Nature will throw at us in the coming days. We are prepared to recover quickly.

• Maintenance staff will be on-site Saturday to mow many areas of the course. This may inconvenience some of our members playing in the Senior Club Championship. Hopefully we can limit this by our creative planning.
• We want to be prepared for the one foot of rain being forecasted. One foot of rain means we may not be able to mow anything for several days. Our goal is to make sure we get the course playable, at a high level, as soon as possible after this major weather event.
• We have also prepared turf by applying Plant Growth Regulators to greens, tees and fairways. This will reduce turf growth by an estimated fifty percent.

 My plan is designed to give our maintenance team its best chance at success. While players will make some slight sacrifices with some course ammenities in the coming days, playing conditions will be excellent. We will do our best to have everything back to normal as soon as possible.