Course fall maintenance set to begin
Fall maintenance schedule
At the end of September, the golf course will once again use the same system that has been so successful the past couple of years to aerate the greens with an injections system using water and sand squirted into the rootzone layer. This process has proven to be very effective in not only punching holes in the greens to allow gas, nutrient and water to penetrate, but to also break up compaction while leaving the greens very playable soon after completion. The equipment used is brought in by a company contracted with the golf course to complete the maintenance procedure with the help of our local crew. Whereas typical aeration would take up to six days for our 36 holes this entire maintenance practice will be completed in three days total.
Volunteers make us a better place
Like so many of the great things that happen in Whitefish the golf course also benefits from a large group of volunteers helping make this a great facility and operation. People like our seven member board, six member green committee, league organizers, divot fillers and events volunteers add so much to the quality experience at WLGC. There may not be enough ink and paper to thank them all in the column, but we do greatly appreciate all their efforts.
How to play a ball from a divot
Nothing can be more disconcerting than hitting what looks like a perfect tee shot only to discover it is in an old divot that no one bothered to fill. Play the ball back in your stance and lean the club shaft forward so it is about at your belt buckle. Hinge the club up sharply then come down on the back of the ball with a good amount of force. Let the club continue through after impact and hold your finish about waist high. The ball will fly low and will have backspin that should allow it to stop in the green. Remember to practice the divot shot on the range, but more importantly, fill your divots with sand and seed mix so the next player doesn’t get that bad lie. Filling the divot with a sand mix is far better than replacing deep divots.
Rakes in or rakes out of bunker
Our preferred position at Whitefish Lake Golf Club is to leave the rakes out of the sand and parallel to the fairway. Again the most important thing about the rakes is that they are used by all of us. Make sure you rake your tracks and if you have time, fix the ones the deer, turkeys, geese and occasional other animals leave as they have not been trained to rake.