Tournament ready; waiting on the weather...

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I, like many, have spent the last six weeks trying to figure out why Mother Nature still thinks it is February.  To support my claim, I dug into some weather data and found that the average daily temperature for both March and April is under 40 degrees (37 and 38 respectively)!! Soil temperatures for the state are averaging 44 degrees.  The historical soil temperature average is 55 degrees and the 10 year average is 57 degrees. So yes, we are all justified in saying IT IS colder than normal!!!  I hate to mention this, but I also found that the average daily temp for April 1-20, 2017 was 56 degrees! That's almost 20 degrees warmer.

But, we are not doomed.  It will warm up.  I promise.  It reminds me of working with an Assistant Pro in Chicago, who when asked by members if it was going to stop raining would reply, "it always has..."  So yes, it will warm up, "it always has",  and when it does the course is going to be ready.

The reason it will be ready is because we were tournament ready on March 30th.  The ISU Men's Team hosted 17 Division I college teams for the DA Weibring Invitational.  We received 8 inches of snow 6 days prior to the event, and, I can allow myself to say it now, we scrambled to get the course ready.  It took rolling greens 8 times in 3 days, double cutting multiple days in a row, which resulted in surprising more grass clippings than I expected, and mowing fairways under the wettest conditions I have ever mowed in. But, it turned out great!!  Here's a slide show of pictures from the week.  There were definitely pictures opportunities I have never had before...

As you can see in the pictures the tournament finished in the snow.  Congrats to Duke University on their win! ISU finished 3rd, just behind runner-up Wisconsin. I think it will be one that nobody ever forgets.  By Monday morning we were covered in snow. White instead of green- again.

The silver lining is this- the best part of getting the course tournament ready so early is that once we have reached those conditions, it is really simple to get everything back to those standards.  A quick mow, roll, etc. and the course is back to the highest standards.  Now we just need the weather to cooperate so that all of you can come enjoy how good the course is playing.  Please Mother Nature #sNOwmore


Thanks for reading!
    Travis Williams

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