Winter Wonderland at the Trace

We received over 5 inches of snow on Christmas Day at the golf course.  Hopefully the sun will come out over the next few days and melt the snow so we can get back to business.  Hope everyone had a great holiday with family and friends.

 

Congratulations to The Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain

CROSSVILLE, TN – The Bear Trace Golf Course at Cumberland Mountain State Park has achieved designation as a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, an Audubon International program.  Tim Brock, Golf Course Superintendent and Ed Brown, Greenskeeper, have led the effort to obtain sanctuary status on this course and is being recognized for Environmental Stewardship by Audubon International. The Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain is the 12th course in Tennessee and the 805thin the world to receive the honor.  The Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain joins Paris Landing, Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Fall Creek Falls and Warriors Path as Tennessee Golf Trail courses to gain Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary status.   

For more information on the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program visit www.auduboninternational.org

Turkeys Turkeys Everywhere

We saw a total of 38 turkeys in one group this morning with many more in other smaller groups around the golf course.  They seem to be more interested in each other than us so we can get really up close to them and get some good photos. 

Moving toward the next level

We recently added four walk behind greens mowers to our equipment fleet.  I can't wait until the spring to start using these units.  The addition of these mowers will allow us to provide a better putting surface with smoother and faster greens.  It will also reduce the compation to the greens and eliminate any tire burns on the surrounds currently caused by the use of our riding triplex mowers.  It will take some adjustment in our mowing patterns but I feel it will help us produce a better product for our golfers.  Special thanks to Commissioner Fyke, Asst. Commissioner Lyon and Mr. Webb for helping us to move Harrison Bay toward the next level in golf courses.

Nesting Pair of Bald Eagles

We are really excited about the pair of American Bald Eagles that are buiding a nest behind the green on hole #10.  It has been great seeing them fly around the golf course collecting limbs, grass, and pine needles as they construct their nest.  They have doubled the size of their nest in the last week and seem to be more at ease with activity near their nest.  Hopefully all will go as planned and we will have some eaglets to look at this spring.  For safety reasons and because we do not want to disturb the eagles and possibly make them abandon their nest, anyone wishing to view the eagles and their nest will need to gain permission from the golf course staff before going onto the golf course.

Greens Covering

We recently deployed our covers to protect our greens from the harsh temperatures and high winds that we are experiencing.  The covers are used to help reduce the desiccation of the turfgrass plant caused by the cold wind blowing across the plant surface and removing moisture from within the plant thus causing it to be damaged.  The covers also serve as insulating blankets for the greens increasing the temperature under the covers by up to 10-12 degrees F.  This increase in temperature protects the crowns of the plant and the root system from possible cold weather damage.  We hope to have the covers pulled off by Friday and the course opened back up for play.

Turkeys on the golf course

We saw this group of turkeys trying to play through on hole #3 this morning. Our turkey population on the golf course has gone from zero at Thanksgiving last year to the 32 we counted this year on Thanksgiving.  The turkey feeders seem to be doing their job.  More on those later.

Introduction to our blog

Welcome to the new Bear Trace at Harrison Bay Golf Course Maintenance blog.  We are very excited to have the opportunity to display the hard work that the golf course maintenance crew does to improve and advance the golf course.  We will use this blog to show improvements and advances to the golf course, help explain practices that are occurring on the golf course, and inform you of wildlife and environmental activities that are seen or carried out on the golf course.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  We hope you enjoy.