Tee Tattler

Greetings from the I.V. Country Club golf course, where spring is in full swing and mowers are humming all day, every day.
The greens are requiring water now and the little stream that goes across #1 fairway is running mightily so, with the orange pump in the shop for a few more days – I’ve been using the blue pump. After a couple days of dealing with an aggressive seaweed crop, I decided that it’s time to put the dam’s stop logs back in. I slid three boards into the slots and could see the water begin to rise within minutes. By morning the water was overflowing the sump box and making its way down the little spillway that goes around the back of the pump house. The evening before I was only able to pump for about 10 minutes before the seaweed stopped flow but now the pump can run for hours without running out of water. Looking forward to having the orange pump back online as the second option, when it’s hot and dry it is so critical to have all the pumps working.
We’ve seen quite a number of people on the course lately so we’ve been busy getting carts back working again from sitting all winter. For the first time, we decided to try out Lithium batteries. We got two as a test and they did not disappoint us. The little Bud Bros cart can now go about 54 holes before it needs to be recharged and it goes so fast without all the weight of the lead too. Looking like we will have to put a governor on the speed control to keep it under 20 MPH.
I bought 2 more for a couple carts that have been down a while so we can outfit our leagues and hopefully our tournaments too. It’s interesting that the price of the Lithium batteries is so reasonable right now. Two years ago, a Lithium was $3,500, today we paid only $900, and that includes a brand new charger for each one.
The practice green is looking very nice lately and we are training it to be cut lower and lower until it is a flat, puttable surface. Two years after I originally planted the Bentgrass and we can see light at the end of the tunnel. The sprinkler timer is set to water just a little twice a day and it works so nicely with no worries about getting it going at a certain time and then coming back to shut it off.
The kids’ program’s starting date is getting very close in the middle of June and we already have quite a few kids who have been wacking balls on the range so we are pretty excited about the kids’ program. Quite a number of kids who went through that program are now seasoned vets and with children of their own now playing as well.
On a not so funny side note, I got my hand caught up in a heavy piece of metal and broke my thumb just above the lower joint. They will have to do surgery to get it lined up correctly so my hand is all wrapped in a cast while awaiting the orthopedic guys to schedule me for that. I am hoping that I will be able to swing a club in a few weeks and, who knows, I might improve my grip as my hand heals!
We have had quite a few guys turning up for evening skins now that it is light enough that we can start after work. Last week we had 10 people show up and this is typical for a weekday evening lately. Our new guy, Daniel Gomez, has been earning a skin almost every night that he plays, which is pretty much every night. Pretty good for a guy who weighs only about 140 pounds, playing against these big cornfed country guys.
Twilight league began Monday and then Wednesday is the day two for Men’s League. We have about 26 teams signed up so far so that is pretty danged good compared to the COVID years. We are also seeing a bunch of new guys taking over for people who have gotten too old (is there such a thing) and people who have moved away.
Ladies’ league starts Thursday and for the first time in many years, they intend to keep score. They still are stressing a fun, non-competitive atmosphere but are wishing to push their comfort level a little and test out getting further into it.
Next tournament will be the Chuck Taylor four-person scramble Saturday, May 24. We will have T-shirts made and hot dogs on the turn. This is a fun tournament, but we will have prizes too.
It is also getting closer to our annual Illinois Valley High School Alumni tournament with Splash for cash, beverage cart, live music, steak dinner and a ton of fun. We have had a room for extra teams so if this sounds like a good time, come and sign up your team of four.