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Grounds Department Update

 Hello Everyone, August can be a tough month for golf course maintenance departments.  The weather can be brutal, staffing shrinks as seasonal employees return to school,  details that get quickly tended to during the summer can take longer to get to until the seasonal work load transitions into Autumn tasks.  This year we were able to perform our greens aeration in early August.  We were still at full staff. The whole operation went well, and greens healed up quickly.  We  will continue the same aeration schedule neat season, with solid tines in the spring, and core aeration in August.   Many members have inquired about the blighted areas on some of the fairways.  The damage is from a fungal disease called Gray Leaf Spot.  Like most fungal diseases, it proliferates during hot humid weather, and nighttime temperatures over 70 degrees.  Numbers 11, 13, and 18  are the most affected  fairways, with some others having at...
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Golf Course Update July 2023

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  Hello everyone! As most members have probably noticed, the recent rainfall and extended periods of  humid weather have really softened the course and noticeably changed the way it plays compared to the very dry conditions we had experienced in the spring.   When we get into the summer months in central Pennsylvania we typically see this spike in humidity and nighttime temperatures that hover around 70 degrees.  Our focus changes from hand watering and maintaining moisture levels to monitoring for disease and keeping the turf healthy.   As the end of July rolls around at LCC, the grounds team is gearing up for the Sullivan Invitational.  We will be maintaining the roughs longer than normal to put a premium on hitting fairways for the event.  The event showcases the club to some of the best players in the area, as well as some from different states (and countries).  We will return to our regular rough maintenance and height immediately f...
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Golf Course Update June 2023

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Hello Everyone! I am finally posting a very long overdue golf course maintenance update.  The word of the season so far has been DRY.  Very recent rains have helped to alleviate some of the extremely arid conditions out on the course.  As I write this we are still several inches below average for 2023, but numerous rain events are forecasted in the short-term, so hopefully they will catch us up to normal.   Golf Course On June 4th,  Don Johnson hosted a  divot party.   A big THANK YOU! to Don, and everyone that attended.   We had a great crowd and everyone had a great time!  These events are tons of fun and are a great way to "give back" to the course.   Tee maintenance Some members have noticed the lack of divot sand buckets on the tees this spring.  I have placed an emphasis on regularly topdressing divots on tees with our staff.  I feel by incorporating this into our normal routine it will provi...
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Shop Work

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Accessories Maintenance In addition to the tree work, and golf course projects, all of our equipment and accessory maintenance is done in our shop by our staff as well.  All of our cart stakes, signs, sand trap rakes, tee markers, and all other golf course accessories require service annually to keep them looking nice.   Tee markers getting cleaned and touched up  Cart directional signs getting stripped and re-painted Equipment Maintenance We thoroughly service each piece of equipment from chainsaws to rough mowers over the winter.  Keeping each piece serviced, clean and neatly presented obviously keeps it running well, but it also gives our staff pride of ownership, which increases employee satisfaction and retention.       This is just a glimpse of countless "behind the scenes" tasks that go into maintaining a typical country club golf course like LCC.   Thanks for looking, and I'll see you out on the course! C...
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Winter Maintenance Items

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A s we transition to the offseason, my staff and I can shift away from regular maintenance, and will begin working on some projects to improve the course.   Tree work in some form will always be on our winter project list.                                     Leaning tree #1 right side     
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Grounds Department Updates

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H ello members of Lebanon CC! I have created this page to keep you all updated on the maintenance of the golf course.  Here you will find information regarding regular maintenance as well as  special projects  on the golf course.   As the season progresses, I will post our current and planned projects and other scheduled practices to help make everyone more aware of what's happening on the course.  I will also explain why we do some of the things we do out here.   Thanks, and I can't wait to see you out on the course! Chad
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