El Nino
certainly has affected weather in the Chicagoland area. We’ve experienced higher temperatures and
less snowfall than in past years. We
came out of winter in excellent shape and I don’t expect any negative issues. We are about 3 weeks ahead of previous
openings (2015- March 27th; 2014- April 12th). Therefore, I would like to advise members on
what to expect in the coming weeks.
Significant
debris has fallen on the golf course. We
will begin the laborious task of cleaning up the golf course and finishing the
tree removal project (removing dead pines and ash). We will be making piles along the cart paths and
renting a chipper to expedite the removal of all the debris. Tree stumps will be ground by the middle of
April.
All of the playing surfaces (greens, tees, and fairways) will be mowed to remove the winter shag the turf has put on during the winter months. As usual, the height of cut on the greens is higher in the spring. We slowly lower it and attain our normal height around May 1st.
We will
begin putting out some of the course accessories next week. About half of the ball washers and tee
markers will be in place. We will rake
all of the bunkers, but detail bunker maintenance will not occur for several
weeks.
The
driving range will be CLOSED and it will be CART PATH ONLY until further
notice. Please observe cart restrictions
as a courtesy to your fellow members and to minimize damage to the course.
The
bathrooms will be CLOSED at this time.
We have to be careful of any freezing temperatures that we may still
have. They should be opening in the next
several weeks.
Greens aerification is scheduled
for Monday, April 4th.
If you are
not currently receiving text notifications on course conditions, please sign up
at rainedout.net. The link below will
get you to the sign up page. Enter your
phone number and/or email address and the validation code. That’s it!
The
grounds crew at Kemper Lakes will be working diligently to get the course in
prime playing condition. We’re just as
excited to be open for play and look forward to seeing everybody out on the
course!
The Crew is back and ready to take on the 2016 golf season!
Greens will officially be open for play this Tuesday, March 15th!
