Hard At Work

YOUR ASPEN GLEN GOLF STAFF AND GOLF COMMITTEE
HARD AT WORK...

Throughout each year, the Aspen Glen Golf Staff and Golf Committee are continually looking at ways to improve your overall golf experience.  2013 has been a very active year and we want to share some exciting new changes with you.  We value the opinions and ideas of our Members and we especially want to thank the Golf Committee for their help to accomplish the following:

NEW MEMBER COMFORT STATION
The comfort station has been a nice addition to the range and will continue to serve as a resting place during practice sessions, as well as a functional structure for all golf events.

ADDITION OF A GOLD TEE BOX ON HOLE #15
This addition has not only added a significant challenge from the gold tees, but also has created several options for Blue and Black tee set-up.  New course ratings will reflect all of these changes.

INTRODUCING WIDER BUNKER RAKES
The wider rakes will be introduced to a only a few bunkers for a trial period.  If the new style rakes prove to be effective, the Club will add some additional wide rakes in certain places.  The intent will not be to replace the existing rakes - the narrow style rakes will continue to be needed due to the different sizes, shapes, and contours of bunkers.  The club has also added rakes with longer handles to help reach various deep bunkers faces throughout the course.

#12 WALKING BRIDGE (NEW NON-SLIP MATERIAL INSTALLED)
The staff has installed a new style rubber surface to the walking bridge on hole #12.  This new material acts as a non slip surface.  If the new surface is proven to be successful and lasts through the winter season, the staff will look at other areas throughout the course where this material could be introduced.

INCREASED WALKING PATHS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE
Additional walking paths have been added to certain areas to help provide easier access for walkers between holes.
 
ADDITION OF #16 DROP AREA
A drop area has been added to the right of the water hazard on hole #16.  We feel that this will allow for an easier option for those hitting a ball into the hazard from the tee box.  We also feel that could help with pace of play on this hole in certain situations.

ADDITIONAL ON COURSE DRAINAGE
We are fortunate to have a course that drains well during rain events.  But, to improve the drainage further, the golf course maintenance team has recently added several new French drains to help move water off the course and control wet areas.  A number of new drains have also been added along the cart path edge to move water out of low points along the cart path.

NEW MOISTURE METERS TO MONITOR SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT IN GREENS
The golf course maintenance team has invested in new moisture meters to monitor the amount of moisture in the soils of our greens.  This has allowed the team to promote healthier root systems, establish optimum playing conditions, and improve water management.

IN-HOUSE ASPEN GLEN WEATHER STATION
The golf course maintenance team has installed our very own weather station.  This has become a vital part of our everyday course maintenance and has helped us monitor precipitation levels, wind speeds, evaporation levels, weather trends, etc.  This addition helps the staff determine watering cycles which ultimately helps create a more consistent golf course playing condition.
 
GOLF COURSE RATING
The Colorado Golf Association has recently rated our golf course to establish an up to date course slope and course rating for each set of tee boxes.  These ratings will determine how USGA handicaps are calculated based on your scores entered into the GHIN Handicap System. The rating consisted of a team of 8 who spent the majority of a day taking measurements of each individual hole.  The rating team also played the golf course, which is part of the rating process.  The rating team was very impressed with the Aspen Glen overall product and all mentioned Aspen Glen as “one of the best overall golf experiences in the state”. 

A BIG THANK YOU TO THE GOLF COMMITTEE AND BOARD OF GOVERNORS FOR ONE OF THE BEST GOLF SEASONS EVER AT ASPEN GLEN!  BRING ON 2014...WE CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR!

Fireworks on New Years Eve

There will be fireworks shot from the 10th fairway on New Year's Eve!  Enjoy the show.

Cross country ski trail is open

The cross country ski trail is now open and groomed weekly and after each snow.  The trail is located on the cart path on the front 9 and runs from the 1st tee to the 6th green.  It is a great way to get some exercise and fresh air this time of year.

Greens Aerification

The greens were aerified on April 24th and 25th.  Although greens aerification causes a short term disruption in playing conditions it is very important to the long term health of the greens surface.  Aerification opens avenues for air and water, reduces compaction, and removes thatch and organic mater.  It also creates an opportunity to work important nutrients into the open holes. We are often asked about our timing and why we would aerify when the greens are in good condition.  Waiting to aerify until we saw a problem with the greens would be like waiting until your car breaks down to change the oil.  It needs to be done as preventative maintenance.

There are many steps to greens aeirfication, here are a few pictures of the process:

                                                 This is the machine that pulls the cores.

They are then swept up and hauled off.

After the cores have been removed, amendments and seed are applied. The green is then topdressed with a heavy layer of sand, and the sand is drug into the holes with a brush pulled behind a cart.

Any holes that are still left open are then filled by hand with a push broom.  Excess sand is then swept up and removed.  The final step is to roll the green multiple directions to smooth the surface.