Advance Week! Vamos!
What a week it's been!
We kicked things off on Monday by hosting a Club
Managers Association of America (CMAA) event. It was a great opportunity to
showcase everything that makes our club special. Every department brought their
A-game. Food & Beverage delivered an outstanding experience, our service
staff was exceptional, and (selfishly) I thought the Manakin Course was
absolutely shining. It was a great team effort, and we're proud of how the club
was represented.
Tuesday brought a different kind of excitement as a Midwest-style supercell rolled through, leaving quite a mess on both courses. Thankfully, our maintenance crews responded quickly and did a fantastic job getting everything cleaned up and back in championship condition ahead of the Ladies Club Championship. The crew did a great job getting things cleaned up in short order. Grant and Wil Lannon were out late into the evening getting Manakin greens sprayed with fungicides and wetting agents to beat the rain. I hope you appreciate the pride and hard work that all these guys pour into both of these courses.
As we enter Valentine Week, both courses are ready to be pushed for some of the nation's best amateur golfers. Green speeds will start climbing quickly next week, and we're hoping to dodge the rain and humidity so conditions can continue to firm up. It's always exciting to prepare the courses for championship golf.
Unfortunately, we've lost a few trees this summer. This one on #14 Sabot made it pretty obvious why once it was on the ground. Ben and his team made quick work of removing it, and it's amazing to see just how little sound wood was actually supporting such a large tree.
I also took the drone out for a test flight ahead of Valentine Week. Seeing both courses from above gives you a whole new appreciation for just how spectacular they really are. I hope you enjoy a few of the aerial photos.
While the drone was in the air, I couldn't resist grabbing a shot of the driving range tee. It's incredible to see just how many divots can come from such a small area. Hopefully this winter we'll have the opportunity to address that issue with a larger tee, giving us more room to spread out the wear.
Speaking of divots...I'm not exactly sure what happened next to #9 Manakin, but someone took the full wedge swing approach. I'm not convinced the situation called for a full-swing wedge, but at least the divots were filled. Around the greens, let's stick with those chippy bump-and-runs whenever possible!
We're all excited for the week ahead. The courses are shining, the team is ready, and we can't wait to show them off.
Have a great weekend, and we'll see you on the course!