4 green soaking up the sun

The weather in January was so good, I couldn't manage to squeeze in a blog post. We had some busy days as players were taking full advantage of the great playing conditions. On January 25th, we hit the 70 degree mark! Sandpines received less than 4 inches of rain for all of January, and no precipitation in the final 12 days of the month. I went to Eugene this past Saturday afternoon. When I left Florence, it was around 60 degrees and sunny. In Eugene it was 42 degrees and foggy. No wonder people have been flocking to the coast.

Jerry and I installing our new weather station

Earlier this month we installed a new weather station at Sandpines. I was hoping to find a station that was inexpensive that would provide reliable weather information. I was also interested in finding a weather station that could be accessed from anyplace with an internet connection. We ended up purchasing the Ambient Weather WS-1400-IP weather station. So far, I feel pretty good about the data we are getting. The station is registered with Weather Underground. The station name is Sandpines Golf Links (station ID is KORFLORE27). I added a link to the weather station near the top right of the blog. The data is stored on Weather Underground, and can be accessed by anyone. Check it out if you get a chance.

Sandpines Weather Station
Weather Underground ID KORFLORE27

Tee markers were recently sandblasted and repainted. Ball washers and ball washer posts were also repaired, sanded, and repainted. Thaddeus did a nice job making the tee markers and ball washers look like new.

Thaddeus sandblasting tee markers

Tee markers painted and baked

Thaddeus painting a ball washer

Freshly painted ball washer on hole 8

Greens and approaches were top dressed in the middle of January. The sand was brushed in, and then washed in with the rain that fell shortly after the top dressing.

Jerry top dressing 2 green

Stairs and handrails were built for the new tee on hole 8, which really helped to improve the access to the tee. Jerry did a great job on the project. I have received many compliments about the new tee. The improved access should make the golfing experience even better.

Early stages of stair project on hole 8

Jerry installing the 1st handrail

Completed stairs and handrails on hole 8

In addition to the projects above, we used the dry weather to mow all areas of the golf course. We also put light fertilizer applications on greens, tees, approaches, and fairways.

14 green basking in the sun