Mitch is measuring the circumference of the fairway reels before and after grinding.
Five fairway cutting units ready for the reel grinder along the back wall and the bed knife grinder to the left.
Winter oil changes and tune ups start with our two greens mowers.
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Dan does all of the clubhouse parking lot plowing and always has it ready for the 6:00 am opening of the fitness rooms and the simulator tee times. He takes care of it mid-day when we are open for lunch and if needed before the dinner and events crowd.
Patrick grooms our cross country trails everyday we have snow, 7 days a week and he gets them groomed by 9:00 am. The trail starts by the tenth tee. More trail info here:
New this year on our sledding hill we are grooming and packing the far slope for a faster sledding experience.
Here is a closer look to the packed sledding hill.
Our new heavy duty utility vehicle, a Pro Gator from John Deer. One of our red Toro Workman's transmission system was past it's useful life, the other one isn't far behind and no parts are available since they are over 20 years old.
Even our fleet of back pack blowers get the deep cleaning over the winter.
If you missed the link in the Club at a Glance, here is our fireside chat discussing the GCIP progress.
Golf Course Improvement Plan - January 2026
With winter certainly upon us here in Traverse City, our GCIP chairman, Mike Meindertsma, Scott Hebert and I met up to review the 2025 GCIP with a Fireside Chat, see the video here. Phase one of the GCIP was ahead of schedule and on budget with a huge thank you to all that were involved! With the project being ahead of schedule, the big message to share for 2026 is that there will be no golf course construction in the spring and the remainder of the construction will take place next fall.
The scope of work will be to build the new sixth green complex and the best part about this is we have the putting surface growing and ready on the new nursery next to the 8th tee. We will also be rebuilding the tee complexes on holes 5-7 and 13-16. From the financial side of the project, 53% of the overall budget has been spent to date. We are well over halfway finished, and 47% of our budget remains after all 2025 expenditures have been completed and accounted for. While we still have a lot of work to be completed, we are very confident with where the project sits financially.
Have a wonderful winter and we look forward to a great spring and summer on the golf course, with construction starting next fall.
Steve Hammon
