Winter Storm - The Rim Golf Club

Seems like every year, during the Holidays, we seem to always have some sort of a winter storm. This year it proved to be right on schedule. A few days before the New Year, we got hit with a pretty large snow storm. The golf course received nearly a foot of snow. The storms timing may not be unusual, but the amount of snow that has fallen is a bit unusual.

Since I have lived in Payson, we have been hit with snow each year. I am sure everyone has seen the usual, snow falls and then melts within a week. The roads are usually clear by the end of the day. Snow in The Rim Country is mostly a brief nuisance.

What made this storm unique, were the cold temperatures that followed the heavy snow fall. On New Year’s Day the low at my house was 1 degree. I have only lived in Payson for four years and I have not seen low temperatures like that. It was cold enough that a water line in the wall of my garage froze and burst. I have seen teens for a low before, but rarely single digits.

What does this mean for the course and our staff?

The staff will start working on our maintenance shop. We have a lot of clean up and organization that can be done to prepare for next season. We will also round up the tee markers from the course and start painting the respective colors for each set. This is also a good time for the mechanics to get caught up on replacing worn seals and bearings to get the equipment ready for next season.

I will have some upcoming posts that will illustrate some of the things that we are working on during this winter weather. Also, keep an eye out for our first video blog. It will be part one of our quest to correct the range tee wiring debacle.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Storm Damage #13 Vol. 1

About a month ago we had a week long storm that dropped 11 inches of precipitation.  The start of the storm yielded heavy rains while the tail end of the storm ended up dumping nearly a foot of snow on the golf course.  With that much rain we knew we were going to have our work cut out for us.                                         

Shortly after the snow melted we were able to assess the damage.  We had some fairly large DG deposits on the golf course that needed to be cleaned up.  There were a couple drains plugged that needed some attention but most of all, left of thirteen fairway had some serious issues.

To the left of #13, at the bottom of the "bail out" area, was a large washout in the turf.  The perforated drain pipe was clogged with DG.  When the large volume of water was stopped by the DG in the pipe, the easiest way for the water to go was out the perforations.  It also didn't help that it came to a screeching hault when the 6" pipe was reduced to four inch at about the same place as the clog.

The water literally bursting out of the pipe, began undermining the DG soil and pushing it down the original drainage trench.  This caused the turf above to collapse and all the soil to end up at the bottom of the hill in bubbles under the turf.

We are working on fixing the problem with the pipe reduction and the perforation.  I will keep everyone posted on the progress of this project, but as for now the left side of thirteen is a mess and is also roped off completely.  Please take care and look for our staff and we will make sure we watch for you so we do not get in the way.

If you have any questions about #13 or the drainage that will be installed please contact me.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Storm Clean Up Vol. 1

We finally were able to dig ourselves out to the golf course today.  With nearly a foot of snow on the golf course we were restricted to just our four wheel drive trucks.  My daughter and I took a tour of the golf course last weekend to see the extent of the damage, but with the amount of snow, I could not see the extent of the damage.

The crew jumped right in (no pun intended) and started cleaning up the course.  We had several large washouts that traveled across rough and fairways.  With the amount of water traveling across the grass had left behind a considerable amount of decomposed granite from the surrounding areas.  Some drains had been clogged and standing water was present.  The crew was able to quickly free the drains of debris and get the water draining well.

We have also have had trouble getting the geese to stay off of the course.  With limited access we could chase the geese off during the day but they are coming back in the evening.  Since we cannot get our equipment out on the course the geese have made quite a mess as you can imagine.  We will be on top of this issue and as soon as we can comfortably get the larger equipment on the course we will clean the fairways off.  Since the snow is slow to melt the geese congregate in small areas leaving a large mess in a small area.

The crew also took care of the trees that were victim to the storm.  We had one tree fall on the 16th hole, left hand side, across the path in the native.  The other tree that fell from the storm was on the left hand side of the 9th hole.  Both trees were blocking the cartpath.  The crew did a nice job today clearing the paths of snow and debris making the course accessible for cart traffic if anyone would like to tour the course and see not only the clean up we have done but also the snow covered fairways and green,

If you have any questions about the status of the golf course, feel free to contact me.

Justin C. Ruiz,

justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Storm Update Vol. 4

The storm has passed and we are left with nearly a foot of snow on the golf course. Before all the snow we had torrential rainfall that spread decomposed granite across some of the course. Once the snow melts we will have our work cut out for us with clean up. I have yet to see the bunkers and the status on how much erosion they have suffered. After the first day of the storm we had a couple wash outs but nothing major.

Road conditions on Rim Club drive are reasonable with the immediate plowing that took place. Our staff will clean the parking lot at the clubhouse and spa today. In the mornings the roads can still be icy from the melt off the evening before. It is still dropping to the low twenties at night.

I will keep you posted on the clean up progress, the upcoming storm and the course status. The forecast is calling for rain/snow on Wednesday this week. Be safe when traveling for the next few days. Sometimes that ice is hard to see. If you have any questions about the status of the course or our clean up efforts please contact me.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Storm Update Vol. 3

It is Saturday morning and everyone has woke up to 8-10" of snow.  What does this mean for the golf course?  We will be closed for a few days for sure.  It looks like rain or snow today and then clearing up next week.  Clear weather also means low temperatures overnight freezing any melted snow.

Here is the local weather camera:

WEATHER CAMERA

Here is the storm update:

STORM UPDATE

If you have any questions about the course or the storm you can contact me.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Storm Update Vol. 2

Overnight we have had some snow.  Here is the latest update for this massive winter storm.  Might want to think twice if you are planning on going anywhere this weekend.

STORM UPDATE

Here is the weather camera located in Payson.

WEATHER CAMERA

Storm Update Vol. 1

The storm that has hit the South West has proven to be large.  Rain and wind have been persistent and surface water runoff is huge.  When I was on the course this morning the rains had just begun.  Our drainage efforts were holding up and the course had little damage.  Looking at 60' trees swaying in the wind over my flooded backyard has made me come to the realization that we will have our work cut out for us when this storm finally ends.

Here is the local storm update.

STORM UPDATE Thursday 1/21/10

Large Storm Coming to The Rim Golf Club

I am sure you have seen the news about the storm prediction that will be in Payson tomorrow.  I have heard that they are calling for 6-9 inches of rain in Payson and in the higher elevations up to 6 feet of snow.  It is pretty amazing to hear such predictions but our staff is going to take proper precautions if we do indeed sustain the heavy rains they are forecasting.

We will make sure all the drainage on the golf course is clear of debris and working properly.  We are going to check the culverts that move water under the golf course from outlying areas to make sure they are clear and able to accept water properly. Large amounts of rain in a short period of time will cause run off issues.  Depending on the severity of rain we will be diligent on cleaning the property up quickly after any washouts take place.  We are also going to check our perimeter fence after the storm to ensure we have not had any damage to the fence.

In the three years I have been in The Rim Country and the five years I have been in the Valley this is by far the largest storm that I have seen forecasted.  The moisture is definitely a plus for our state.  After a dry year the reservoirs may begin to fill up.

If you have any questions about the upcoming storm and how we are preparing the golf course please contact me.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@therimgolfclub.org