Irrigation work now started on new nine!
Mother nature never really cooperated with us the first part of the year but now that summer is here we seem to be catching up. Irrigation has begun, starting with the underground crossover through Highway #604 that attaches to the south course and the pump station. The usual red tape with agreements from atco pipelines and Alberta Transportation transformed, but they did finally appear. We contracted a local company to do the directional drill, Big Country out of Ponoka, there portion of the drill went very smooth and was done within a day. Once the drill was complete we attached the main line and started full irrigation on the course with #10, based on a 1-2 holes per day schedule we should have this complete within a couple of weeks. The maturation period should start the later part of this month and first part of August. This is a good time to seed as the ground and evening temperatures are at their maximum along with a more consistent weather pattern.
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| Irrigation going into #18 fairway on new course |
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| #9 East is a perfect example of the replication of Old world golf similar to British Open Courses. |
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Greenside report – Expectations from a different point of view
By Tyler Patroch – Asst. Golf Superintendent
My favorite week of the golf season is that of the British Open. The Open’s allure to me is that it is played on a links style golf course, for that week shot making, creativity and unpredictability return to the game. In North America our golfing expectations are for perfect ‘tournament like’ conditions every day. Though these conditions are attainable they come with consequences that are not always understood.
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Television has been a useful tool exposing golf to millions of people, but through that exposure views and perceptions of course preparations have been offered by one faction of the golf industry; the touring player. Although Johnny Miller and others in his position are offering opinions of the days conditions relative to scoring, their agronomic impact is seldom discussed. Reality is that the public regularly expects conditions comparable to those seen on television without understanding their influences on the amount of agronomic inputs required to manage a golf course, budgets and the “fun factor” of golf.
Common knowledge is that grass requires water and fertilizers to survive, but the level of maintenance impacts the quantity of these “inputs”. Higher maintained turf requires more water, fertilizers, pesticides and labor to survive. At the risk of becoming too technical, lower mowing heights reduce a plant’s ability to uptake nutrients on its own. Water and fertilizers must be supplemented to weakened plants. Furthermore turf under stress risks injury from insects, pathogens or encroachment from weeds.
Any superintendent will tell you that the largest portion of his budget is allocated to labor costs. Topdressing, verticutting, mowing, rolling and hand watering are all common maintenance procedures that must be performed more often on highly maintained turf. Under tournament conditions it is not unusual for man hours related to mowing greens, rolling and hand watering to double. Over an extended period of time this can add up to many tens of thousands of dollars.
Inputs and budgets are both tangible elements of golf course maintenance. A larger more concerning effect of tournament conditions is their impact on the enjoyment of golf. Increased green speeds have hurt the game by eliminating interesting pin placements, making putting more difficult and slowing the pace of play. Golf is a beautiful sport that can be enjoyed by male, female, young, old and players of all abilities. At a time in the game’s history when its growth has slowed we should be focusing on broadening the game’s appeal instead of catering to a vocal minority.
Course conditioning is an extremely important element of the game but must be kept in perspective. The implications of delivering ‘tournament like’ conditions on a daily basis reach beyond the cosmetic snap shots described by Johnny Miller; they affect agronomy, finances and the enjoyment of the game. During the third week of July, pay attention to Carnoustie and how much more interesting the game is when played on a more natural stage. |
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From the Kitchen
Chef Michael Card
We would like to thank all who helped make our first annual Fathers Day brunch a great success. With the season in full swing we would like to remind everyone that our next special event will be our ‘East meets West lobster Fest’ on Saturday July 28th. Cocktails are set to begin at 6:00 with a 7:00 Dinner time. A full menu with pricing can be viewed on our website. |
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Tickets are limited so make you reservations today.
We would also like to remind those who are interested in Christmas functions to contact me, Michael@Wolfcreekgolf.com to secure a prime date and discuss possible menu selections.
Air Conditioning now in clubhouse!!
For over 20 years we have not had air-conditioning in our clubhouse for various reasons, one of the key reasons was the difficulty dealing with a log structure. However with new technology we have managed to add air conditioning and not be to intrusive on the building. This will be a welcome relief to our banquet area as the 30 degree heat begins to unfold.
Food for thought:
Oysters Rockefeller
- 1/2 lb. fresh spinach, coarse stems discarded and then leaves washed well, spun dry, and then chopped fine (about 3 ½ cups) – (875ml)
- 1 cup minced scallions – (250ml)
- 1 3/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs – (425ml)
- 1/2 cup minced celery – (125ml)
- 3 x garlic cloves, minced
- 2 batons of butter – 1 cup butter – (250ml)
- 2 tbsp Pernod or Sambuca – (30ml)
- 1 tbsp anchovy paste (Or fish Oil)– (15ml)
- Dash Cayenne , Cracked Black Pepper
- 12 slices of lean bacon
- 36 x Fanny Bay Oysters, shucked reserving the bottom (deeper) shell, scrubbed and dried, and 1/3 cup of the oyster liquor – coarse salt
- Course Salt for baking
- Lemons
Directions:
- Preheat oven 425 F
- Combine the , spinach, scallions, and ½ cup of the breadcrumbs, parsley, celery and the garlic in a bowl. Over a moderate heat, melt butter in a skillet, once the butter has melted add the vegetable mixture, stirring rapidly until the greens are slightly wilted.
- Add the Pernoid or sambuca, anchovy paste, cayenne and salt & cracked pepper to taste to vegetable mixture, cover and chill.
- In another skillet cook bacon until crispy, place on paper towel to drain and crumble when drained. Moisten the oysters with some of the reserved liquor and arrange one oyster in each of reserved shell. Spread half of the vegetable mixture onto the oysters and sprinkle the bacon over it. On top of the bacon add more vegetable mixture. Top each oyster off with breadcrumbs.
- Using a pan filled with coarse salt arrange the oysters and bake them in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are browned well. Serve on Platter with lemon garnish.
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The Village at Wolf Creek!
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| Atco Gas working on subdivision installing gas feed for lots |
Though our primary objective is to complete the new nine we still are working on the subdivision. Most of this is behind the scenes with our engineers preparing agreements with the utility companies. There is always an order and process in which you try and put things together unfortunately some companies work at a different pace and agenda. The last utility that usually goes in is the Gas company which is understandable; nobody likes to work around gas. However in our case we have an existing feeder line that runs through the golf property which needs to be abandoned in order to complete the irrigation. Atco has now completed this task along with some of the future home site connections; however Fortis the power company is still in the planning stages. We do however expect a completed signed plan within a few days which will be the last peace of the puzzle. Our estimated timeline of late fall for Title release is still intact.
In regards to our pre-sales we still have the information on the website however with both phase 1 and phase 2 sold out there are no current lots available. Phase 3 is expected to be complete sometime this summer at which time we will release the remaining lots. All current investors in the project will be given first opportunity at these remaining lots. |
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From the Golf Shop
Jae Stiles
It is looking like we are finally getting some summer after all. With the changing of the weather we have changed the look of the Golf shop. Coming in soon is Cross Golf Wear in sweaters and shirts. It has a European look to it and has gotten Chris very excited. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. We have also brought a new line for the ladies as well, it is Cracked Wheat. Chris is a little excited about this too!!
Just a reminder to everyone we are having our Member-Guest on Sunday, July 15th. It is a great way to show off the Wolf, your course when it is in its best shape. Jay and Lee have worked very hard to get a huge number of prizes so sign up now so you don’t miss a thing. It is $125 per player with each player will be getting a Nike wind shirt, two meals, 18 holes with cart and tons of prizes. Sign up now so you don’t miss the big event!
All men’s Oxford and Oakley clothing are now 30% off, with all ladies clothing 25% off.
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Oilmen’s Entires Now available!!!
The Wolf Creek Oilmen’s entries are now available on the website, if you would like to enter please check it out here. |
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Major Events for July
| Date |
Event |
Time |
July 6th
July 7th
July 8th
July 9th
July 12th
July 15th
July 19th
July 21st
July 27th
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Poole (16)
McEwen Cup (20)
Hnatiuk (28)
Buss (20)
Wolf Creek Invitational (20)
Hnatiuk (28)
McEwen (20)
Wolf Creek Invitational
Alberta Bedding association (100)
AR. Thomson (144)
Member-Guest
Bayduza (32)
Oblemen (20)
Greenslade (40)
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10:30
8:00 am & 2:30 pm
12:30
12:00 noon
1:30 pm
8:20 am
11:00 am
7:00 am
1:00 shotgun
10:00 am shotgun
1:00 shotgun
1:00 pm
11:00 am
9:00 am |
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| contact us: wolf creek golf resort 403.783.6050 www.wolfcreekgolf.com |
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| © Copyright - All Rights Reserved |
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