The 2021 golf season has flown by. It has been a great season but as everyone in our industry knows, new challenges present themselves constantly. With the amount of smoke we have had in the Alberta Mountains mixed with high temperatures we have had more disease pressure this season than all my years at Stewart Creek put together. Luckily with our team we were able to catch the disease before any major damage was sustained but it reminded us all how quickly things can happen and the importance of checking each hole on a daily bases. With the smoke limiting the evapotranspiration we had higher moisture levels throughout the course and were surprised one morning when we found white mycelium patches across two of our greens. Quick action was taken to apply prophecy fungicide on those greens to stop it from spreading, followed by an application of liquid fungicide to all the greens a few days later.
The most interesting assignment I have done this year was looking into management styles and the effectiveness. I was able to speak with five different employees and get some feedback on my management that was extremely helpful. The assignment allowed me to look into my own management style and how it works with our team. The feedback was great confirmation that I am reaching my team on a deeper level than just another employer which in turn has helped us to keep work exciting and be productive on a daily basis. The biggest struggle I have had this year is burnout. With the amount of work this summer along with the constant assignments I have found myself more fatigued than usual. A few of the assignments have been a little confusing which has led to me redoing a few and trying to cram more into each week than I should be. So far the assignments have been beneficial but with everything going on at the course it can be hard to find time to get into the shop for mechanical work or out to fix irrigation as we have designated people for those tasks while I am focusing on other things around the property.
Matt's Reflective Journal 