The Up and Down - February 2024
General Manager's Update
February is here and the days are finally getting longer again! I drove home at 5:30PM the other day and it wasn’t dark... we even saw some sunshine over this past weekend! I might be getting ahead of myself but I’m ready for Spring. January was a tough month with 9+ inches of rain recorded, and a few days closed for a snow / ice storm. Thankfully, we made it out of this ice storm rather unscathed in comparison to 2021 when we had extensive tree damage and were closed for a couple weeks. I posted a few photos below of the extensive damage we saw 3 years ago. 
Unfortunately, the tough conditions in January made it increasingly challenging for our Irrigation Contractors to stay ahead of schedule with their project. The most current update for you on the project is that 17 of 18 holes have been completed for installation of the brand-new irrigation system. Remaining on the agenda is the driving range and practice areas, fine tuning the system, testing the system and new components, and working out any last kinks before we can call the project a wrap! We remain hopeful to call the project completed at the end of February or early March. With some Spring days of sunshine and warmer temperatures to promote grass growth, conditions will be back to normal in no time. I walked the golf course recently and was pleasantly surprised with how well many of the holes have recovered already.
Once the irrigation project is completed, our team will continue to work on repairing some of the damaged drainage and restoring the course back to normal. We will spend some time addressing the bunkers again this Spring once the rain gives way. We will be adding more sand and moving sand around to promote better playability, particularly from the greenside bunkers. The bunkers get abused all winter long, but we do plan to address them again this spring.
Stay alert for updates heading your way in the next few months! Our Shamrock Shamble (St. Patrick's Day) Tournament, Golf Passes for Summer, a NEW Corporate Partnership Program, Course Improvements, Mothers / Father's Day Promotions, and much more! We thank you for your patience this Fall / Winter as we complete the messy but necessary project of replacing our irrigation system. We are thrilled to see the project coming close to close right in time for prime-time golf season!
Fairways and greens!
Ryan Garry
General Manager
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Director of Player & Business Development Update
PGA Junior League – PGA Junior League registrations Opened up on February 1st. There will be a few changes to the Junior League program this year. We will be offering a PGA Junior League U13 Peewee program for golfers 5-8. This program will be a 5-week program starting in June. We will continue to have our regular 10-week program for 9-13- and 14–17-year-old golfers starting at the end of May. This year there will be limited spots available! Please reach out to me (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for any questions or for any scholarships needed.
Lessons – Posting season is only one month away! At the time of writing this spring is only 49 days away which means we will soon be able to fit in a 9-hole round after work! Now is a great time to start that lesson series that you have always wanted to start! I am offering individual lessons, 3-lesson and 5-lesson packages. Book your lessons now!
Comprehensive Golf Training program - I am excited to announce that I have partnered with Burn Fitness, Neil Wilhelm TPI and myself to offer a comprehensive golf training program! This program is designed to train you to like the pros! This program will include a TPI Screening, Inbody scan, personal training and golf lessons! For more information, please contact me!
Tournaments - We are beginning to fill up our 2024 event calendar. Do you have a charity fundraising event? Want to host a company party? Do you have a traveling OGA Member Club that wants to come out and play? OGA is a great venue at an affordable price! We know planning an event can be difficult! We’re here to help make the process easy on you. From the moment you begin coordination of your golf outing until the final trophy is handed out and the last guest departs, our event staff is here to serve you. Feel free to reach out to me to see if OGA Golf Course is the course for your next event!
Tyler Dube
Director of Player & Business Development
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Golf Shop Manager's Update
Superintendent's Update
We are beginning the month with some dry weather. Let us forget about the 8+ inches of rain we collected in our rain gauge for the month of January.
We continue to mow the greens at least once a week and roll as often as we can. We hope to get out more often this month with the tee and fairway mowers. Last month was way below our average mowing interval for these two. We still can’t get out to mow the rough but will do so as soon as possible.
We are in the process of locating and fixing some of the pond overflows that were damaged during the irrigation installation. We are in cooperation with the contractor and hope to get these fixed soon. We also hope to add some new drainage and fix the damaged ones in the upcoming months.
We have been tossing sand around the course almost every day. This should alleviate some of the muddier areas and help them firm up. We will continue to do this until the crew’s arms get too tired and need a rest.
Have a wonderful month!
Cheers!
Dan Imes
Golf Course Superintendent
Food & Beverage Manager's Update
Orchards Grill is currently open daily 11am-4pm.
Current lunch menu can be found here on our website: https://www.ogagolfcourse.com/orchards-grill/about-orchards-grill
Current draft beer selections:
· Modelo Especial
· Blue Moon
· Migration Pale Ale
· Rogue Batsquatch Hazy IPA
· Georgetown Bodhizafa IPA
· Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA
Takeout is always available by calling 503-981-4653 ext. 5 to place an order
We have lots of space in the dining room for lunch gatherings right now. Just call ahead to so we can make sure we have a time and space reserved for you and your guests!
Or if you are looking for more private room for a meeting away from the dining room, our conference room is available for ½ day or full day rentals. We can provide a meeting space with lunch served right in the meeting room if desired. Reservations are required for conference room rentals.
Hope to see you all at the Grill or in the clubhouse!!!!
Alex Jeli
Food and Beverage Manager
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