As the Portage Golf Club moves into October, head superintendent Farrol Asham and his team are shifting their focus from summer play to winter preparations.
Asham, who has been in the role for 14 years, explains that this transition period is all about protecting the turf and ensuring the course is ready to rebound in the spring.
“Healthy turf going into winter is definitely something we try and do,” notes Asham. “We try and push the roots down so they come out in spring. The greens is where we spend most of our time, and that’s our concern. We will do some fall maintenance, fall fertilizer. The biggest thing is the winter fungicide program.”
The final round of fungicide applications signals the end of the season for Asham’s crew. Flags are pulled from the greens, and snow fencing is set up to ensure proper coverage through the winter months.
“We snow fence the greens just to catch some snow so we have some coverage on them just to try and avoid wind dislocation. Other than that, we’re just dealing with leaves,” he adds.
No tarp approach
Some courses in Manitoba protect their greens with tarps, but Portage has stuck with a different strategy. Asham mentions that while both options have pros and cons, his team is confident in the results they have seen over the years.
“We do not use tarps at the Portage Course; we’ve had success without them,” says Asham.
A season of challenges and successes
Looking back at 2025, Asham admits the start of the season was a challenge due to dry conditions.
“The start of the year was definitely a struggle for us; we went 43 days with no rain at the start, so the irrigation system was getting a workout,” he continues.
Despite the rocky beginning, he highlights the dedication of his staff as a key factor in keeping the course in top shape.
“You can’t do it yourself. I have 10 staff members who have been unbelievable this summer, from rebuilding bunkers to building new bunkers. Lots of tree trimming. It’s been a very successful year. We’re very happy with the results that we got from the course this year, and hopefully we can come out this spring looking good,” remarks Asham.
Handling extreme rainfall
In contrast to the early-season drought, the club also faced a period of heavy rain that put pressure on drainage systems. Asham recalls the team’s quick work in handling the damage.
“That was 5 inches of rain in about 3 hours. That was not much fun to show up at the golf course, but once again, I’m not by myself. I had staff that were willing to stay hours and hours, put in long shifts, move in pumps,” he says. “We do have very good underground drainage with some automatic sump pumps. We definitely put them to work this year. We had the golf course open within 24 hours, which was unbelievable. We let carts out in 48 hours. So that’s more of a shout-out to my staff for being willing to put the time in to help us keep the course going.”
With a successful season nearly behind them, Asham and his crew are aiming for a smooth winter transition, with hopes of greeting golfers next spring to a course that looks as strong as ever.
– with files from Jared Thiessen
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