Goose Patrol

Our golf course is a magnet for geese.  14 ponds plus a 288 Acre lake at the 18th green make this a dream hang out.  In the winter, when golf and maintenance traffic is light, the golf course is even more inviting.  For years (15 to be exact) we tried all sorts of tricks to discourage geese from settling on the course.  Lasers, noise making guns, string around ponds, fox urine tablets, floating alligator heads, remote control boats, repellent spray in the grass around ponds, and a few other odd ball methods were all unsuccessful.  Oiling eggs worked when we could find the nests, but there were always nests that we couldn't find and more incoming geese dropping in.  We scheduled "poop patrol" daily and had a course that was littered with poop to the point of being unplayable at times.  Labor to blow off greens and tees only meant that the areas around greens and tees was quickly made unfit for humans.  Fairways on holes 3, 6, 13, 16, and 18 were completely covered.  In short, it was costly to clean up the areas we were able to get to and disgusting in all the areas we couldn't.  The first question I got at every spring kickoff meeting was "what are you going to do about the geese?"  I always knew the best solution was a border collie, but previous ownership would not allow it.  A few years ago we finally took the plunge and we haven't scheduled "poop patrol" since.  Eye Dog, a local business owned by Jeremy Austin, made an immediate impact in our problem.  This year, for the first time ever, we had no nests on the course.  Geese flying by will continue to see Fawn Lake as a perfect place to settle, but as long as we have the dogs, they will quickly go elsewhere.

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