National Sports Center Blog

Victory Links' new golf carts are here!

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

It's a big day over at the NSC's Victory Links golf course. The first of our fleet of 76 brand new golf carts rolled off the truck today. These new carts will have some great new features that are sure to be a big hit with Victory Links golfers. Most notably, they'll cruise along at 14 m.p.h., at least 5 m.p.h faster than our old carts.

"That should take 15-20 minutes off a typical round," said head pro Scott Roth.

Head pro Scott Roth with his new toy.

Each cart comes with a bi-fold windshield, which will be a great feature on windy days. Add in bag rain covers, more comfortable seating, and an awesome candy-apple red paint job and we're expecting some big smiles on our customers' faces starting ... Saturday morning! The forecast is for perfect golf weather this weekend -- sunshine and temperatures in the 70's. So come on out to Victory Links and take one of our new carts for a test spin this weekend!

 

Fly fishing, golf and hockey - a great spring weekend at the NSC!

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

We're getting set for a big weekend of spring activities and events at the NSC. In fact, as I write this, on Friday afternoon, we're already well underway.

The Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo runs from 3-7pm today, and all day Saturday and Sunday. The event is held at the Schwan Center, with some classes and clinics held outdoors.

Below: Friday morning, vendors were putting the final touches on their booths at the Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo.

Over at the Schwan Super Rink, the Minnesota Elite AAA hockey tournament was already underway with three days of games for both boys and girls teams. If you're reading this from a non-Minnesota location, you might be puzzled that we call hockey a spring activity here. In truth, hockey is a year-around sport for many Minnesota players. In fact some of our biggest tournaments at the Super Rink are summer tournaments. Here's some game action from rink 2:

By the way, participants in the Minnesota Elite Classic will get special admission rates to the Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo. Youth will be admitted free, and adults can enter for just $5.

Then I jetted over the Victory Links golf course, where we were celebrating opening day on the big 18-hole course. We're opening a full three weeks earlier than last year, and the course conditions are close to perfect. In fact, you'll notice in these photos that the course looks close to mid-summer conditions -- and it's only March! And with warm weather in the forecast, the Victory Links staff is excited to have the course full of eager golfers this weekend.  Here are some photos to show you just how nice the course is looking:

Tournament Greens putting course:

A foursome was putting out on the 6th hole, a par 4:

 

How do our greens get green so fast? Read this post.

By Curtiss Conkright, Turf Superintendent

Whenever I tell someone what I do for a living there are usually two main questions they ask.

What do you do in the winter? And how do I make my yard green?

At Victory Links Golf Course one trick we use for getting our greens green before everything else is the application of black sand over our putting surfaces, which is done after the course closes in the fall. The sand is our normal topdressing sand dyed black and it offers protection to the crown of the plant over the winter months.  In the spring it has another benefit. Early green-up. The black sand will heat the surface of the green and raise the soil temperature to a level where growth is promoted.

Close-up view of the black sand covering the green

 

Assistant Turf Superintendent Ben Wallin using our Buffalo Blower making sure we get all the sand into the canopy of the turf.

 

After the heat we have been experiencing over the last week our greens have greened up nicely.

Check out the NSC's new sports photos!

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

The next time you're on the NSC campus, we invite you to stop by the main NSC office area to check out our new wall decorations. Last night we installed 30 new pieces of world-class photography showing the NSC campus, programs and/or athletes.

And we want all our customers to know that you're welcome to view the photos yourself. Just stop in during normal office hours, and Mary Jane Kunza, our receptionist, will be glad to assist you. It's really fun! You'll see some aerial photos of the campus, great views of some of our buildings and of course awesome action shots of USA CUP Opening Ceremony, soccer, hockey, golf, cycling, ultimate, lacrosse, rugby.

We're proud to feature the work of some of the many talented photographers who have captured NSC events over the years, including Alex Carroll, Garry Frankel, Jenny Horn, Barclay Kruse, Taylor Kruse, Lisa Lardy, Jeremy Olson, Larry Race, Greg Savino and Mike Thill.

Below: NSC Graphic Designer Amanda Planting installs a photo of Natalie Darwitz, taken when the U.S. Women's Olympic Team trained at the Schwan Super Rink prior to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

NSC staff members Clinton Labeau, Andrew Lindgren and Dave Brown check out an aerial photo taken during Schwan's USA CUP.

Moving indoors at the NSC, except for our new construction

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

Mid-November marks a season of change at the National Sports Center. It's the time when we wrap up a transition that began about two weeks ago -- from outdoor to indoor use.

Yesterday was the last day for golf at Victory Links, our PGA Tour-designed 18-hole golf course. And a nice day it was, with temperatures in the low 50's, and we had several groups on the course enjoying their last round of the season. Today, it's in the 30's with a brisk wind, not golf weather at all. So kudos to our golf staff for picking the right day to wrap it up for the season!

Our indoor Kick-or-Treat soccer tournament on October 28-30 marked the official move of soccer from outside to our indoor Sports Hall. If you've driven past the NSC campus in the last couple days, you might have noticed that gates are closed to the north parking lots. That means no more outdoor sports.

The Velodrome Cyclocross race on November 5 was the last outdoor cycling event of the season. A lot of people are surprised to hear that we actually do an indoor cycling program. Our first of five scheduled indoor criteriums, on the artificial turf of the Sports Hall, will be January 16. (Track racing on grass is a tradition in Great Britain, and the local racers here report that riding on our artificial turf is a very close approximation to racing on real grass.)

And over at the Schwan Super Rink, high school hockey is underway, and this weekend is the All-American Girls and Women's Hockey Tournament, which is our first big tournament of the winter season at the Super Rink. Yes, I know that we play hockey all year around at the NSC, and that some of our summer tournaments are actually our biggest of the year. But hockey's a winter sport, so we're changing from off-season to in-season hockey!

There is one activity here that is continuing full blast outdoors. That's the construction of our new Sport Expo Center. I went outside to shoot some photos of what was happening today. The crew had the big shovel working excavating a trench and laying sewer pipe to connect to the new building. Take a look:

Below: In this photo I'm standing on the paved walkway next to the stadium, looking east toward the Schwan Center.

Below: The sewer line runs alongside field U2.

Below: The view north from the corner of the stadium grandstand.

 

Wacky Weather

  By Tiffany Willits, NSC Media Intern

Just when I thought summer may be getting closer, it rained. Not just one day, but everyday of the week! Today it has been relatively nice out and the sun is shining. I hope the weather will continue through the week and beyond. During my lunch break, I took a walk outside since I haven’t seen the sun in awhile.  It was great to tour the campus and get myself more familiar with the Schwan Center, athletic fields, Schwan Super Rink and Victory Links Golf Course . Being the media intern, I brought along my camera and I found some interesting landscaping and other sites that I want to share with you. After seeing some of the outdoor facilities, it made me a bit more excited for the summer weather. Once you see, you'll understand!

Below: The golf carts are all lined up ready to be used at Victory Links! If this doesn't get you excited for some sun, I'm not sure what does...

Below: Victory Links looked very nice today.  I think I need to learn how to golf soon. Any takers?

Below: I had to capture the golf cart in action--after all, it is my favorite thing to do at the golf course!

Below: I spotted some freshly cut grass on the soccer athletic fields .Maintenance of fields is crucial in any outdoor facility, especially at the NSC. 

 

Below: Again, some nice landscaping that I found near the stadium.

 

And hopefully the weather keeps up because we don't want it to lead to this.....

 

Above: A field was closed due to mud and rain

C'mon summer! I'm ready for you! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opening day at Victory Links golf course

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

 At Victory Links, the NSC's PGA Tour-designed golf course, we've been eagly waiting for the snow to melt and our long winter to finally come to an end. Well, the time has finally come! We opened up our driving range last Friday, and today we opened up the back 9 for walking. To celebrate spring at the NSC, I went out to shoot some photos at Victory Links. It was a sunny day, a bit breezy, but pretty nice Spring golf conditions. Enjoy!

Below: Assistant Golf Pro Kyle Anderson shows 4-year old Maya, from Blaine, how to make good contact with the ball.

Below: Hitting out of the bunker on #18.

Below: Don't miss a chance to polish your early-season game at Victory Links!

 

Wrapping the velodrome

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

In preparation for the opening of Schwan's USA CUP on July 10, PUMA is wrapping the NSC Velodrome. The installation will take two days. Here are some photos of the work going on today. Pretty cool, huh?

At the NSC the grass is greener!

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

Scott Seroka, a reporter with KARE-11 News, the Twin Cities' NBC affiliate, was here at the NSC yesterday doing a story on how the NSC's turf-maintenance department is dealing with this year's draught in Central Minnesota. If you don't live in the Twin Cities, you'll need to know that we are nearly six inches below normal for rainfall this year. Last year at this time, we were about ten inches above normal, so that's a big swing.

Neil Ladd, the NSC's Director of Turf, and Curt Conkright, our Turf Superintendent, appear in the story.

The segment ran during the evening news on June 24, but you can watch the segment online by clicking here. Below: the sprinklers on the Victory Links 18th fairway show their stuff on the KARE-11 report.

When Scott originally called me to say they wanted to do that story, I initially thought, boring story! But the finished piece came out pretty good, and when Neil got on camera, he came up with some pretty interesting facts about the NSC's irrigation system. Here's just a sampling:

The NSC has over 75 miles of irrigation pipe underground.

There are about 2,000 sprinkler heads on the campus, split about 50/50 between Victory Links golf course and our athletic fields.

At peak flow, we can put 750,000 gallons of water onto our golf course in a single night. (We always water at night to reduce evaporation.)

Our irrigation system is computer controlled, and we only water when we need to. If there's sufficient rainfall on a given day, the system won't waste water.

Our irrigation system is self-contained. We draw all the water we need from three retention ponds on the campus, that are all linked by ditches and channels. The ponds are filled by rainwater, water run-off from neighboring areas and run-off from the water we use for irrigation. No city water is used for irrigation. As Neil says, "We're off the grid."

The NSC takes a lot of pride in running an environmentally friendly turf-maintanance department. Whether it's water conservation or the responsible application of chemicals, it's a mission we take really seriously.

And in case you're worried, we expect all of our soccer fields will be nice and green for the opening day of Schwan's USA CUP on July 17.

Busy day at the NSC October 11

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

"And now, here's the starting line-up for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish!"

That's something never before uttered over a PA system at the National Sports Center, and I'll admit it gave me the chills when I heard it.

Army, in black, lines up for the National Anthem before the big lacrosse game at the NSC. The Black Knights defeated Notre Dame 9-8 in overtime, in front of 5,041 fans. Read an article about the game on the US Lacrosse website.

The Notre Dame vs. Army college lacrosse game in the NSC Stadium was the marquee event of an amazingly busy Saturday. In addition to this first-ever Division 1 lacrosse game in Minnesota, which was promoted by the Minnesota Swarm pro lacrosse team, the NSC hosted a record 162 teams at our Fall Cup soccer tournament, the Hot Dish Classic youth lacrosse tournament, the Anoka County Licensed Day-care Providers Association meeting in the Schwan Center, and a full menu of hockey and figure skating in the Schwan Super Rink. In addition, golfers packed our Victory Links golf course on a perfect fall afternoon.

And for any of you reading this who have not visited the NSC, all these activities took place on the same campus. And when I went out with my camera to give you a glimpse of the varied activities on this very, very busy October Saturday, it took me no more than 10 minutes to walk from photo to photo. First, here's another action shot from the Army-Notre Dame lacrosse game:

The Anoka County Licensed Day-Care Providers meeting is an example of the many non-sport events held at the NSC.

The Edina Scorpions and the NSSA Dust Devils battle in a U12 girls game at Fall Cup.

Inside the Schwan Super Rink, here's evidence that hockey's a year-round game in Minnesota.

A perfect afternoon on the Victory Links golf course: a foursome tees off on hole 10, bottom, while another  group putts out on hole 18, top. This photo was taken from the roof of the Schwan Super Rink.