Reel to Reel

Although temperatures are feeling warmer outside, the sub-surface profile remains frozen.  So far,  I have only been able to stick a probe in the ground 3". How does this affect the course opening? As the upper layer of soil thaws out, the water is prohibited from moving downwards by the frost.  The result is extremely soft unstable ground conditions. Until the lower frost layer breaks up and soil conditions firm up, the greens will remain closed. The course will open today to walkers.  I ask that you please remain off of the greens and hit to the red stakes in front of the greens.  Traffic on the greens at this time will affect the long-term health and smoothness of the putting surfaces. When are other courses opening? The opening dates vary.  The reason being, the soil conditions are extremely different from one property to another. I will be monitoring conditions closely and will open the greens as soon as possible.  My en...

Although technically spring is here, the cold weather confirms it is off to a slow start.  This March has been extremely cold with the high temperatures only averaging 36 F. The snow has finally melted from the greens.  I'm pleased to report the turf has come out from winter free from any winter disease or ice damage.  The turf remains dormant, as temperatures haven't been warm enough to initiate any growth. #6 green If you remember from previous posts, growing degree days or GDD are a way to measure heat accumulation.  The growing degree days this year are lagging 458 days behind last year's rampant pace. The data below looks at where the GDD were on March 27th over the past five years.  As you can see, we are off to a slow start.   3/27/13 GDD =  41 3/27/12 GDD = 499 3/27/11 GDD = 105 3/27/10 GDD = 232 3/27/09 GDD = 170

Frigid nighttime temperatures have kept ground conditions frozen.  It was extremely difficult today to stick a probe in the ground any further than .25". I walked the golf course this morning, and despite a handful of greens with a little snow cover, the turf looked good. #18 green still covered in a little snow Looking ahead to next week, temperatures are supposed to warm up.  I would expect the frost to start moving out of the ground which will result in extremely soft conditions.  I will monitor conditions and keep you up-to-date on the latest news.

With the golf course still under a little snow, we have been inside this week wrapping up the winter maintenance program on our equipment fleet. The winter months provide us time to thoroughly check each piece of equipment and ensure it is in the best operating condition for the upcoming season.  Myles working on rough mower cutting unit   We have also spent some time refurbishing hazard stakes and directional stakes.  New products provide an extremely cost effective means of refurbishing course accessories instead of buying new stakes. before and after: out of bounds stakes before and after: directional stakes 

The transition from winter to spring often includes sporadic weather.  This holds true as we saw a little of everything this week. Below are a few pictures I took throughout the week, I think they do a good job of summarizing the erratic weather. Sunday's high temperature = 61F snowmelt #2 rough  Monday's high temperature = 54F snow melted from most of the golf course Tuesday's high temperature = 37F pumped over 120,000 gallons of water in six hours off of #3 fairway from snowmelt and Monday night rain Wednesday's high temperature = 31F #5 fairway under a little snow cover again Thursday's high temperature = 40F  yet another meltdown Frida y's high temperature = 38F  overcast day with a few showers in the late afternoon Saturday's high temperature = 37F back under a little snow cover  

The warm temperatures we've experienced this month tells us spring will be here shortly.  Although the turf has not come out of dormancy, I'm already thinking about Poa annua seedhead suppression.  Seedheads will not appear until May, but multiple growth regulator applications will be made before then to ensure the putting surfaces are pristine. One way turf managers try to predict seedhead emergence is by monitoring growing degree days (GDD).  GDD models have been developed to determine the best time to apply growth regulators to control the prolific seedheads that Poa annua produces each spring. What are Growing Degree Days (GDD)? The sum of the number of degrees by which each day's average temperature exceeds a base temperature (32F). How are GDD calculated? GDD = [(maximum temperature + minimum temperature) / 2] - (32) For example on March 11, the high of 54F and a low of 37F resulted in a GDD of 14.  GDD = [(54+37)/2] - 32 ...

Temperatures this weekend reached over 60 degrees.  As a result, much of the snow has melted.  The photos below were taken of #2 fairway.  As you can see, conditions on the golf courses can change rapidly.  The first photo was taken Saturday afternoon, while the second photo was taken this morning. The turf looks to be in good shape.  Shaded greens (2, 9, 12, 14, 15, 18) still have a fair amount of ice on them.  The ice should melt off later this week with temperatures expected to be in the mid 40's. ice still remaining on #15 green  We spent the day removing excess water off of greens and fairways.  pumping water off of #3 fairway

  Here are a few of my favorite photos from this winter.