The weather during the fall and winter months seems to be more unpredictable than ever. The new normal seems to be these wide and varying shifts in temperature that we have seen throughout the fall and winter. In November, we saw temperatures fluctuate between 12°-77°. In December, temperatures fell between 17°-60°. Even this January, temperatures have moved between 12°-45°.
We know Poa annua, the grass type that makes up the majority of our greens, does not like these wild swings in weather. Despite that fact, the greens look remarkably well having endured several freeze/thaw cycles this winter.
During my walk yesterday, ten of the greens were clear of snow and had no standing water on them. The remaining eight shaded greens still had about an inch of crusty snow/porous ice mix on them. Temperatures in the mid 40's last night and .4" of rain melted all of the snow/ice last night. Today, I was able to inspect those eight remaining greens that had melted off. Although the greens were soft, the color and turf health appeared good.
An interesting observation I noticed today. The majority of aerification holes from our late season deep-tine aerification in November are still visible. The open holes continue to provide an area for excess water to move off of the greens surface.
As we enter into 2016, we are looking good. The forecast for next week is calling for temperatures back in the teens and more snow. We will wait and see how the plants endure this next wave of winter.
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| #5 green |
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| close up of aerification holes on #9 green |
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| #18 green |
