What's Happening on the Course!
25 MAR 2021
What’s Happening on the Course
Well, what happened to spring! it seems like we bypassed most of spring and moved into early summer. The temperatures have been great for the course as things are greening up and trees are budding out. Wow, it came on fast and we are loving it and the courses are also.
The course overall wintered exceptionally well. Greens look beautiful and healthy. Limited wind desiccation no snow molds and no ice damage at all. We were a bit worried about a couple of greens during the melt as some ice did form and a bit of clearing was necessary. Tees, fairways, and roughs all look in great condition also. there is minimal cleanup of any branches, but it seems like there are 2 million pinecones littered everywhere! The bunkers got through well also as there are minimal washouts and no sand loss from high winds. Wow-what a start!
We are just contemplating cutting a couple of sheltered greens as they have greened up a bit more than some of the more open greens. See a picture of 15 Copperhead below. We did clear ice off this green 3 weeks ago and it looks great. We seem to be a bit worried about this green every spring, but the tree and underbrush clearing has assisted in some real healthy turf.
At this time of year right after frost heavy and melt we keep all traffic off our clay-based profiles (roughs, tees, and fairways). The frost heave creates a huge amount of oxygen for our root profiles. When the frost heaves it relieves compaction and will puff up the profile to the extent that oxygen gets moved into the root zones. We keep all traffic off until the last minute as we want those roots to drive deeper and avoid any unnecessary compaction. It’s all about getting ready for the summer heat.
We are oh so close and can not wait to be saying Happy New Year to all of you.
Bill McAllister, Golf Course Superintendent