Winter Weather

With the weather in this part of the country being snowy right now, it is safe to say that the golf courses will be closed for a little while longer anyway.  We are facing deep snow, cold winds and ice that formed with the melt and rain of a week ago.  This makes me a little uneasy as I cannot see what is going on beneath it all.  Just remember that the grass on the course is like you or I, it is susceptible to dehydration when exposed to cold winds, a problem on our site for certain.  Issues such as crown hydration, when the plant, and soil is exposed to moisture through thawing cycles, (rain, warm temps, remember last week's record highs?) and then freezes with lows followed by the thawing.  The cells in the plant are not able to expel the moisture therefore they freeze and burst.  This is a cause for great concern on my part as it is nearly unavoidable and not preventable.  As well there are the typical snow moulds that I have sprayed for in the fall, with hopes that we don't stay under snow cover any longer than the 150 days that the chemicals that I use are sustainable for.

#16 green in 2009 without proper chemical application

So please understand when the snow melts and we are faced with certain issues, myself and my staff are going to work diligently to repair any of winter's spoils, and issues, we may use varying techniques which you as a golfer do not care for, but these are all necessary evils of the industry and we need to do them early so you can enjoy the hotter weather on the best course that we can possibly bring you.