The practice facility will open on April 16th. The natural range tee surface is in good condition but will not open for use until we have better growing conditions and the irrigation system is turned on. Until that time the Turf Hound mats will be used. The chipping greens will be ready as well. The putting green has suffered some damage to the Poa annua but it still has plenty of good area to use while it recovers. The warmup has suffered extensive winter kill due to the high percentage of Poa. We will keep it closed for the time being so that the overseeding efforts stand a chance of success. It will be tarped and should recover quickly if the weather cooperates. It's location near the buildings and paths will also help raise the surface temperature on sunny days.
The rough throughout the golf course is covered in snow mold. It is quite obvious where the dividing line is between fungicide treated turf and untreated turf. We did treat a pass around every green so most of the side banks are free of mold. As occurred last spring we will begin verticutting all the rough to break up the mat of mold. After some sunshine, warmer temperatures, and fertilizer it will be okay.
#15 looking back at the tee. Without fungicides the fairway would look like the rough on the left of the image. Snow mold rarely kills turf in the rough. If the fairway wasn't treated most of the Poa prevalent here would be severely damaged.
The fairways and tees have come through the winter in very good condition. Our tees are predominantly bentgrass so they can withstand our harsh winters far better than the Poa that is mixed in with the bent on some of the tees. The fairways have changed dramatically over the years to the point where Poa has become the main turf type in many areas. When aerated, topdressed regularly and treated with winter fungicides it seems to come through winter in fairly good condition year after year. Of course if the fairways were covered in a thick layer of ice for more than 50 days I imagine it would be a different story.
#14 tee looking down the fairway. The importance of an effective winter fungicide program is obvious.
Now about greens 1 to 18. As I touched on in the previous blog we have not come through winter unscathed. All the greens except #8 and #18 are in good condition with a few blemishes here and there (being no different than any other year).
#13 green from the southeast side. Similar look to all the other greens aside from the front of #8 and #18.
Someone walked across #2 green at the wrong time of winter and the footprints are quite obvious. That damage will be plugged out soon.
#8 has the usual damage behind the front bunker. It will grow out with some help from Turf Care. The 18th green has taken a hit from ice damage as I suspected it would. I find it interesting that the 3 greens suffering the most this spring were all located around the clubhouse and golf shop. The micro climate in this area must have been warm enough at some point this winter (that week in January?) to cause the ice problem. It shows just how close we were to a serious situation on the other greens. The term is "dodging a bullet" I believe.
The 18th green showing some of the damage to the Poa on the right of the image.
Over the next few weeks we will be out cleaning up the golf course. No matter how well leaf removal goes in the fall our winters seem to leave the property covered in branches, downed trees and more leaves. The turf on the greens, tees and fairways will be worked on so that we can present the course for opening day. May is always a month of rejuvenation and this year is no different. I'll blog the recovery outline for the warmup and the 18th green early next week. Until then enjoy The Masters.
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