11 green is the only green with really any snow cover.  From what I can see the turf looks ok but there is a slight smell in the air.   I really can not remove any of the snow at this point since the ground is little soft.  Next week we will look into cleaning off the green. 

USGA Report

I have just returned from a walk on the front nine.  For the most part the golf course looks really good actually the front nine seems to be in better shape then the back nine.  Which would make sense since the back nine has more deep snow cover.  There is a slight smell of aerobic conditions on the back nine in the low areas.  I have not been able to determine if all is well yet in these areas.   I have attached a link to the latest USGA report from the midwest.  We are not out of the woods yet but overall I feel the golf course will be in fine shape this spring. 

USGA: Q&A: Implementation Of New Groove Rules

http://www.usga.org/news/2011/February/Q-A--Implementation-Of-New-Groove-Rules/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The Anti-Augusta Syndrome

A great article and link within to the work that is being done on Pinehurst #2.  If you have not seen the work please follow the links you will be quite surprised.  The golf course is being transformed back to the way Donald Ross built it. 

Update

I have been scouting the golf course every day this week, almost like watching a pot boil, but we are slowly getting rid of the snow cover.  I feel that many areas will remain snow covered even after today's projected high of 53.  We tried to remove snow from the greens that have issues with ice. We could not get to 11 or 5.  but we did get some channels into the 2 and 15. 

The channels seem to be working very well.  The mild damp weather conditions are very conducive to snow mold development. We did apply  plant protection in the late fall, but I feel the wet winter will be pushing the limits of the control. The turf that I can see looks really good, most likely the troubles will lie under the thick blanket of snow. 

So far so good so we will leave it at that and continue to monitor the golf course. 

Snow melt

The birds are chirping and the snow is melting.   Once again I will be removing snow on a few greens to allow for better drainage off the greens.  This should help reduce the chances for ice buildup.  

Neil Radatz CGCS