The 2 warm days this week got me somewhat excited to get outside and enjoy the warmth. Every year we have to plow a few cart paths to help accelerate the melt, if this is not done the snow will linger for a long time especially on hole 3. Plowing the paths also create a nice channel for excess water to run off and go into the drains along the paths. We have found that it is well worth the time it takes to to plow the paths. Well, easier said then done I spent a total of 8 hours alone just plowing the path on 6 and 8. I honestly do not remember a time were there has been more snow on the paths then there is now. This makes the job very challenging in that you have to be extremely careful not to get stuck even using a bobcat one mistake and you can be in big trouble. I will continue to work my way around the course next week.
As far as the golf course, I have been able to see more turf then in the past weeks. The warm up did melt a lot of snow which turned into a heavy layer of ice in some spots. I am not too worried about this recent ice right now but the snow cover is our major problem right now. I have noticed a few spots on the course that have some ice cover that I was not aware of. This could cause some issues with the turf underneath but so far, I have not seen too many areas of concern. Under the snow, it is very wet and sloppy in spots which is surely degrading our fungicides for snow mold. Developing grey snow mold is becoming likely right now and prolonged damp conditions under the snow will also lead to pink snow mold development. There is another cold spell on its way this week so the snow cover is a good thing but with the amount of snow and the cold weather predicted it is going to be around for awhile, which is not good. Lets just hope that the extended forecast is incorrect.
Courses in Chicago, Michigan and many other areas around the country are a completely different story this winter. From what I am reading this spring could be scary with a lot of damaged turf from prolonged ice encasement. I hope that they will be in better shape then what I am reading about now.
In the meantime, I am looking forward to seeing you at the annual meeting Monday
Neil