Good news out on the golf course. I just completed a nice 18 hole walk this morning and found that the golf course is in remarkably good shape.
At this time, I can not find a single spot of snow mold on the greens, tees or fairways. I did see a small amount in some low areas in the rough but nothing to really worry about. The mild weather ahead could lead to the development of pink snow mold over the next few weeks but honestly I am not too worried about disease at this time. Most of the snow is gone, the bunkers and low areas have some deep piles but for the most part the greens, tees and fairways are just about snow free. The weather has been very good for a nice even melt. I have been out probing the soil to see how much frost is in the ground. At this time there is a few areas that I can get the probe in around 2 inches but then I hit solid frozen ground. So we are still a ways out from getting any equipment out on the golf course. The extreme cold this winter and the deep frost in spots has caused a lot of frost heaving this spring. Especially around the greens. I have not seen frost heaving to this extent in many years. In the photo of 16 green there is about 2 inch high spot alone the edge of the green that should be relativity flat.
I would suspect that once the frost is out of the ground and we roll these areas everything should go back to where it belongs. But it is something that I will be paying close attention too.
In past winters we have had a lot of mouse damage from them borrowing under the snow. I would have thought that this year the damage would have been as bad or worse but another very surprising find in that there is very little damage. There is a few spots in a few fairways that will need to be cleaned up but this will not be a very big job.
I am very happy with the condition of the golf course today, with the amount of winter damage we have out there we will be able to get the golf course ready for play pretty quick. We still have a few projects that we did not complete last fall so we will be able to get them done much quicker them I had planned.
As far as opening day I still do not know when that will be. I do plan on bringing in all the full time staff on April 1st. The extended forecast continues to look below normal temperatures with a warm up coming the first week in April. All I can say right now, we are moving in the right direction. I will continue to pay very close attention to the frost depth and get the golf course open as soon as we can. Remember that I feel it is very important to roll the greens and tees after the frost is out of the ground before we open. With the extent of the frost heaving around the greens this spring it is even more important to get these areas rolled out.
As we near the start of the 2014 golf season I will keep you updated on this blog and Twitter at least weekly
See you soon
At this time, I can not find a single spot of snow mold on the greens, tees or fairways. I did see a small amount in some low areas in the rough but nothing to really worry about. The mild weather ahead could lead to the development of pink snow mold over the next few weeks but honestly I am not too worried about disease at this time. Most of the snow is gone, the bunkers and low areas have some deep piles but for the most part the greens, tees and fairways are just about snow free. The weather has been very good for a nice even melt. I have been out probing the soil to see how much frost is in the ground. At this time there is a few areas that I can get the probe in around 2 inches but then I hit solid frozen ground. So we are still a ways out from getting any equipment out on the golf course. The extreme cold this winter and the deep frost in spots has caused a lot of frost heaving this spring. Especially around the greens. I have not seen frost heaving to this extent in many years. In the photo of 16 green there is about 2 inch high spot alone the edge of the green that should be relativity flat.
I would suspect that once the frost is out of the ground and we roll these areas everything should go back to where it belongs. But it is something that I will be paying close attention too.
In past winters we have had a lot of mouse damage from them borrowing under the snow. I would have thought that this year the damage would have been as bad or worse but another very surprising find in that there is very little damage. There is a few spots in a few fairways that will need to be cleaned up but this will not be a very big job. I am very happy with the condition of the golf course today, with the amount of winter damage we have out there we will be able to get the golf course ready for play pretty quick. We still have a few projects that we did not complete last fall so we will be able to get them done much quicker them I had planned.
As far as opening day I still do not know when that will be. I do plan on bringing in all the full time staff on April 1st. The extended forecast continues to look below normal temperatures with a warm up coming the first week in April. All I can say right now, we are moving in the right direction. I will continue to pay very close attention to the frost depth and get the golf course open as soon as we can. Remember that I feel it is very important to roll the greens and tees after the frost is out of the ground before we open. With the extent of the frost heaving around the greens this spring it is even more important to get these areas rolled out.
As we near the start of the 2014 golf season I will keep you updated on this blog and Twitter at least weekly
See you soon