Our regular greens are closed and
we have been forced to utilize temporary greens for play. The sub-zero
nighttime temperatures on several consecutive nights that we've been
experiencing have resulted in frozen greens. The problem with playing on
the greens right now is that they are not frozen enough. If they were
frozen to a depth of 4" or more and frost-free at the surface, they'd be
open for play. Right now the deepest they've been frozen is no more than
1.5" below the surface. Even worse, when they are thawing during the
daytime, there are large sections of them that are only thawing to a depth of
about 1/2". This is when the greens are prone to severe
damage. I completely understand the frustration that many have with the
regular greens be closed on a beautiful sunny day and I am also well aware that
there is a feeling amongst some that we are being too overprotective of the
putting surfaces, but please take the time to read this excerpt from the USGA
Green Section that describes just how damaging it would be to open the greens
under these conditions:
"Traffic damage on frozen
turf areas usually occurs during periods of freezing or thawing. The most
devastating situation occurs when the grass blades and the upper one-half to
one inch of soil has thawed, but the ground beneath their level remains frozen.
Traffic will create a shearing action of the roots, rhizomes, and crown
tissues at this time. This is comparable to cutting the plant tissue from
the underlying root system with a sod cutter. Complete kill of leaves,
crowns, and rhizomes can occur if the temperatures soon drop below -6°C. Symptoms from this severe injury include whitish to
dark brown leaves that may mat on the surface.
Once temperatures allow thawing to a depth of three to four inches, the probability of turf damage declines since about 75 percent of the root system is in the upper four inches of soil. Frequent soil probing is the only positive way to effectively monitor the freezing level. Traffic should be adjusted accordingly."
Once temperatures allow thawing to a depth of three to four inches, the probability of turf damage declines since about 75 percent of the root system is in the upper four inches of soil. Frequent soil probing is the only positive way to effectively monitor the freezing level. Traffic should be adjusted accordingly."
Again, we are currently
experiencing the conditions that will result in the most severe damage with
only the top 1/2" thawing during the daytime.
Protecting, not over-protecting,
your greens is our #1 responsibility and we will continue to ensure any
unnecessary damage is avoided so that they remain healthy.
Cart Path Removal
With the very heavy frost
conditions that we’ve been experiencing, I’d like to make you aware of what we
have been doing to keep busy since there isn’t much we can do on the frosty and
frozen turf. We are removing the asphalt path to the right of #9 green
that is in terrible condition, has a negative impact on playability and is more
of an eyesore than a functional path. The path material is being
relocated to build a temporary roadway off the path just past the tees at #14
to the large “brush area” behind #15 green. This temporary roadway will
serve as a suitable path to dispose of tree debris and other “green waste” to
avoid astronomical disposal fees for removing this material from the
property. Any dead trees that need to be removed will be disposed of
here, which is certain to result is significant cost savings. It’s
remarkable how much space we’ve cleared out behind #15 green!
Once the path at #9 is completely
removed, we will remediate the working area, including regrading around the
existing drainage catch basins so they function more effectively, and then we
will prep it for either seed or sod. We are confident that this will
provide significant aesthetic and playability improvements in this area.
We will also be removing the
existing gravel path to the left of the forward tee deck on #18. Cart and
golfer traffic will be rerouted around the right side of the tee with the use
of stakes/rope and signage, much like at #1 tees as you can see below:
This will not only be a
significant aesthetic improvement, it will also improve the playability of the
hole. The gravel path that is removed will also be used to dress the
temporary roadway at #15 green.
