Frost Delay Season is Coming...

Although I don't see any extremely cold temperatures in the 14-day forecast, I'd like to be proactive and get the word out that we are nearing the Frost Delay time of year.  As a reminder, here is our policy should we encounter frosty conditions:

FROST DELAY POLICY

The course will remain closed under frosty conditions until either the Golf Course Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent deems it to be ready for play.  Following any delays, the Golf Shop personnel will then determine the best approach for getting golfers onto the course.  If it is a light frost resulting in a short delay of one hour or less, the tee sheet will likely be bumped back to accommodate all players.  Heavier frosts will produce longer delays and the course will open shortly after the frost has completely lifted.  Our Turf Care team requires about a 15-20 minute head-start in front of the first group to setup the course for play.  For longer delays, there may still be a 9-hole shotgun start in conjunction with the immediate tee times to accommodate more players getting onto the course ASAP.  These shotguns will typically start between 11am and noon.

To ensure that you are aware of your tee time, it is each golfer's responsibility to regularly check iGolf for frequent updates and/or call the Golf Shop for information regarding any potential delays.

I am well aware that frost delays are not popular, but I assure you that they are necessary and that delaying until the frosty conditions lift will greatly benefit the course and its members.  Here is a video put together by the USGA that illustrates the damage caused by traffic on frosty turf:

Deep-tining Fairways

Recent budget cutbacks forced us to eliminate the previously scheduled core aeration on our fairways.  I anticipated that the sandy profile we've created over years and years of continuous topdressing would still allow them to drain well enough to avoid forming any standing water and that they would still remain relatively firm and fast.  Unfortunately, this is not the case and I've been quite concerned with what I'm seeing on our fairways recently.  Recent rains, some heavy and some not, are not penetrating our thatch layer as quickly as we'd like, which is resulting in standing water on many of our fairways.  Some standing water is forming in areas where we have never seen it form before.  I've also noticed an increased presence of dollar spot, a turf disease that like many fungal infections, thrives under cool and moist conditions.

Deep-tine aerator

That being said, we have struck a deal with our aeration contractor, FarmTek, to complete a deep-tine aeration on the fairways on one of our upcoming scheduled Maintenance Mornings.  Monday, October 17th, FarmTek will be bringing in 4 deep-tining tractors to complete the process well ahead of the first tee time at 11am.  The deep-tining process creates channels 10"-12" deep and 3/4" in diameter that will allow moisture to penetrate the thatch layer in our fairways and work its way into our extensive drainage system.  These channels will eliminate the majority of the surface water and will help the fairways continue to drain efficiently over the rainy winter months.  Here are some other benefits of deep tine aeration:

If the weather on October 17th is not suitable for completing the deep-tining, we will do so immediately as the conditions improve.  The good thing is that this process can be completed under less than ideal conditions, just not during torrential downpours on already saturated turf.