Whiteout!

Well, Old Man Winter has decided to settle in for a bit.  We've been quite cold lately and as I am typing this we are in the middle of a fairly heavy snowstorm, at least for the lower mainland anyway.  Here's a pic of what we are experiencing right now:

January 18, 2012

The golf course has been closed since last Thursday and unfortunately, it doesn't looking promising for reopening anytime soon.  When things warm up and the snow does finally melt, there will be lots of surface water due to frozen turf and soil down below prohibiting it from draining.  Once the subsurface thaws, our drainage system will then quickly move the water off the course.

Keep your fingers crossed for a warm rain to speed things up!

The Dangers of Windy Conditions

On occasion we are forced to close the course due to extremely windy conditions.  The winds the course endured last night provided more evidence of why it is so important to do so.  Here is a photo of a tree that fell near #15 and #17 tee complex during last night's high winds:

30+ foot tall evergreen knocked down by 50+ km/h winds

Josh surveying the damage

Obviously this tree had wet feet and was very shallow-rooted, which undoubtedly contributed to it falling over, but we have many trees on this property in the same condition.  I'm just thankful that it happened overnight and not when the course was open for play.  Our policy is that we close the course when winds reach or exceed 65 km/h to ensure the safety of the golfers and staff.  The course then remains closed until either the Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent deem if to be safe and ready for play.  Keep in mind, even if the winds die down, we often need a fair amount of time to clear the playing surfaces of debris before they are playable again.

Now, where's the chainsaw?  We've got some cleanup to do!