Hazard Marker

     You may of noticed our hazard markers are looking better.  We are using a planer to restoring them to new.  It does not take much to clean up the old faded color.  Hazard makers cost $8 each.  This will save us  a few bucks. If we can only keep the squirrels from eating them.  Here is a picture below to show the difference.

Faded markers looks pink.  Couple passes through the planer they look new again.

Driving Range Fence update

     We have finished the back portion of the driving range fence.  We will now work our way towards the tee on the North side. 

Driving Range Fence

     We have been busy this week  installing the new Driving Range fence. Our range is too small and balls are flying out of the range into the woods.  We are starting on the back of the range.  The fence runs from 4 rough all the way down to the wood line to the north side of range.  After this section is completed  we will continue down the north side of the range towards the tee.  We will try to keep the range open during this time but if it becomes unsafe for us we will close the range while we are working.  We are 1/3 of the way done on the back fence. This is a very time consuming job.  We have to run cable from the  top and bottom of the post.  The netting has to have a rope threaded through all 4 sides so we can tie it to the cable without tearing the netting.  It takes 3 people 4 hours to thread 400 feet of rope through the netting.  We then can stretch the netting from the top cable to the bottom and zip tie it to the cable.  It took 3 of us 2 hours to zip tie the netting to the cables and we are only 1/3 of the way done.  Like I said earlier this is a very time consuming job.  When we are done with the fence this will save the club many hours of labor looking for balls in the woods and the expense of lost balls.

Installing cable

 Threading the rope through the netting

 Installing the netting 

1/3 of the way done.  This will keep ball from being hit through the back of the range.

Here we go again

     Read my two previous post on playing on thawing greens.  Here it is Friday and it is going to be in the 50's today.  At this time golf course is closed.  We will be checking greens throughout the day to see how far they have thawed out. We need at least 2'' of thaw before I will allow play.   I will post updates on twitter @ed_wachter.  Pro Shop will also be updated on thawing progress.  As soon as all greens thaw to 2'' we will allow play on the golf course.

Greens

     The golf course is open today for play.  Greens have thawed down to at least 2.5''.  You might be confused to why the golf course was closed until Wednesday.  Some of you might be confusing frozen greens to thawing greens.  Limited play on frozen greens is acceptable.  The entire profile is completely frozen.  Thawing greens the top is thawed or thawing but the under lying soil is frozen.  I like to see the freeze line down to 2.5'' to 3'' deep.  If we do get root shearing at that depth I can get our roots back to normal lengths by summer.  If play is allowed when freeze line is shallow like 1/2'' to 1.5'' and we get root shearing.  I will have a harder time growing the roots back down to the desired depth we need for summer. In severe cases we could actually lose turf from winter desiccation.  We have more extreme cold weather coming back this weekend.  Play will be allowed if greens are completely frozen.  But if greens freeze and begin to thaw we will be closed until greens  thaw to the 2.5'' depth.  The illustration below will help you visualize what is happening here.  I picked this diagram up from twitter.

   

Thawing greens

     The golf course has been closed for 2 weeks from the subfreezing weather we just went through.  With the warmer weather on the way I know we will have members ready to hit the golf course.  The golf course will remain closed until greens are thawed to at least 2.5 inches deep.
      The greens will thaw from the top down.  We need 2.5 to 3 inches of thawing before play is allowed on the greens.  There are two things that happen when you play on greens that are thawing.  1.  As greens thaw the ice melts making the turf extremely wet at the top of the turf. There is no place for the water to go and the greens will be very soft prone to foot printing and rutting.  This can make the greens very bumpy that will effect ball roll.  2.  When greens thaw foot traffic can cause root shearing at the level of the freeze line.  If roots are sheared off at or near the surface we could get winter desiccation that can kill the Bentgrass on our greens if we get dry and windy conditions.  If they make it through the winter they have to re grow roots before summer.  If this does not happen you have weak Bentgrass going into summer which is never good.
     So please be patient we will be checking greens multiple times per day and when we get to the 2.5 inch mark the golf course will be open.  We have not had this type of freezing in a long time.  I do not want to give a estimate at this time when we will open because if I am wrong it will only cause more confusion.  If you are on twitter please follow me as I will post daily updates  @ed_wachter You can also call the Pro shop for your updates.
     Here is an article on Course Care from the USGA Green Section about this issue.  I know it is from the Northeast but it is still relevant to our area.

COURSE CARE

What Is The Purpose Of Winter Play?FEBRUARY 27, 2015

What Is The Purpose Of Winter Play?

By Adam Moeller, Agronomist
December 16, 2008

Many golfers will argue that winter play has virtually no impact on putting green health and that greens should be available for use throughout the year. This is an argument that superintendents and course officials often face this time of year as the pressure builds to keep the greens open. Putting green damage from traffic stress may occur when frost is present, and often results in tee time delays in the autumn/spring. Traffic on frozen greens has less potential for significant permanent damage (i.e. compaction, severe foot rutting), but it is important to remember that turf thinning is common because recovery at this time of year is unlikely, so damage is cumulative until growth resumes in the spring. If frozen greens thaw during the day, however, golfer traffic may cause shearing of the upper profile (the thawed layer) from the still frozen soil below, which could severely compromise turf health and future playability. As such, closing the greens on days when thawing is possible is recommended. Unfortunately, the moderate temperatures needed for thawing frozen greens are enticing for winter play by golfers, which obviously compounds the pressure to keep the greens open. This leaves us at a crossroad. Do what's best for the turf or what's best for the golfers? The answer is undeniably do what is best for the turf!

If winter play is a controversial topic at your facility I urge you to ask the following question. What is the purpose of winter play? I doubt golfers want to compromise turf health or future playability. Instead, winter play allows golfers to work on their swing, get outdoors, and stay active and exercise. It is nearly impossible for the maintenance staff to prepare the course, much less the greens, to a high quality level with smooth, consistent surfaces during the winter months, which most golfers (hopefully) understand. That being said, it is unlikely that golfers are trying to shoot their low round of the year or fine tune their putting stroke. In the Northeast, scores are not posted for handicap purposes in the winter. Therefore, well planned temporary greens can accommodate equal playability for golfers while providing them all of the previously mentioned benefits. More importantly, temporary greens virtually eliminate the potential for traffic stress on the putting greens, so eliminating winter traffic on greens leaves them in better shape for the prime season when conditions count most.

The argument for closing the greens during the winter months is the same for every course in the Northeast. The decision is ultimately up to superintendent and course officials. Nonetheless, ask yourself the following question. What is the purpose of winter play at our course and can we accommodate those golfers without compromising putting green health and future playability with temporary greens? My hope is the answer is YES!

Northeast Region Green Section- Dave Oatis, Director doatis@usga.org ; Adam Moeller, Agronomist amoeller@usga.org ; Jim Skorulski, Senior Agronomist jskorulski@usga.org .