Winter Course Update

"Be careful what you wish for!" Famous words from the movie Home Alone. Although, none of us have woken up to find our family disappear, we have woken up to something we probably never thought we would see, two blizzards four days apart! I knew it would start soon and I wasn't far off, "are the greens okay with all this snow?" Without hesitation, Yes. We have had a very very cold winter, even before the snow. These temperatures allowed the ground to freeze solid. We also had a very cold first snow which didn't allow any ice to form on the surface of the greens. Having a good snow layer first, really helps protect our turf. The snow provides a "blanket" and will keep the turf free from all we are experiencing, wind, mixes of precipitation and the continued cold. In 1996, courses in our area had major winter kill, especially on greens. This was because of the ice storm we experienced prior to any snow. Ice acts like a plastic bag, it lets no oxygen in and lets no toxic gases out. Result is turf loss.

As we move closer to spring we will monitor additional storms and the melting of the snow. There is a chance that when we begin to see a significant melting of all this snow, we could begin to form ice on the greens. If we feel that this is becoming an issu,e we will take the appropriate steps to remove the ice.

The recent storm that packed heavy winds has no doubt done some damage to our trees. Currently, I have only been able to assess what damage has occurred around the clubhouse. We need a little bit more snow to melt in order for the truck to make its' way around the entire course. Once I am able to make a full assessment, I will post any important information.

I have always been a glass half full kind of person. I believe anyone in this business has to or we wouldn't be here. The snow cover has allowed us to complete some small projects we normally wouldn't be able to complete over the winter. I posted earlier about our new tee markers. We are in full swing and will have all new "homemade" markers completed for opening day. We have also sandblasted all of our ballwashers and stands. This has taken the years of paint layers off. We are in the process of re-priming and painting.

I am definitely looking forward to the snow melting and getting back out there. There are several projects that came to a screeching halt that we need to complete. Native area work and finishing our bunker project are a couple. We are going to do everything in our power to have these completed on time, we just need a little help from Mother Nature.