Finally ...

#18 fairway taken 4-7-13
No snow!

#12 fairway taken 4-7-13
Still some snow on north
facing slopes.

Slowly but surely snow is melting and winter is coming to an end.  I have observed a lot of progress in the past couple of days; however we still have a ways to go before opening.  The frost is down about a foot but should lessen the next couple of days with warmer nighttime temperatures.  The course is extremely water logged and once the frost is gone we should see some improvement.   Friday the course was covered in 50-60% snow but today we are at 10-20%. 


As far as winter kill is concerned, it is still too early to tell if any damage has occurred on the course.   Some Poa annua has greened up and some has remained very bronze in color.  To say whether or not we have any damage is premature at this point.  Once we have some consistent warm daytime temperatures combined with above freezing nighttime temperatures we can begin to assess what if any damage is on the course. 

#8 green taken 4-7-13
A pure stand of bentgrass!

#12 green taken 4-7-13
Poa that has greened up since
earlier in the week

Bentgrass populations are a lot higher on our golf course today than it was just 2 or 3 years ago.  Any damage that MAY have occurred will pale in comparison with 2011.  It is very evident that our fine turf areas are primarily bentgrass and that will be a great equalizer going forward.  It is a testament to our program and the benefits to managing for bentgrass.

Green collars, low areas in fairways, and some isolated greens (i.e. #13) are areas of the course most likely to experience winter kill simply because it has the most Poa annua.  If any areas have winterkill we will move immediately to correct the problem and take the appropriate actions.

Stay tuned for updates…. the 2013 season is getting close!