Finally, the
snow has gone – the weather has warmed up and for some of you, the dust came
off the clubs and they were put to good use.
Unfortunately that glorious week has passed and we’re back into sub-par
temperatures. But the weather man claims
that will be short lived and it should return to golfing weather within the
near future.
The course
has been abnormally dry for this time of year.
This has benefited the course and its maintenance crew because we are
able to accomplish things that are normally inhibited by wet conditions. The greens have all been rolled and cut
several times. The fairways and tees
have also all been cut – normally there are several areas that can’t be mowed
until the end of May. But not this
spring.
The greens
were also topdressed heavily and the sand was then brushed in. The aerification holes from last fall aren’t
100% filled with sand – but with a few rain days that sand will make its way
into the remaining empty holes. Several
light topdressings over the next month well help smooth out the putting
surfaces.
While the
majority of the putting surfaces came through the winter well, some areas of
the greens don’t look as healthy as others.
The brown sections of the greens are thanks to an ice layer that formed
shortly before Christmas 2014. A warm
enough thaw causes the snow to melt on the surface of the putting green – then
a snap freeze turns that melt into a solid ice layer. Even though the turf is dormant it still
needs to breathe – an ice layer inhibits the grass’ ability to exchange
gases. Some turf types can handle an ice
sheet better than others. Our greens at
Pike Lake are comprised of bentgrass and annual bluegrass (poa annua). Unfortunately, poa annua is currently winning
the battle over bentgrass on our putting surfaces. There are hundreds of reasons as to why bentgrass
is the preferred turf type for putting greens – rather than poa annua. One of those reasons is its ability to handle
winter stress. Bentgrass can handle ice
cover for approx. 150 days before dying.
Poa on the other hand, can only handle between 75-90 days.
Bentgrass
seed and sand will be spread over the areas on the greens that suffered ice
damage and with a few warm rains, they should fill in within the next couple
weeks. We understand it’s not always
possible, but please avoid walking on the browned off areas of the greens to give
the young seedlings a fighting chance this spring. We will also be avoiding mowing and rolling
these damaged areas on occasion. If you
have to make a putt through a damaged area please keep in mind that the putt will
be significantly slower than normal. We
will get back to regular mowing within a couple weeks once the damaged areas
have started to recover.
Enjoy the
spring golf!
