The warm weather this spring has the golf course in good playing condition weeks ahead of schedule. The greens have been mowed a few times and I am receiving comments that they are in the best shape in years considering it is the first week in April. The warm weather has helped dry the golf course from over 4.5” of rain that soaked the area earlier this week. There are still a number of wet areas throughout the course, but I am definitely surprised that we are able to have carts this early in the season, and so soon after such a major storm.
The greens have been mowed a few times and are firming up nicely. Over the next few weeks we will gradually lower the cutting height of the mowers, and as the turf continues to break dormancy the playability of the greens will improve with respect to smoothness and speed. This process is determined by the temperature of the soil. The important thing to remember is that soil temperature is influenced by the overnight lows as much as the daytime highs. This means that the temperature below the surface changes very slowly this time of year. I assure you that we will be watching very closely to determine when we can be more aggressive working to improve the condition of the greens. Based on what I have seen over the last few weeks along with the lessons learned over the last few years, I expect that the greens will be in excellent condition this year.
As you get out to play your first few rounds of golf, you will find remnants of some winter projects yet to be completed. The brush in the driving range and along the 5th fairway should be cleaned up next week. We have been reluctant to rent the chipper in fear that we could not tow it around the golf course without causing extensive damage. There are a number of stumps that will be ground and filled as time allows. While they are definitely unsightly, most of them are not in play and therefore are not a top priority. I hope to have them cleaned up by the end of the month.
There are detailed explanations of our winter projects in previous blog entries. I encourage you to review them, especially “If a tree falls on a golf course…” For those that would like to stay informed you can sign up as a follower. This will allow you to post your opinion at the end of each entry, as well as be notified whenever another follower does the same. Thank you for stopping by, and we hope to see you on the golf course soon.
The greens have been mowed a few times and are firming up nicely. Over the next few weeks we will gradually lower the cutting height of the mowers, and as the turf continues to break dormancy the playability of the greens will improve with respect to smoothness and speed. This process is determined by the temperature of the soil. The important thing to remember is that soil temperature is influenced by the overnight lows as much as the daytime highs. This means that the temperature below the surface changes very slowly this time of year. I assure you that we will be watching very closely to determine when we can be more aggressive working to improve the condition of the greens. Based on what I have seen over the last few weeks along with the lessons learned over the last few years, I expect that the greens will be in excellent condition this year.
As you get out to play your first few rounds of golf, you will find remnants of some winter projects yet to be completed. The brush in the driving range and along the 5th fairway should be cleaned up next week. We have been reluctant to rent the chipper in fear that we could not tow it around the golf course without causing extensive damage. There are a number of stumps that will be ground and filled as time allows. While they are definitely unsightly, most of them are not in play and therefore are not a top priority. I hope to have them cleaned up by the end of the month.
There are detailed explanations of our winter projects in previous blog entries. I encourage you to review them, especially “If a tree falls on a golf course…” For those that would like to stay informed you can sign up as a follower. This will allow you to post your opinion at the end of each entry, as well as be notified whenever another follower does the same. Thank you for stopping by, and we hope to see you on the golf course soon.
