Course Preparation

Until this week the weather has been extremely unseasonal for this time of the year. We have had a busy week preparing the golf course for the season.
First cuts on the tees, fairways, and some rough areas where completed. Course clean-up has begun, including blowing off main playing areas and picking up branches. Some trees that came down over the winter were also cleaned-up. Greens have received their second cut of the season and tarps were left on the injured greens to help in their recovery.

 The greens are coming along from a hard winter and the remaining areas on the course are strengthening up and looking good. Early spring traffic on greens that are not actively growing could lead to turf thinning and bumpy surfaces. The turf may be green but not actively growing and therefore unable to recover from wear injury. Additional fertilizer, topdressing, aeration and rolling may be necessary to promote growth for recovery from traffic stress and smooth the putting surfaces. In the spring turf produces a healthy and deep root system, which will prepare for hot summer conditions.  Early spring traffic means a longer period needed to build a deep, healthy root system before summer. Also turf diseases may become active earlier. We may need to make initial applications earlier than normal and potentially require more total applications for the season. The issues discussed are also applicable to all other turf areas on the course. Tee divots and fairway/rough traffic areas for example will not be recovering until the turf is actively growing.

Just remember that with all the benefits of the early spring warm weather, there are season-long implications for the turf and operating budget. Golfer patience and understanding become very important.

First Cut

 All of the greens have been cut this week. The warm temperatures helped to get some initial growth on all the greens. To help the injured greens they have been spiked, overseeded, fertilized and watered.

 This is the drop seeder used to overseed the greens. During ideal conditions seed will start to grow with in a week. With the cooler temperatures expected for next week it may take a few weeks before we see seed starting to grow.

 The nice weather dried out the greens to the point that the irrigation system needed to be charged up. This is the earliest we can remember needing to water the grass.

We continue to monitor the injured greens on a daily basis, warm weather will make the biggest difference over the next few weeks.

Greens Update

 The weather has been unseasonably warm for a week and the greens are benefiting from it. The covers have been removed from all the greens but may have to be reinstalled if the temperatures drop to much. For the grass to begin growing the soil temperatures must be above 12 C. We are getting that required temperature during the sunny days but it will take some time for that temperature to stay consistent through out the day.

 Over the course of a week we are seeing more green on the greens and are planning to mow them before the end of the week.

The 4th green was hit the hardest but is showing some life.

Under the covers

The warm temperatures have helped us get the remaining ice off greens and tees. Under the covers on the greens we have had mixed results. Greens # 4,6,7,and 18 have varying amounts of desiccation from the winter. The tips of the grass plant seem to be burnt from the ice cover from the winter. Time will tell the extent of the injury and the weather will dictate the speed of recovery.

 This is under the cover on the 6th green. This area is the front left that holds extra water and in turn would have more ice build up over the winter.

The 4th green has the most injury. This green had the most ice cover and for the longest period.

Ice/Snow Removal

 The warm temperatures this week has assisted in the ice and snow removal on the golf course. Where the ice had built up on the greens we broke it up with pics and shovels.

 Tractor and snow blowers where used to move larger amounts of snow off greens and tees.

By the end of the week we have lost 70% of our snow cover and the long range weather for next week should finish off any snow that is left.

Jasmine Steinke

Jasmine brings 11 years of experience to her new position as Assistant Superintendent. She has worked at clubs that include Donalda Club, Beacon Hall, Capilano Golf and Country Club, Toronto Golf Club, and King Valley. She has a two year diploma from Penn State in Turfgrass Management and is a member of the OGSA and GCSAA. Jasmine lives in Toronto with her boyfriend Paul who is also an assistant.  Her experience, work ethic and drive will make her a great asset to our club.