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Spring Fever!!!!

Currently we are experiencing very high temperatures across Ontario, record breaking (in some areas) in fact. This week we were able to remove the covers from our greens and we are happy to report that our greens wintered well. This season we were able to remove the covers almost 3 weeks prior to last year...does this mean that the turf is 3 weeks ahead??? Not necessarily. The turf grass on the greens is healthy and alive, but far from playable. Turf grass needs to be actively growing to handle the traffic from mowing, rolling and foot traffic. Opening our greens too early can set us back for the beginning portion of the season.
Here at HCC we typically open on the Monday following the Masters weekend...however with the record setting warm temperatures there has been a lot of "conversation" about opening early. While people are correct in saying that we are a little ahead of last year, there is still a program, plan and process to opening the golf course. This program is done annually to ensure a healthy, well presented and playable golf course for our membership.

Prior to opening our list of tasks includes, but is not limited to...
General course clean up (branches & debris)
Mowing of all playable areas 2-3x (greens, tees, fairways)
Bunker clean up and general repair (liner & debris)
Solid tine/slicing of fairways
Deep tine aeration of Greens
Heavy topdressing of Greens
Deep tine aeration of Tees and Approaches
Stump removal, clean up and sod preparation
Pump house and irrigation system set up and pressurizing
General course accessory set up

As you can see there is a fairly large amount of work to be completed prior to course opening. This nice, warm weather not only gets people excited about playing golf, but allows us to complete these tasks in an efficient manner, therefore presenting our members with a golf course that they can be proud to play....right out of the gate!
As we progress through our list of tasks and jobs we will continue to evaluate all considerations for choosing an opening date...as always, we will keep you posted!

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