Since my last post our ice situation has not improved. The weather has been extremely cold and we have experienced a number of small snow events that have covered the golf course. We are now at day 31 in some areas of ice cover. The forecast for the next couple of weeks is not showing any signs of a thaw or melt. Removing snow and ice in these extreme temperatures is not an option. Exposing the greens to -25C could result in a severe shock to the turf grass. At this point we will continue to monitor and evaluate the weather patterns and act accordingly.
Last fall we utilized a “new to us” method of revitilization for our practice tee. Our contractor TDS, fraize mowed the surface of the tee to remove organic matter as well at to aid in leveling. The tee was then aerified and seeded to a new variety of creeping rye grass. We chose this type of turf grass as research shows rapid recovery and a low growth habit. We were able to get some great growth in the fall, but the tee is still not ready for traffic and full use. The plan is to utilize the mats until growth has filled in some of the voids etc. We will then begin to slowly set up hitting areas on the grass tee. For a while we will alternate between grass and the mats with a 50/50 ratio of use. Once the grass tee is established and is in adequate recovery mode, the practice areas will be back to normal. As always our membership’s patience is appreciated as we try to improve these areas for use.
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