HIGHLAND CC GROUNDS

Spring has arrived and our greens covers have been removed. We are very happy to report that our greens (and the golf course in general) have come out of the winter in great shape! Shortly after Easter weekend our team will begin to clean up debris from all areas of play. Once the entire golf course is cleaned, mowing practices will begin. The first mowing of the season cleans a lot of the discoloured, desiccated leaf tissue off of the turf. This initial mowing increases the aesthetic appeal of the golf course greatly. Following mowing, we will begin to prepare our bunkers for play.  At this point we are not able to predict an opening date for the golf course. The forecast is integral to our pre-opening process. Rain, cold temperatures and frost can hamper progress when performing these all important tasks. Here is to a warm and dry spring!!!

The week ahead is looking like a nice warm up for HCC. There is a potential of us removing our greens covers in the near future. Our typical criteria for removal is a consistent forecast of above 5-6 C as a high and above 0C as a low. "Consistent" is the focus here, the current forecast follows this criteria to say the least. One of the major reasons for us removing covers this spring is plant protection from fungus. Every fall prior to covering and snow cover we apply a very high quality winter fungicide with the anticipation that it will last 4 months. This has always worked very well for us, in a cold, snow covered winter. Last fall we experienced a warm, snow free 6-8 weeks after our covers were installed. Couple those conditions with the very unseasonal warm thaws that we had this winter, the degradation of our fungicide is heightened. The longevity of the product is compromised under such conditions. Once we remove the covers, we will allow the greens to dry ou...