Wild Weather

We are experiencing yet another fall with weird weather. We have had about 1/2 inch of rain and the forecast is for a flash freeze tonight. We went out to check on the greens this afternoon and removed any standing water. Many greens still have a bit of snow on them and a few are clear entirely. With the flash freeze coming, it's probably a good thing to have some snow cover which will insulate the turf from the freezing temperatures. Removing standing water will prevent an ice layer from forming.

We still have not put down the winter covers. This is not necessarily bad. Winter covers can help us or hurt us depending on the weather. What we don't want to do is put them down when they could become a detriment. That is why we did not put them down in mid November before it snowed. My gut feeling was that it was too early and the ground was not frozen yet. The turf had not hardened off for winter and putting the covers down under those circumstances was a recipe for a lot snow mould to form under the covers. Based on what I saw today, I am not overly concerned. The biggest risk at this point is the flash freeze on uninsulated turf - a problem that the covers would not protect us against. If the right weather conditions arise, we will put down the covers.

As always, we are monitoring the situation closely and doing everything we can to ensure our turf comes out of the winter in perfect shape.

Best Wishes for the Holidays from the Greens Department!