Winter Update

#15 Green looks good 

Removing surface water from #7 Green

No snow left on #5

It's been a fairly benign winter - at least until today.  We have had quite a bit of rain which melted all of our snow.  There is an amazing amount of water on the course - far more than we would see from any summer rain event.  Our drainage system is functioning well but is currently overwhelmed by all of this moisture.  There is a very strong, steady flow leaving our property but the big question is:  will it all drain before tonight's flash freeze?  This is important because the big risk right now is that this weather has convinced the grass that it is spring.  If the plants start taking up water in preparation to wake up and start growing and then subsequently freeze solid when the temperature drops tonight, the results could be disastrous.  Since water expands when it freezes it would literally destroy the cell structures inside the plant if they were filled with water.  Hopefully it has not been warm enough for long enough and the plants are still in their dormant state.  Another concern is ice encasement where water is laying on the surface.  This can also cause problems if the ice stays for more than 30 days and we've still got a long way to go until spring.  In preparation for the flash freeze tonight we have checked all of the greens and removed any standing water.  That's really all we can do at this point.  Except of course to stay positive and hope for the best!

I will be updating this blog more frequently as spring approaches.  I have a lot to talk about with the upcoming course renovations.  Please forward it on to anyone you think may be interested.  You can also send me an email if you want to be added to a list of people I notify by email when I add a new post.  That way you don't have to keep checking back here.  My email address is cjanzen@westmountgolf.com