Spring!

Well the calendar says Spring but the weather sure doesn't!  The course is still snow covered with just a few spots of grass showing through.  Hopefully the forecasted rain will help eliminate the snow by Monday.  Once the snow is gone, our first task will be to remove the winter covers from the greens.  This is my 12th spring at Westmount and the latest I have ever removed covers is April 1st.  That record may be broken this year!  I don't have any specific concerns however, I would like to see the turf underneath the covers - I'm never totally at ease until the covers are off and the grass starts to grow.  Once the covers are off, we clean up all the sticks, leaves and debris from the course in preparation for mowing.  We will also be aerating and topdressing all of the greens before opening.  Other tasks include checking and adjusting sand depths in bunkers, starting up the irrigation system, and finishing off some sodding from last fall's drainage installation.  In conjunction with all of these tasks the weather has to cooperate so that the playing surfaces dry out, firm up, and the grass begins growing.  We want the turf to be actively growing when we open so it can withstand and recover from the wear and tear caused by golf.  I do not have an opening date yet but I will provide timely updates to this blog as we go forward.  Have a great weekend and think warm thoughts!        

Winter Tree Removal

We will be proceeding with our winter tree removals very soon.  Most of the trees to be removed are dead, dying, or hazardous trees.  In addition, we have 17 trees scheduled to be removed on the third hole to improve the sunlight situation on the green.  Please click on the following link for more information about tree removals on #3:  Third Green Shade Study Information

My blog post on July 31st, 2012 also has some good info on the shade situation on #3 if you scroll down and re-read it. Or simply click on "third hole" in the labels section directly underneath this post.

All removals are done in consultation with the Club's consulting Arborist and the Region of Waterloo's Tree Bylaw staff.

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