Frost!!!!!

Well its the start of another week and a cool one.  Starting to feel like a normal spring around here temperature wise but not moisture wise.  The last few days have produced some good frosty mornings.  Normally frost is something we never like to see because it prevents us from getting outside and the day started as well as hold golfers off of the golf course.  Saturday morning the frost almost looked like snow had covered the ground while the past few days it has been very light.  It's always a sore subject when frost delays are mentioned.  They create anxiety and impatience among everyone but it is important to understand the reasoning behind them and the absolute necessity.  This morning we got a little anxious and guys started heading out on the course prior to it being ready and we are seeing the results.  Thankfully we were able to get those stopped in their tracks before going any further.  Below are some affects of traffic on turf when under frost:

Here it is tough to see but look at the purple foot prints.  This is the result of walking on turf while under frost, and this was a light frost.  Imagine having about 50 people which equals 100 foot prints walking all over.  This is very minor damage and the turf will grow out, but under different circumstances this could result in turf mortality.  Under frost turf is in a frozen state, cells in the plant are comprised of water and if that water is frozen and pressure is applied it could result in ruptured cell walls.

Equipment traffic.  This is the result of equipment driving across the turf while under frost.  Here you can see the distinct purple turf.  Again, minor and it will grow out but imagine how a golf course could look if carts were let to run wild when under a frost.  Again, under different circumstances this could result in turf mortality.

Anyway, a great deal of other tasks are on hand for the week.  Monitoring the weather it looks to be quite chilly here for the next few days but then warming up for the weekend.  We could use some slight warmth to wake the turf up a little bit.  Since our warm spell and vigorous growth things have slowed down drastically.  Fairways, approaches, tees, and greens have slowed the most while the rough has slowed slightly.  With the less vigorous growth we have begun to see some wear patterns building around the greens and approaches on the new turf.  With mowing both areas and having to turn mowers in the same spots the turf is becoming stressed and doesn't have the warmth for the growth and bounce back.  We have been searching for ideas to help reduce this mechanical stress and believe we have come across a remedy in assistance with operator awareness.  We will now be utilizing lattice to turn mowers on at the front of greens and approaches.  This lattice will help keep the mower off the turf and reduce any tearing and bruising of turf while turning machines.  Photos will help illustrate what we are talking about:

Lattice laid at the front of 8 green

Elias turning the machine on the lattice placed at the front of 7 green while mowing approaches

We are always looking for ways to make things better and we believe that using this will help greatly with the wear and tear we are seeing where greens and approaches meet. 

In the discussion with wear and tear we have utilized this time to aerify the putting green and golf center green.  Aerification is that necessary evil that needs to take place spring and fall.  We utilize aerification to remove that and incorporate sand into the profile but also create an avenue for gas exchange, drainage, and root growth.  Today Moe and Jorge are finishing up the topdressing and fertilization process so things will be ready for tomorrow.  Look at all the material that was removed!

Since the putting green is newer and has newer mix we do not pick up all the surface removed.  What we do is let the plugs dry out then go over the top with a dragmat that knocks off the sand mixture back into the holes while all that is then left is the thatchy tufts of turf which we then clean up.  Topdressing then takes place with sand to fill any of the remaining holes along with fertilization and finished by rolling and mowing.

Another busy week for us as will be the next 6 or so prior to opening.  We'll continue to keep you update with oncourse tasks and the progress we make.