The Big Melt

It has been about 2 months since we have cleared our first greens out here and the recovery and growth has been some of the best I have seen. The added moisture and few days of sun we have had in that amount of time has been very beneficial to the grass.
Posted here is a picture of the 12th green making a recovery of on pink snow mold that was discovered when cleared last month. Oxygen, sunlight and water are all the correct ingredients for growing grass.
Some greens have some bumpy spots due to the snow blower. Once the course is clear and accessible we will aerify, topdress and fertilize to get them into playing condition.
I would say we are approximately 40% clear, with more snow in the forecast for this weekend.
Next week's weather is looking very favorable with plenty of sunshine. I was just on the 5th fairway and recorded 3 feet of snow up there. The big melt is on.

Patience

By this time next week I will have four rounds of golf on the year. You probably have had the sticks out yourself and maybe had a chance to play a round or two. If you are like me, I am sure you are ready to get out to Vail and play some golf in the coming weeks.
Well we all need a little more patience when it comes to golf around these parts. We have maintained a foot of snow over the last week on the course and there are no signs of that total dropping anytime soon. More snow in the forecast and the high temperatures are not looking to get out of the 40's over the next 5 days.
Throughout the area we are above averages in both snow pack and snow water equivalent. This is a good thing, you will never hear me complain about moisture in Vail.
We are riding a double edged sword as we approach spring. We are in need of the warm dry days to get on with summer and begin "growing in" this golf course again. However, as we experienced last year, too many of those warm days could bring a large run off again. No one wants to seeing flooding, destruction and golf course closures again.
As the mountain comes to a close this Sunday and the chairs stop moving, the pressure is on to get outside and onto summer events. Those who have been around here long enough are fortunate enough to get out of town for a bit and steal away a few summer days elsewhere.
Due to the early snows we had to shut down some projects prematurely and are anxious to getting back to them as soon as possible. A little patience is needed to allow conditions to improve so that we may begin getting the season in full swing.

Eagle River Watershed Council | Blog - What's Bugging Gore Creek?

Eagle River Watershed Council Blog - What's Bugging Gore Creek?:
What's Bugging Gore Creek? Scientists are telling us that something is bugging Gore Creek. But actually, it's what is not bugging the creek that's the problem. Join ERWC to learn about problems in Gore Creek - signaled by the lack of a robust colony of bugs (macroinvertebrates) starting in the East Vail area. These bugs are food for the creek's fish. Do missing bugs mean missing fish? Do missing bugs mean that the creek is unhealthy?
Chris Maines from the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District will talk about what studies are telling us. Kirby Wynn, head of ERWC's Water Quality Program, will join Chris as they discuss possible causes for the problem - and the community partnership that's taking shape to help solve this mystery. A healthy Gore Creek is essential to the economy of Vail and of Eagle County. Public input is invited as we work together to develop a Water Quality Improvement Plan to cure Gore Creek.
When: Wednesday, April 20th, 5:30 p.m.
Where: The Bearfish Bar and Grill in Vail
So bug-out after work to the Bearfish for refreshments, cocktails, and some quality brain food!

Starting Up

This past week we continued to clear greens 14,7 and 12. As usual, they look good and continue to be very soft. There has been some minor scaring on almost every green from the tractor this spring. It has certainly been an abnormal year with extremely soft conditions under the snow. None of it will cause significant damage. After spring aerification we will have some extra rolling before allowing play.
Also, this week, we have carefully been clearing snow from the #7 tee site as well as getting done with final inspections on the bridges. #11 north abutment had to be excavated again to check the welding plates from the base to the abutment. All is well and now we can focus on timing the concrete portion of the bridges.

This week's weather is looking favorable for melting. This past week we saw part of 11 fairway. Greens 8,9 & 10 will probably melt off by the end of this coming week. If not, we do plan to have all of the greens clear before tax day.
The lightning shelter behind 11 green is scheduled to begin finishing touches this coming week as. It will be nice to cross of projects as soon as possible.

A Great Season

The nordic season comes to a close today. It was a good year. Lots of early snow and the track stayed great through out the year. Now as the days are getting longer and the melting increases areas of the golf course are starting to appear. Over the past few springs, local dust storms in the valley have carried dust to the course have helped increase the melting process by attracting more heat. For getting out on the golf course this can be a good thing, however when dust accelerates snow melt from the peaks, high run-off can happen earlier than normal and become treacherous to creek banks and floodplain areas.

Over the next few days we will be plowing paths and removing signage from the track. Contractors will be on-site next week to start the 7th tee project and finish the lightning shelter near the 11th green. Next we will be cleaning up around the bridges and putting the finishing touches on them as well.

As for the month of March, we nearly matched the snowfall for February with 50 inches. March beat January by 5 inches. We received a total of 2.61 inches of moisture. However, much of that is beginning to melt or evaporate into the atmosphere. The average high temperature for March was 40 degrees and the average low was 16.5 degrees. We received three days in the middle of March of 55 degree days and we bottomed out at 1 degree towards the beginning of the month.

Opening Day

Opening Day is upon us. Certainly the start of baseball is another reminder that the golf season is around the corner in the Vail Valley. Denver is certainly a much different environment for baseball these days than Vail. The Front Range has experienced some abnormally dry days recently as the ski season in the high country is coming to an end (plenty of spring days left though).

The Rockies are looking good again, the Red Sox (yeah!) seem to be the favorite by many MLB experts. But the Phillies certainly made some nice acquisitions in the off season. Visit the blog and vote for your pick to win the World Series this year! How many baseball fans do we have out there.