Clearing Greens

Monday we begin another edition of greens clearing. I can't beleive it is almost March. Blowing and clearing the putting greens in Vail marks the beginning of the golf season in our books. Sometimes the local paper comes out for a picture. It's usually a fun time, however no one seems to ever want to help.
Three feet of snow cover for three months can begin to be detrimental to the turf grass. We remove snow to check for any ice build up, elk damage, rodent damage, and/or disease. Clearing the snow now gives us a head start on fixing any problems that may exist with the turf. Remedies may include another fungicide application to prevent further spread of mold or fusarium. A greenscover can also be used to increase soil temperatures to stimulate root and shoot growth.
Now this practice must be done with the help of the sun. Most of our success comes when we can completely clear the surface and expose all of the turf. The sun does help to melt that bottom layer to make the snow easier to clear. Cloudy and cooler days, we run the risk of turning that bottom layer into ice.
On another note, Go USA in the gold medal men's hockey game. Beat Canada!!!