Sorry no picture for #3 green here, but the ice has not created any problems. The color is less green than the others, but there is no turf loss. Justin, Tony and Mark out did themselves today and took advantage of the warm weather and advanced to #5 green. A little bit of ice on the green there, but with today's temperatures, it was easy to remove.
So far we have six greens cleared and all of them look great.
The plan for Wednesday is to clear #2 green and that may be all for the week. Clouds an possible snow may move into the valley by week's end.
Tomorrow Mike Ortiz (the boss) and I are headed to a Rainbird seminar in Grand Junction. Following the seminar we are headed to Adobe Creek GC in Fruita to play a round. First round of the year! I am looking forward to swinging the sticks again and going for a nice long walk on grass.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Lots of ice on 3
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Fourth
Today we tackled the fourth green instead of the third, because it was easier to access. The process went smoothly. The snow depth was a little more than two feet and we had the green completely cleared in about 3.5 hours. The green looks great, plenty of sand left over from last fall.
If you have noticed the greens that already have been cleared are starting to lose their color, your mind is not playing tricks on you. After prolonged snow coverage, the turf does not experience the change in temperature and sunlight. The loss of color is the plants way of responding to all of the changes they are beginning to endure. The turf has not seen the light of day in 3 months which causes the greens to transition slowly through dormancy. At this point, the putting surfaces are still susceptible to any kind of traffic and frost stress during this transition period. They can be fragile until growth begins which is late April or early May depending on the weather.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Life along the highway
Look what I found along the 13th hole! Fortunately I had enough room in the back of the snowcat.
If the weather cooperates tomorrow, we will be clearing the 3rd green.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Another Beautiful Day
Plenty of sunshine today. Seventeen green was cleared today. Some ice build up from elk traffic, however after a couple hours of sun it was easy to pry from the turf. No noticeable damage left behind, the green looks good.
I am noticing what looks like frost heave in some of the greens. I noticed this with the cart path a few years ago when we had a smaller "winter blanket" on the golf course. The smaller blanket provides less protection from the cold temperatures. Some soils can respond by "pushing up" and disrupting the surface. There is more damage with cart paths because of cracking. Other areas of turf that I have noticed this with in the past settle down once they thaw out.
This should not have any impact with the golf season. The greens will level out properly once aerification is completed and growth begins.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Project 50
Living in a ski town you frequently hear the question, "How many ski days do you have this year?" Well, that is how I am approaching the golf season. 50 golf rounds is my goal. By the time the golf course is in full swing I plan on getting 2 rounds a week at Vail. The Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association has a great list of events this year. The schedule is as follows, Redlands Mesa, Keystone Ranch, Lakota Canyon, Colorado Springs CC, Hyland Hills, Meadow Hills, and Blackstone CC. Not sure if I can make them all, but I certainly would like to get to each public facility to see how they operate. I have not played any of these courses so I am excited to add them to the list.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)