March 23, 2013

Good Friday?

I am starting to get inquiries about when the course will be open for play. We still have some work to do to wrap up our winter projects. The larger projects will take a couple of weeks, but we hope to get started with our spring cleaning this week. The main wildcard will be the storm on Monday. Any significant rain or snow will delay our ability to get out and get the course ready.
The decision to open the course is generally based on the balance between the amount of damage that is expected and the ability of the turf to recover. The damage comes in the form of ball marks, which are typically worse this time of year, and divots in fairways and on tees. Until the soil temperatures rise the turf will not be able to heal itself from divots and ball marks that are ignored or improperly repaired. In most years I am more concerned with ball marks. This year we have changed our aeration schedule and damage from ball marks will be insignificant compared to what I am going to do to the greens in a few weeks. So the focus shifts to divots. If we do decide to open the course early, we will avoid using prime teeing grounds. On some holes that may even mean off the tee surface.
I have already had a few conversations about opening the course with the Green Committee, and the consensus is that we should be sure that the course is able to tolerate the wear and tear. I will be watching the weather and temperatures closely this week, and will open the course as soon as I feel it is ready. I will continue to post updates here and in the weekly newsletter, so stay tuned. It won't be long now.

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