What's going on under the snow?

1" Ice layer on 5th green.
No cause for alarm at this point.

Looking at the forecast and the thick blanket of snow I decided to strap on my snow shoes and take a peak under the snow this afternoon. I wanted to see if there was any ice buildup on the greens and see if I could expose a couple of drains to handle the runoff from the melting snow.
The first stop was the edge of the 6th hole to uncover the collector Darin at the edge of the property. The downstream portion of the system was upgraded this fall, and we wanted to do everything in our power to make a fair determination of how those changes will impact the capacity of the entire system. I also exposed the storm drain in the middle of the fairway. Hopefully this will take some of the burden off the smaller collectors and effectively act as a vent to facilitate flow.
The second stop was the 5th green. The lack of sun at this time of year can create significant problems, but thankfully there is not too much ice beneath the snow. I found about 1" of granulated ice, which indicates that there is still gas exchange and sufficient oxygen for the turf. I found a small drain on the back right corner and exposed it in case we end up with significant melting this week.



Exposing a surface collector on the 5th green