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| Please go away Winter and be nice Spring |
The calendar says Spring starts today but other than
rain vs. snow & a few warmer days sprinkled in I am not completely sure it
will ever get here. We all suffered from
this record breaking winter & the turf seems to have suffered also. I won't rehash the details of the Winter as I
am sure everyone has heard it enough by now not to mention lived it. The course is currently about 30% snow/ice
covered, areas predominately in shaded areas;
but I expect the snow/ice cover on Greens, Tees, & Fairways to be
clear by the end of the week. From a
turf perspective, the duration of ice encasement for Poa Annua is the real issue in relationship to this
winter & as of my inspection walk yesterday this is an issue we will be
dealing with this spring. From a numbers perspective, 14 of the 20
greens have some turf damage with the severity ranging from 10% to 50%. The extent of the damage is still to be
determined and will remain somewhat of a mystery until temperatures increase
and the proper growing environment is achieved.
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| Inspecting turf under the ice & snow |
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| Inspecting the greens as the snow/ice melted |
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| Initial findings didn't look or smell good |
In some of my previous blog posts I have tried to provide
information as it pertained to the issue we may be facing. While there is some clarity into what
struggles the greens may face this spring, there is still some unknowns as we
just don't know how the Poa will recover, if it will recover, or how
quickly. These answers will not come
until Mother Nature provides the growing conditions necessary. The issue that has caused this unsightly Poa
is Ice Cover Injury.
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| 3 green |
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| 11 green |
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| 7 green |
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| 5 green |
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| 13 green |
Previous knowledge
was that Poa could survive under ice encasement for 45-60 days before anoxic
conditions would become damaging. In
essence, a toxic gas build up occurs as it is trapped under the ice. Best guesstimate has the major ice formation
taking place in mid January putting us over the 60 days as the calendar just
eclipsed mid March. The ice for the most
part has receded with the handful of warm days and the visual inspection showed
damage which was also observed with a very pungent smell referred to as
"silage." Obviously not what I
was hoping for but wasn't completely surprised based on the time span under
ice. Samples have been removed from
areas and brought into the shop to access if recovery could be achieved with
more suitable growing conditions.
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| Samples & date brought into the shop. Slow recovery |
Ice cover injury is now in the rearview mirror moving
forward but we still have concerns as we transition from winter to spring. The major concern now is the issue referred
to as freeze injury and is typically the major concern I have each spring but
this year it becomes even more of a concern considering the stress the Poa has
undergone from ice encasement. Simply
put...warm days allows the Poa plant to hydrate (take in water) thus breaking
its cold hardiness which makes it more susceptible to both freeze injury should
the temperatures drop below freezing and/or dehydration if high winds whip over
the newly awakened turf. These are the
concerns that I am currently monitoring and evaluating but the basic fact is we
need the weather to transition into spring sooner than later so recovery can
begin & the potential for increased damage can be a thing of the past.
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| New tees & the bent grass look great which is no surprise |
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| Fairway turf seems to have minimal affects & look good |
So what does all this mean moving forward into the
beginning of the 2014 golf season? Two words
make the most sense when I collect my thoughts and strategies for the
future.....SLOW & PATIENCE! From a
Grounds Department standpoint slow is how this spring seems to be playing out
based on both the future 10 day & monthly forecasts as well as the recovery
of the Poa Annua on the greens. Patience
is going to be needed by myself as I implement a recovery plan knowing that
these things take time & pushing to aggressively can have adverse affects
and ultimately slow down the recovery process.
For the Membership these two words also relate as the season is going to
start out slow and be dictated by the weather and how it aides or impedes the
overall process of both opening the course & its recovery with patience
being the key ingredient as we get the course back to the expectation levels
that everyone expects & deserves.
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| Aerification & seeding with bent grass will be very beneficial & key to recovery |
What will be the Grounds Departments plan in getting the
course back to these levels? That can't
be completely determined at this point but there are numerous
possibilities based on the initial
improvements that are achieved just by Mother Nature's kind hand. One thing I can safely say is this is a great
opportunity to achieve a higher bent grass population which will be of great
benefit to both summer & winter issues that we deal with having
predominately Poa Annua greens. This
will entail aerificaton, slit seeding, & overseeding with a few of the
newer, aggressive bent grasses. Outside
of that there are just possibilities at this point until we know a little bit
more about how the Poa is going to respond once the weather becomes
favorable. As of now, we are in a
holding pattern patiently waiting & slowly gaining knowledge on the What,
When, & Where that will correct the Why of the Winter of 2014.
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| One thing I know is the sun will come up |
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| The course will recover |
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| and all will be right again as it should be. |
In closing, I realize I am the bearer of bad news whether
it is a frost delay, no carts, or in this instance a more longer term issue
with the recovery of the greens from this beast of a winter. It is part of being a Superintendent that I
could do without but these decisions will always be thought out diligently with
the course & overall enjoyment of the membership at the focal point of
these crucial decisions. With that said,
I don't foresee the course being open for carts or pins in the greens during
the month of March based on current conditions & future forecasts. If and when things change, I will update the
blog & inform the Pro Shop. I have a
positive feeling moving forward but also know that it is going to take some
hard work, patience, understanding & I want to thank the membership in
advance for the support. As the course
opens, I will make myself available as much as possible in and around the Pro
Shop & putting green areas to answer any questions anyone may have.
Sincerely submitted,
Kurt Sams, CGCS
