Friday, March 4, 2016

Million Dollar Question



The last day of the astronomical winter is March 19th, judging by the picture taken yesterday of #18, I'd say this remains to be true. The past few weeks of weather have seen temp's from 0 to 60 and everything in between. So that brings us to the "Million Dollar Question".....

                                      When is the course going to open?

The course will open when soil temp's reach a point that encourages growth on the primary playing surfaces.  In general, soil temp's in the 50-65 degree range are ideal for root growth.The picture above illustrates the current soil temperature on the greens, 40 degrees. Needless to say, we still have a ways to go but the temperatures should rise fairly quickly with the extended forecast.

Root growth is greatest for Creeping Bentgrass during the Spring and Fall and much reduced during the summer and winter months.
It is of the up most importance to limit traffic and wear on the course when little to no growth is taking place. 2 main reasons.
1.) Ball marks, divots, foot traffic, will have very little recovery.
2.) The traffic on slow growing/dormant grass creates more work for the plant. All the while trying to grow roots in order to prepare for the stresses associated with the Summer months.

We want to ensure the golf course remains in great condition for the duration of the golfing season. For this reason, we will open the course when it's fully capable of handling not just one golfer, but a full tee sheet as well.

We will monitor the course in the coming days and will update accordingly as the conditions improve.


Thank you for your patience and we're looking forward to another great season.




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