Old man winter

I don't need to tell you what kind winter we have experience this season.  The never ending cold and snow has taken a toll on all of us as well as the turf on the golf course.  It has been along winter fighting Mother Nature.  It is important for us to remain diligent during the winter, especially with the conditions we have experienced this year.  Grass, especially on our greens, is very susceptible to multiple types of winter injury. They include the following:

1. Low Temperature Kill -- the turf is exposed directly to temperatures low enough to kill it.

2. Suffocation -- under layer of ice, toxic gases build up and the turf dies.  Like you and I the grass needs to breathe.  If it can't properly breathe death will occur.  Some turf species are more susceptible than others. As a rule of thumb bentgrass can survive up to 90 days, were Poa annua only lasts 45 days.

3. Crown hydration -- when the turf plant goes dormant late in the fall it basically dries itself out in order to protect itself from freezing temperatures.  If we experience a rapid change in temperature over a short period of time the plant could being re-hydrating itself and begin to break dormancy.  If this occurs and the temperature rapidly drops below freezing, it could cause the hydrated plant to freeze and cause catastrophic injury.  Poa annua is most susceptible to this form of injury.

From what I have seen so far this winter I am concerned about crown hydration damage.  On three separate occasions we have experienced an extreme temperature change in less than 24 hours.  On January 6th we experienced a high of 51 degrees with a .25" of rain.  Less then 12 hours later the temperatures dropped to a low of -1.  This also occurred again in February and once again in March.  Since our greens are mostly Poa, this a real concern for us.  There several areas on our greens I refer to as bird baths. These are areas where water is trapped and surface drainage is impossible due to the topography of the green.  If water from melting snow or rain is allowed to accumulate in these areas for a prolonged period of time it can set the Poa annua up for crown hydration damage.

Throughout the winter the crew and I have chased these bird bath areas trying to prevent crown hydration. Two areas are of concern are the front of 1 and 4 green.

Breaking ice and pumping water

Water on 1 Green

As you can see from the picture above the water from the melting snow is accumulating on the front of the green.  It is not allowed to drain off due to its topography.  This is a prime setup for crown hydration damage.  I have seen this play out multiple times this winter.  Each time we chase the water off.  I looked at this green along with  number 4 recently and it looks like they may have sustained some damage.  I have pulled core samples from these areas and have them in the shop trying to get them to grow.  

Plugs from 1 and 4 greens

Only time will tell if we indeed suffered some injury.  The good news is if some damage occurred it will only be in small isolated areas of the green.  By bringing the samples in to shop we can get an idea of what we are dealing with and formulate a recovery plan if need be.  I am not writing this to alarm anyone, but more as a heads up to the possibility of damage.  I will continue to update you as I know more.