Snow Mold

I got a chance to tour the course this week. I am very encouraged by what I have seen so far. All the exposed turf looks healthy. There is still some deep snow out there in the shade, but hopefully we will make some gains on melting these areas this week. One thing there is a lot of this year is snow mold disease. This is a cold weather disease brought on by extended snow cover and melting snow. Conditions have been perfect for snow mold over the last few weeks. The deep, prolonged snow cover, in February activated the disease. As the snow started to melt it creates moisture on the surface and allows the disease to develop. Here is a link to a fact sheet on snow mold if you are interested, Snow Mold Fact Sheet.

16 Fairway -- Treated vs Untreated

9 Fairway -- Treated vs Untreated

We have a strong fungicide program in place to protect our greens, tees and fairways. In a typical year we will see 100% control on greens and a 90% control on tees and fairways. The uncovered greens, as of now, are completely disease free. Our tees and fairways are relatively clean, with the fungicides providing around 85% control. As you can see in the pictures, there is a stark difference between the untreated rough and the treated fairways. We are seeing spots of breakthrough here and there, especially in low lying and heavy snow covered areas. Seeing pictures like this is a reminder of how important our winter fungicide application is. Luckily this disease looks worse than it actually is. With some warm weather and some fertility, these areas will bounce right back.

As for opening the golf course we are still a ways off. The long term forecast is unfortunately calling for this cold pattern to persist. It will not take much to tip the scales in our favor, but we need cooperation from mother nature. I will keep you posted on a potential opening date.