Where's Spring?

Cool, wet and cloudy conditions have dominated the weather this spring.  More days have been spent below normal than above.  The calendar might say May, but it sure feels like early April. This pattern has lead to an extremely slow start to the growing season.  Trees and flowers are just starting to wake up and the same goes for the grass.  Soil temperatures have been hovering either side of 50 for most of the month with only a few days spent in the 60's.  For grass to get going we need soil temperatures to be consistently in the upper 50's, with 60's being ideal.  This will only be achieved by a shift towards a warmer and sunnier weather pattern.  

So where does this leave us with our recovery efforts?  It's not hard to understand this pattern is not conducive for growth and recovery.  Despite the weather hampering our seeding efforts we have seen some positive results.  Seed germination, along with recovery from existing plants, has been observed on 5 and 8 greens.  1 and 4 greens have a tiny bit of germination along with some great recovery in spots.  That being said there is along way to go.  If the weather pattern beings to turn warm I envision 5 and 8 greens opening in the coming weeks.  Due to the extent of the damage on 1 and 4, these two are going to take longer to recover.  Only time and weather will dictate when the greens will open for play. As for the other greens, numbers 6,7 and 17 look better each day.  Once the weather warms and the greens are aerated these spots will quickly begin to go away.

There has been a lot of chatter thought out our industry concerning winter injury recovery over the past few weeks.  I thought I would share some of the important highlights with you. I assure you we are not alone.  A great number of courses in the northern region are dealing with winter injury just like us.

  

• @AdamMoeller: @golfwerkz @OntarioGSA The damaged I've observed has been most severe in S. Ontario. Upstate NY and New England also damaged badly

                 Adam Moeller, USGA Argonomist, Twitter post

• @AdamMoeller: Recovery from winter injury has been very slow so far. Soil and air temperatures have been far from ideal; limiting recovery significantly.

                Adam Moeller, USGA Argonomist, Twitter post

• @AdamMoeller: Temporary greens are never fun but they will dramatically improve recovery from winter injury. Many courses will have them this spring!

                Adam Moeller, USGA Argonomist, Twitter post

• @AdamMoeller: @TheGolfCanada @OntarioGSA Be patient. Understand that temp greens in the spring are better than bad greens in the summer.

                Adam Moeller, USGA Argonomist, Twitter post

• USGA Green Section, East Regional Update:  http://shar.es/SrPYL

• News story out of Boston, MA:  http://boston.cbslocal.com/video/10114566-golf-courses-hit-hard-by-snowy-winter/#.U2LKV4oqKBI.email

• @wnywxguy: Frigid fact: Our avg temp for the 1st 4 months in #ROC is 28.9°. That makes it the coldest start to ANY year since 1940! That yr: 28.3°.

                  Josh Nicols, 10 NBC Meterologist 

That being said we are doing everything we possibly can to promote recovery.  Top of the line radiant greens covers are in place to help warm the soil.  Seed and fertilizer have been applied waiting for the proper temperatures to grow.  I ask for your continued patience as we work though and continue the recovery process. 

The cool spring has also set us back on a lot of tasks that need to be completed.  Greens aeration originally scheduled for early April had to be postponed, since conditions where not ideal.  We are planning on aerating greens this coming Monday and Tuesday May 5th and 6th. The front nine will be completed Monday and the back nine on Tuesday.  Temporary greens will be in place if you wish to play the nine we will be working on.  The weather looks great early next week so we should have no problem finishing by Tuesday.  This aeration, as in seasons past, will set our greens up for success this season and help promote continued recovery. Along with aeration we also have a lot of loose ends to tie up.  Stump holes on 6 green have been prepared for seed and sod.  We are waiting for the area to dry so they can be installed. The rest the stump holes on the course will be filled and seeded in the coming weeks. Drainage projects at the clubhouse and 1 rough will be cleaned up and seeded as soon as the areas dry. New drainage installation around the course and cart path work will commence as soon as the above is complete.

All and all, for the hand we have been dealt,  things are coming together.  Despite the weather I am pleased with our progress so far.  The course is starting to take shape and soon this recovery talk will be a distant memory.  Please feel free to contact me with your questions and concerns.