With
spring almost upon us and after having endured the cold of winter it is not a
surprise that we are all excited to get out and play some golf! This time
of year, more than ever, is the time to exercise patience. Checking the
frost level in greens we really aren’t that close to being able to safely open
to play without doing potentially harmful damage to our putting surfaces. Due
to the unseasonably warm weather expected the next few days it’s understandable
that when other daily fee courses begin to open we start to feel the pressure
to follow their lead.
Due
to the maintenance level we as a staff and you as club members have for our golf course the damage
issues we would face compared to a couple of rounds of “Indian summer” golf is
not worth the cost. The soil temperatures at this point are only suitable for
the growth of Poa Annua which will fill every ball mark and cleat mark made
this time of the year. In addition we have only seen a couple of days of
thawing weather which means we have a long way to go before the frost is out of
the ground and the golf course can be opened.
The biggest issue we face with this decision is the frost. As I have outlined in previous articles with frost remaining in the soil profile, water from the thawing ground on top has nowhere to go and so the top layer of soil becomes completely saturated and unstable under foot and cart traffic. This puts fine turf areas (especially putting greens) at risk of becoming severely damaged if traffic is not held off.
The biggest issue we face with this decision is the frost. As I have outlined in previous articles with frost remaining in the soil profile, water from the thawing ground on top has nowhere to go and so the top layer of soil becomes completely saturated and unstable under foot and cart traffic. This puts fine turf areas (especially putting greens) at risk of becoming severely damaged if traffic is not held off.
As
a staff we will monitor conditions of the frost line on a daily basis to
determine when the course will be ready for play. This is the worst part of my
job due to the fact that I want the course open as much as anybody but, I need
to have conditions right so we don’t have issues later in the year because we
jumped the gun. Once the course is ready, and is dry enough we will put the
flagsticks in the greens and open the course for play.
Thank you very much for being understanding during this unseasonably warm time and please exercise patience as you await the beginning of the golfing season at Panther Creek Country Club.
Thank you very much for being understanding during this unseasonably warm time and please exercise patience as you await the beginning of the golfing season at Panther Creek Country Club.
Greg Willman
gwillman@panthercreekcc.com
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