The winter is the hardest time of year to manage grass on the Front Range. The turf is not growing, so it can not grow out of stressful periods. When the weather is dry we have to manage water with a winterized irrigation system. If snow sticks around we need to watch for prolonged ice build up. Sometimes you have to handle both going on at the same time. We are getting into that period right now.
Fourteen inches of snow right before Thanksgiving is a recipe to keep the golf course closed for a while. For anyone interested in some winter golf soon, the golf course is not even close to opening. Considering how slow we are seeing the course melt, it will likely be January before we open. We will need many consistent sunny days with lows well above freezing.
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| This photo shows how much snow sticks on the 4th hole because of all the trees. The 6th hole is mostly clear due to the lack of trees. |
The days continue to get shorter and the sun angles are at their lowest which means shaded areas are at their peak. As the snow slowly melts it turns into water, fills the air spaces in the snow pack and freezes again. Once this snow turns more to ice, it sticks around longer during the shorter days.
Ice management is something we need to keep our eye on for turf health. We are not getting concerned about ice build up yet. However, ice can not be ignored. You may see the grounds staff clearing a few greens. We are preparing them to apply our second winter fungicide application. Normally this application goes out between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our first application went out in early November and the greens are currently well protected. Getting the second application is our target within the next few days to cover us through March and April snows.
We are not clearing greens for play just yet. That will happen when the rest of the golf course is mostly melted off for play. Too much shoveling can cause damage to the surface, so we must not over react. This is a tricky time of year. We have many holes on the course that are extremely shaded and hold snow, such as 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 & 18. But holes such as 1, 2, 13, 6, 7, 14 & 15 can be melted off, dry and ready for winter water. This makes the winter the hardest month of the year for turf management.
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