Another New Year arrives at LedgeRock as the club comes off it's most successful year to date. It is hard to believe that ten years ago the Learning Center was under construction! We have come a long way in a short time. At that time I couldn't envision the day when I would look back at these pictures and the construction would be a distant memory!
At this point in 2005, the course itself was still a long way from being finished. The construction had started in June 2004 and there were a lot of weather issues that delayed the construction. Luckily the winter was relatively mild so the bulk earthwork was completed, ensuring the golf contractor did not have to wait to shape the course. Phase 1 and 2 (holes 1-8, 14-18) were well under way at this point, while there was little work done on phase 3 (9-13). As the pictures below show, there was not a large amount of major earth moving required on phase 3 so it was left until last.
The last picture from February 2005 is a shot from the top of 15 tee looking back at 6 tee and 7 green.
So back to 2015.
Frost and ice damage were previously discussed in this 2013 post but figured it would be worth revisiting. It can be frustrating on a nice winter day to want to play only to find the course closed. I think most people know the damage that walking on frost does but that is only one scenario.
Ice on the practice green. The sand rootzone is frozen so the water cannot drain through it. This highlights how the surface can thaw but the soil can remain frozen solid.
Once there is a deep freeze, the turf/soil freezes as a whole. If the frost on the leaves thaws, but the soil stays frozen, there is no problem. The problem occurs when the surface thaws with the soil staying frozen. This can happen on warmer days, especially toward the end of winter or after a rain event. When the surface thaws and the soil stays frozen, traffic can sheer the roots at the interface between the two. This undoes the positive root growth from the fall and has the plants starting off on the back foot when they wake up in the spring. For example, the plant now has to start growing roots from an inch rather than three or more inches deep. The issues are compounded when you get to summer and the roots are that much more behind and therefore the plants are more susceptible to stress. The USGA Green Section just published this article that explains this in more detail.
Even with a greatly reduced crew, while not near the in-season standards, we make sure the course is as playable as possible at all times so it can be played on the days it is safe for the turf.
Last winter was particularly harsh on turf on courses all over the northeast. In most cases it was on courses that are predominately poa. There were two main reasons the damage occurred: the temperatures substantially dropped immediately after a warm period and the plants were not prepared. Poa also does not survive under ice after 30 days, whereas bentgrass can survive under ice for over 90 days. This is a nice article from Penn State going into winter kill in more detail.
So while it seems like the winter is a turf managers down time, there are still decisions that need to be made to ensure that the course is ready to be pushed during the following season.
As always please email me with any questions or topics you would like to see discussed. alan@ledgerockgolf.com
