Snow Melt, February 2011

This could be considered an addendum to my post from a few weeks ago (Snow and Ice Management from January 31) and I will treat it as such. Through the week of February 14-18 we experienced a considerable warm-up and melting of almost all of the snow that had accumulated this year. The downside to what we experienced is that as the snow melts it obviously leaves behind water that at times has trouble leaving putting surfaces. To aid in the water getting off of the surface we have been attempting to move the snow out of the lower portion of the greens where the ice tends to form. Below is an example of that from our 8th green.

As you can see from this picture, as I pushed the snow to the higher part of the green it drains to the low then off the front of the green. The low areas are where we experienced damage last year and those are the areas that we want to prevent ice build-up.

As the snow melts, it drains down the front of the green and at times hits a bit of a problem at the front of the green where there is a slight rise in the grade of the green running into the approach. In the fall of 2011 we spend a lot of time stripping sod from the edge of the green into the approaches to gain this surface drainage back that had been lost from years of topdressing.

In many of those areas the green is draining very well and in others a small amount of sod work will need to happen going as much as 6" to 1' onto the green to get the grade sloping down the entire way onto the approach. In areas where the grade isn't steep enough I have taken a shovel and cut a trench in order to get the water to move more quickly off of the surface. In the image above the trench was cut on Thursday when there was a large puddle sitting on the green, the picture was taken on Friday and as you can see all of the water has drained off. I realize that these are unsightly and will be for a few weeks into the golf season, I think it is a small price to pay if we are able to keep the putting surface alive as a result.

Scott

Snow and Ice Management

In an effort to prevent the damages that we experienced in 2009-2010, my Assistant Nate and I have been spending quite a bit of time on the course monitoring the greens specifically and taking preventative and corrective measures to minimize the possibility of damage like what we experienced last year.


Starting on November 19, with the help of two assistants from the Merit Club we were able to get non-permeable covers installed on greens 10 and 12. These covers began in Minnesota where numerous people install hockey rinks in their yards and the cover was used to prevent the death of the yard under 4" of ice. From there they grew into successful covers for greens throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin where large ice accumulation can occur.

The photo at the left shows the final stakes being put in place to hold the cover in place for the winter. This is a big process which requires a lot of manpower to get accomplished not only due to the size and weight of the covers but also the foam matting that goes underneath the cover. Before the cover goes down, we first have to unroll 9 foot wide rolls of packing foam across the entire green before the main cover goes down. This is to allow some cushioning and allow for gas exchange underneath the cover. On top of the foam layer, we ran a flat vent tube with holes every 3 feet that we can attach to a blower and circulate air under the cover.


Up until the end of December, the year had been going along almost exactly and we would prefer with cold temperatures and frozen ground underneath a blanket of snow. December 29, 30, and 31 brought us a new challenge however when the temperatures warmed enough to melt nearly all of the snow that had fallen to that point in the year. On December 31, Nate and I spent the day going from green to green to squeegee water off that had been left behind from the melting snow. The day was going well until we reached number 5 green and found snow cover with approximately 1" of water right at the surface of the green... we knew this would freeze by the next morning if we didn't remove it now.

The picture at left shows the water logged center section of the green which we were able to push off with the squeegee, the rest of the snow we had to push off with shovels in order to assure that further melting didn't cause ice problems.

After we cleared nearly all of #5 green of snow and water it was beginning to rain so we hurried to #4 which is suspected may be in similar condition with snow and water covering the surface, unfortunately I was right. Below are photos of # 4 green from December 31 and then from January 5 and you can see the benefit that clearing the snow and water had, on the right side of the green there is no ice accumulation, unfortunately as you can see there is a bit on the left side from the rain that fell later in the evening on December 31.




At this point on the last day of January, we appear to be well ahead of the position we were in a year ago. There is a small amount of ice on #4 and 5 greens which we have attempted to melt and remove and ultimately we resorted to puncturing the layer of ice so the Carbon Dioxide can escape. Now we hope that the snow that is on the way doesn't melt and refreeze anytime before March and we should have a much better start to the 2011 season.

Scott

Snow, not ice... this is a good thing!

I receive questions nearly every week asking how the current weather is affecting the greens. In determining the health of the greens, it is important to understand the different forces that can impact the grass negatively and understand what the ideal situation is. For us, the best thing that can happen is to experience a period of time with below 32 degrees to allow the ground to fully freeze then follow that up with a blanket of snow for insulation. In this scenario the snow acts as a blanket against the extreme cold that we experience here in the upper Midwest.

One of the difficulties in determining the health of the plant is that we are dealing with a living breathing organism and it is difficult for me to say exactly what is happening. I can only answer based upon what scientific data shows along with my instincts and experience. What I can tell you right now is that we are not currently experiencing any ice cover on the greens here at Kenosha Country Club, there was a small amount on the front right portion of #9 green but that has since been removed. Most of the greens have at least 70% snow cover and many are entirely blanketed which is a beneficial, natural insulation.

The snow that we are currently experiencing (December 21, 2010) has covered the golf course and we will have to wait a few days to determine if it is all good or if some has formed into ice.