Putting green thaw

One of the many concerns that comes during the winter and early spring months is in regards to the greens freezing and thawing. While it can be harmful if too many rounds were played on partially thawed greens, many of the cultural practices we implement help minimize that risk.

When the greens thaw on a warm day, they thaw from the top down. This puts the crucial and most sensitive parts of the turfgrass plant at risk from traffic. The problem is: the crown of the plant is in the soil that is thawed, and therefore mushy, wet and easy to shift under the weight of a golfer; however, the roots of the plant are still in the frozen section of soil and thus can’t be moved. The golfer’s foot can shear the crown off from the roots, which is a quick and easy way to kill the plant.

First of all, it does take repeated traffic over a day from numerous golfers to cause an issue. One person walking across a green will not cause damage. Neither would 50 people. The problem would become more likely if rounds reached 100 or more golfers. We don’t deal with very many winter days that reach those numbers of rounds. Nevertheless, this is not an issue we take lightly. We do everything we can through our maintenance practices to mitigate the chances of damage even on a day when the rounds do start to add up.

Our first step is to make sure that the greens are in good health leading into winter. Any damage, poor roots, or other issues must be taken care of in the fall because healing won’t happen over the winter. Luckily, we have had good putting green health at the end of the season the last few years. Next, we perform a deep tine aeration, which you can read more about here. This allows for improved drainage during the winter and keeps excess moisture from backing up in the soil. Less moisture means that as the thaw begins, the upper layer is less mushy and soft and can tolerate the traffic better. Similarly, during the winter months we maintain our topdressing program. Including after the deep tine aeration, we top dress the greens as often as we can during the off season. The sand serves two main purposes. First, water moves through the sand faster than heavier soil. This helps move water out of the top layer and keeps the surface firm. Second, the sand acts as a protective layer over the top of the turfgrass plant. By covering the plant with sand, we shield it from the foot traffic.

We do monitor the greens every day to make sure that no damage will occur and would take the necessary precautions if needed. But, by preparing the greens in the winter, we are better able to ward off possible damage and keep the putting greens open throughout the winter.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don't start off 10 tee without permission from the Golf Pro Shop.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org