Leaves and frost

October is beautiful around the area, and our property is no exception. Leaves are changing color, the turf is rebounding from a long summer season, and the weather is near perfect. So, as we head into the 2^nd week of October, it is time for our annual discussion regarding leaves and frost.

We have not had any frost yet, but the leaves have started to come down. So, our blowers and vacuum will be out in full force for the next several weeks. Here are a few things to keep in mind during this time of year:

•  If it is frosty or wet, we may have to wait until later in the day or for another day entirely before we can resume cleanup. Similarly, if it is windy, trying to corral the leaves is nearly impossible. We may choose to skip trying to clean the playing surfaces until a calmer day. So, playing through leaves may happen.
• Blowers will be running for several hours or more each day. They cannot stop for every golfer that is within earshot or we would never finish. The same is true for the vacuum. Please be patient.
• We make piles for the vacuum in the most efficient places. For example, blowing a large amount of leaves the entire length of a hole does not make sense. We make piles where most of the leaves are already located. Sometimes this will be near the line of play and balls can easily be lost in the piles. Unfortunately, this is a fact of fall golf. We will make every attempt to keep our piles away from play as much as possible.
• Lastly, while leaf cleanup overwhelmingly dominates our course prep attention, we do have other tasks we are trying to accomplish. We must balance our efforts. So there may be days where there are clearly leaves to be blown, but the Grounds staff is working on other things also.

As for the nuisance that is frost, we are not too far away from our first occurrence of the season. We can promise that we hate frost more than golfers. Nevertheless, we can’t control it and must deal with it also.

We make every effort possible to provide the best conditions each day. This does not mean conditions are the same every day- the course will not play the same on a rainy spring day as it does on a dry, early summer day- but our goal is to make each day the best it can be. All our maintenance is aimed at improving turf health and providing good conditions. Frost makes this particularly difficult.

Typically, a frosty morning happens before a day of nice weather and a busy tee sheet. We have lots of people wanting to enjoy the course and the Grounds department is not able to adequately prepare the course due to the delay. We achieve everything we can, but sometimes it is not feasible to fit an entire morning of maintenance in between when the frost lifts and when golfers are ready to play. This is hard to manage.

We also must be weary of causing damage to the turfgrass. We must wait also. While our time is not wasted while we wait (there are ALWAYS things to do!), we still are not able to start our regular morning routine. We cannot get our machines on the grass and most times we cannot even walk on the grass (the exception being when the frost is in some areas but not others). Protecting the turf is important, so we wait just like the golfers. All of this comes to a head when the frost starts to break: we hurry out and try to get the course prepared as quickly as possible, but we also try to let the golfers go at the earliest possible moment. Care must be taken not to rush back onto the grass though.

The golf course is in terrific shape. Between leaves and frost, Mother Nature tries to spoil the beauty of October and a good course, but we will work through it. With a little patience from everyone, the fall season will go smoothly.

 

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please don’t stand in one place for an extended period of time to practice putting. Your footprints can be worn into the green.

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

Golf Cart tips

 

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org