April Fools

As if we needed another dose of cold weather to, perhaps, remind us that we should have booked that vacation to some remote tropical island to escape this never ending winter.  Well, it appears I am the fool who thought March would go out like a lamb.  The great news is we are getting closer to the beginning of the season and we have some early signs of winter injury recovery.

Early signs of growth on 5

The question remains... When will the course open?  Ideally, consistent night time temps above freezing would be great for turf and growth.  While I have seen signs of turf growth on the course, temperatures for the remainder of the week are cold and will more or less cease growth.  Grass needs the ability to recover from stress (traffic and play) so it does not wear thin and invite other issues.  Until we have favorable conditions, we will continue to monitor the course, weather and make a judicious decision on course opening.

There is some active Poa growth
under the protective layer of
sand we applied last fall.  Mainly
leaf tip damage in this area.

Over the weekend we had a couple days with temps slightly below and above 50 degrees.  After a course tour today, there are positive signs to winter injury recovery on greens in areas I thought were beyond recovery.  While I am happy to see this, there are other areas where I believe we will not see recovery without reseeding.  This is okay, in a sense, because it allows the opportunity to replace a weak species of grass (Annual Bluegrass or Poa) with a much hardier species in bentgrass.  It is exactly the same process homeowners use on their lawns by overseeding weak areas with improved varieties of grass.  While we would all prefer green grass, regardless of species, bentgrass is what makes it through stressful periods typically without harm.

Evergreen cover on 5.

The other Evergreen cover
on 11.

We are fortunate to have two evergreen covers and we have installed them on 5 and 11 to speed up the growth process.  I am skeptical of these two greens the most because of higher Poa populations and the covers create a greenhouse effect which help warm soils in case we need to overseed.

Part of our seasonal staff has returned and it is great to have them back.  These men are the backbone of our operation and are the seasoned ones who know what to do without much direction.  As of today, we were able to blow off greens and tees, continue cleaning debris, replace sod removed from collars and greens for drainage, and place bunker rakes.  A lot of time will be spent "spring cleaning" and it is always a process.  While we hope to have everything cleaned up before we open, chances are, there may be a few areas which will need to be touched up when you come out.

Fernando prefers using the turbine
blower over hand rakes.  Me too.

Thank you to the Members who have signed up and followed us on Twitter.  A thank you is also extended to Curt whose encouragement brought some more followers on our side of the club.  It is an easy way for anyone with a smart phone to follow the happenings around the club.  You can follow the Golf Shop @WiClubGolfShop and us @WisClubGrounds.  Also follow @WisconsinClub for exciting events and dining opportunities.

Vole damage on 6 fairway.