It Can't Get Any Worse, Can It?

The weather affects what we do in so many ways. There is a fine line between pushing to get work completed and causing more harm then good. Over the past couple of weeks we have chosen to minimize the amount of equipment on the course. In wet conditions mowers slide, scalp and compact soils. Vehicles skid and tear the turf. The equipment we use on the course is responsible for causing most of the wear on the turf and we have to be aware of that when making decisions. We know what the staff are capable of achieving in a week of dry weather, and it will only take a short time of routine to get the course to where we would like to see it.

When it comes to greens speeds and inclement weather we are in a no win situation and I'll talk more about this throughout the season. I can't count the number of times we come to work in the morning and the greens are uncutable because of the amount of rain we received the night before. Oh, did I mention these days usually fall on Wednesdays and Saturdays. By 11am the sun is shinning and the tee sheet is full because those who cancelled in the morning now want to play in the afternoon. Then, the acidity of the rain helps to release a little of the nitrogen available to plant in the soil and as a result wet, flushing, uncut, slow greens. Or even more frustrating at times, we get a frost like the one last Saturday morning, potentially the nicest day of the year so far and we are unable to cut because of the delay. The weather will get better, I hope!

The storm last week damaged three trees on the course. Two pines between 6 and 7 and a Manitoba Maple at the back of the parking lot. The course cleanup is the frustrating part. We can't mow until we clean and we've cleaned 3 times this year.

By the end of today the course will be cleaned and our focus will turn to the bunkers and hopefully a mowing routine that will bring some consistency to the playability of the course.