March Update

After being buried in ice, warm temperatures and a healthy dose of rain have thawed things considerably. Most of the golf course has bared off almost completely. And with another rain system coming this week, all surfaces will certainly be clear of snow and ice. Some large temperature swings have taken place. Following a brief dip well below freezing early in the week, things will warm up with the rain before plunging again into the weekend. Such swings are never welcomed. Warm temperatures can induce the turf to take in water, where a rapid freeze can cause turf injury. We are hopeful that soil temps remain low enough to keep the turf hardened off and dormant until consistent warm temperatures arrive and the plants can come out of hibernation and start growing.

When the course was still under ice I took a sample from 10 Green. The sample was brought back into my office where I let the it thaw out. After a couple of days, new growth was witnessed. Once the sample was dry I began giving it fresh water where a noticeable jump in growth was witnessed. As stated in the last post, a sample is only a small representation of the rest of the acres of turf, but it is looking good nonetheless. A group of progress pictures below show how the sample has fared over a week of being indoors.

Day 0. Just after extraction. Still covered in ice.

Sample placed in tupperware dish surrounded by sand

Day 3. New growth coming through

Day 3 side view

Day 4. Sample dried out. First splash of water given.

Later on Day 4. Water gave a noticeable difference

Day 6. Lush growth.

Day 7. Josh Donaldson disappearing.

With how this sample has fared and now that we are free of ice coverage I will likely hold off of any additional samples. Barring unforeseen weather related events we will be pulling the tarps off in the next 2-3 weeks when some of our seasonal staff start coming back. Exciting times! I will have another post up next week updating progress on Phase 2.