Winter Play Cancel The title field is required!

1. Harris Russell M

   
   1/3/2012 8:01 AM

   Once again I must dip into the well of knowledge. This is for those of you who allow winter play on greens. With an unusually mild winter so far we have been receiving a tremendous amount of play by winter standards. Our greens, which are still open, are getting the living s**t kicked out of them. The ball marks and traffic wear are getting out of control. For the guys out there with open greens, how are you dealing with this? My plan of attack so far has been to fill each ball mark with green sand, and possibly continuing topdressing greens somewhat heavy all winter long. Right now closing greens is not an option, hopefully if this continues I can convince the powers that be otherwise. I feel the revenue generated over the next 2 months will not be enough to cover the repairs needed on greens come spring time. Im looking for some different or new ideas any of you may have.
   
   Thanks in advance!
   
   Russ Harris
   Golf Course Supt.
   Galloping Hill GC

   
   
   
   
2. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   1/3/2012 9:01 AM

   As a course that is open all year, we see the same effects from cold weather as you - lots of wear and ball marks. Not much you can do about either until the temperature warms back up enough to stimulate growth. The best thing to do is prevent by rotating traffic areas and educating the importance repairing ball marks. The later is usually impossible and the fingers always point to their fellow golfers, never to themselves.
   
   What we do though, is use black sand on a frequent basis to lightly topdress the surfaces. The black sand improves heat retention and can actually stimulate growth on a warm afternoon. It won't take care of the problem, but helps smooth and level the putting surface. Another thing, our DOG has his rangers carry ball mark repair tools with them and requires them to assist in the repairing of the ball marks. The scar is still present, but at least the surface is somewhat smoother than before.
   
   Frequent rolling versus mowing helps as well if you have a roller and are capable of doing such.

   
   
   
   
3. Timothy Walker

   

   0 posts
   
   1/3/2012 9:01 PM

   I used two cups on the green to rotate the flag in years past. This season we are closed from the effects of Hurricane Irene and TS Lee.
   
   I would continue the topdressing and as long as the soil doesnt freeze, continue changing cups. But seriously consider the 2 cup method.
   
   Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet for those of us in the daily fee / for profit business.

   
   
   
   
4. Christopher Lewis

   

   0 posts
   
   1/4/2012 10:01 AM

   In our climate our greens freeze solid in early December and don't completely thaw until mid February. I will topdress the greens weekly from early November until late December trying to add a little protection to the plant crowns. We also cut 3 cups in each green in late November and rotate the flag after 100 rounds of golf. When we get warm days the top 1" of the greens will usually thaw out, and we will get some gnarly ball marks and some wear and tear from foot traffic. Our greens look pretty bad the first week of March, but after the first mow and once the grass starts growing in the spring we typically grow right out of any damage from winter golfers.