WVCCgreens

The snow is melting, when can I play golf?

With the melting of the snow everyone is anticipating the golf course to open. But, in some cases it does not open on that warmer than usual 65 degree day in February. Why? There are a few reasons.
1) Until all the snow melts the melting snow acts the same as rain keeping the surface very wet. Remember in the winter months excess moisture is all run off and does not absorb into the soil.
2) The greens have been frozen solid for the last couple of months. It will take a few days of moderate weather to remove the frost layer.
3) There should not be any foot traffic on greens unless the greens thawed out completely and firm or frozen solid. Why is this? If the top ½” of the green is thawed out but the rest is still frozen the movement of the soil from foot traffic will shear the roots at that 1/2'” level. Most root growth occurs in the growing months of Oct, Nov, April and May. By reducing the roots the grass will not be adequate enough to tolerate the summer heat.