The covers
were pulled this morning to allow us to evaluate the progress and apply a
fertilizer application. The weather
this week was not what we had hoped for.
The average high this week was 57 degrees while the average low was 36
degrees. These temperatures do not
promote rapid growth or seed germination.
After
removing the covers the results were very consistent with our expectation given
the below average temperatures. We are
starting to see recovery on damaged areas especially on greens such as #1, #7,
#8, #11, #13, and #15. The more severe
greens such as #9, #10, #14, #18 and the putting green are slowly filling in,
but we need to start getting new seed germination to see drastic improvement to
these greens. The low temperatures are
not conducive to seed germination but the covers have been left on the majority
of the time to aide in increasing our soil temperatures.
The
positive news is that even with our cooler temperatures we have seen some
improvement to all the greens. Pictures
taken last week as compared to this week show a dramatic increase in color and
growth. Damaged areas are beginning to
fill in from the extreme edges and pushing towards the center of the
damage. This progress should allow us
to begin opening more holes of golf in the very near future, but we need to
continue to be patient. Opening these
greens too early could result in greens that struggle and potentially fail
during the stressful summer temperatures.
We will continue to evaluate greens frequently to determine when we can
open more holes for play.
During the
last few weeks I have been asked many questions and I wanted to address some of
the more frequent questions.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Why didn’t the Falls Greens sustain the same
damage as the Old Course Greens?
The Falls Greens have more
surface drainage than the Old Course Greens.
What this actually means is water will run off the green surface due to
the slope of the green before it has an opportunity to freeze and cause an ice
situation.
2. Why didn’t the covers protect us from the
damage?
The covers are made of a
permeable material and allow water and air to flow through it. The covers are designed to protect us from
extreme cold temperature damage as well as wind burn to the grass during years
with little or no snow cover to the property.
3. Why didn’t some of the other area clubs
experience the same damage we did?
Our original Walter Travis
greens are some of the most unique putting surfaces anywhere the game of golf
is played. The contours and undulations
are bold, challenging, while also being so much fun to putt. Unfortunately, the low-lying areas in the
greens hold water. As compared to the
Falls Greens, they do not allow water to flow off the green before it has a
chance to freeze. Water on many of the
Old Course Greens becomes trapped and the frozen soil does not allow the
drainage under the greens to effectively remove the water from the greens. This water freezes and thaws and refreezes
which is the perfect recipe for ice damage.
4. When will we have all 27 holes open?
Honestly, we don’t know the
answer to this question. There are a lot
of different variable that weigh in on this.
Most importantly is the weather.
We will be able to open up more holes soon, but some of the majority of
the severely damaged areas, are going to take some time.
I
appreciate the continued support and patience that our membership has
shown. Please rest assured we are doing
everything possible to expedite the recovery process. We will continue to keep you posted on the
recovery process and will be opening more greens when we are assured they are
healthy enough to open.
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