Spring Update

Published March 20, 2009

With March 20th being the first day of spring, you can already smell the freshness in the air. The birds are starting to sing, the grass is starting to green up, and of course, the eagles are active again. Considering the long winter with near record snowfall, the golf course came through pretty good. There is more snow mold than usual in the rough and a little on some of the fairway edges but the greens, tees and the bulk of the fairways made it through in good shape. There were some times of concern as we had some early thaws followed by a rapid freeze. The only area of significant winter injury is a little spot on the backside of #7 green, which is really nothing to be concerned with.

Currently we do have the pins on the greens but it is still early [March 19th] and this could change as the weather changes. If we have some significant rain, the greens could easily become very soggy and jello-like. Allowing foot traffic on the greens under this scenario could have a lasting negative effect on the playability of the greens for the rest of the season. It is in the best interest of the membership that we do what is necessary to retain the integrity of our putting surfaces and this may mean that there will be brief times when we have temporary pins on the approaches. On the flip side, if the weather stays warm and the grass gets an early foothold, we could be playing the greens from here on out. But in the end, the decision is really up to Mother Nature.

Last year the weather was perfect for growing grass and the golf course was, as many members were proud to say..."In the best shape ever!" This was great to hear since the year before we were hearing the same comments from the membership. I guess that means that we are being progressive and making some inroads towards our goal of being the best we can be. As much as I would like to take credit for the quality of the golf course, much of what we do is predicated on the weather. Believe me, there's no one else on this planet that would like to see a repeat of the weather that we had last year. With this in mind, let's all use our "collective thought" and keep thinking...Good Weather, Good Weather. Smiles!

See you on the golf course,

Gordon Seliga, CGCS

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