Drying out.

The course has really benefited from 8 days without rain (the longest dry spell since May last year). We've even managed to get buggies back on.
Despite the almost daily temperatures which have hovered around freezing, we have been able to start catching up with many outstanding jobs. We have turfed many of the holes created by tree removal as well as the area on the 3rd fairway slope. This area has suffered from settlement and the turf was removed to level this area up. It is hoped later this year to return the slope to a fairway height of cut.
Hopefully next week, we will finish the turfing and start on some small drainage repairs on the 5th, 7th, 15th & 16th holes. We are also in the middle of spraying the fairways with iron to green them up and kill any moss. We also plan to renovate the large bunker on the front practice green.
We are looking into replacing the path material around the putting green. Prices for various options are being obtained.
Lets hope the dry spell continues, hopefully with higher temperatures so we can get back on the main greens.

Frost

One of the things that confuses golfers is the timing and use of winter greens.
When the weather is frosty damage can occur to the greens in a number of different ways.
The 1st way is if the surface is covered in frost and the actual grass plant is frozen. Foot traffic across the green snaps off the small delicate leaves destroying the capillary tubes inside the plant. This is visible when the frost lifts as brown or "burn" marks on the turf.
The 2nd form of damage is when the surface is frost free but the soil underneath is still frozen. The action of walking and turning on the turf, shears the root away due to the surface being soft and unstable and the roots being held in the ice.
Another issue with ice below the surface is trapped moisture, as the water has no way of passing through the rootzone.
All the above, increase the stress on the plant, making them disease and drought prone.

The removal of shade around the greens has always been a priority at MGC, one of the reasons we remove greenside trees. It is vital to get sunshine on to the putting surfaces to raise soil temperatures and minimse frozen soil.

Tree roots

We been hard at work despite the snow removing, root mass and moss covered turf from the R/H side of the 14th hole. We took 10 trailers of debris away and still had to chop back shallow roots with an axe.

As you can see, there are many shallow roots starving the turf of nutrients and moisture. They also break thru the surface and create dangerous lies for shots from the rough.
The areas will be re-turfed and we can work on the surrounding rough to bring definition and promote the desirable grass species.