Greens Are Open

After several months, the greens are now back in play.  When deciding to open the greens in the spring, we wait for them to dry out enough from the winter thaws to better handle the traffic, and we want some green to return to the grass.

The first thing we do to the greens to prepare them for opening is mark the green margins with white dots.  After several months of no mowing there is much less distinction between the collar height and the green height.  We have a board cut the to width of the collar that we use as a guide from the bluegrass to determine where the edge of the green needs to be.  This is done several times through the summer also, but usually only is a few problem areas.  We will keep these white dots visible for a few weeks until the edge becomes more prominent.

The next step is to roll the greens.  When the moisture freezes in the soil it expands, just like anywhere else.  This causes the soil to be very soft after the intial thaw.  Running a roller over the greens settles the soil to prevent foot prints from showing on the greens.

Once the greens are rolled, they are ready to be mowed.  The first few mowings will be at a higher height than what we mow during the season.  With the soft soils in the spring, and the tall grass for the winter growth, it is possible to clip the grass too short if we mowed at the height we do in season.  As the soil settles and the grass begins to grow more rapidly, we will change to the height accordingly.