Greens Closing This Week

The coming cold temperatures are forcing us to begin the final winterization procedures for the greens and close the greens for the season.  This final winter procedures involve a heavy topdressing and solid tine aeration of the greens.  We will be working through the greens today and tomorrow to finish.  The temporary targets will be in the approach for the winter months.  Naturally, cart use is done and halfway house is being winterized today as well.

From a previous blog post:

We close the greens before the soil on the greens begins to freeze.  This practice prevents unrecoverable wear, turfgrass damage, and soil compaction or displacement during winter months.  Reopening of the greens in the spring will occur as temperatures and soil conditions allow.
The main reasons for closing the greens, in no particular order are: (1) the inability of the grass to recover from wear, (2) traffic on frozen soils can cause much more damage to the grass, and (3) moist soils on the surface, and frozen soils underneath can result in compaction or foot print marks.  The unavoidable annoyance of cold temperatures and the cold soil temperatures in the winter causes the grass to stop growing.  If the grass is not growing, it lacks the ability to recover from damage.  
In the spring, as the soils start to thaw, it is inevitable that the surface of the soil with be thawed, while underneath, the soil will still be frozen.  This opens up the possibility for soil compaction or, if the soil is saturated enough, dents in the green from foot prints causing an uneven surface.

The course can still be utilized for winter recreation.  We will keep you updated with the progress of the ice rink, sledding and cross country skiing conditions through the winter.