Tis the season for frost delays, yet another necessary evil in golf course management.  Last week, including a very busy Black Friday, the course was hit with long frost delays day after day with play starting at 8:30 or later.  Your understanding is much appreciated as we monitor the conditions and try to get you golfing as soon as possible.

Occasionally, we will work through the frost in the areas that have not been deeply frozen.  The greens are always the last portion to frost and also, the last to thaw out.  The maintenance staff might be working on changing cups or even mowing greens during a frost delay.  They've been trained to examine the turf before entering an area to avoid damage.

Last week, I think I encouraged working through the frost more than I should have.  We had a recap of the degrees of frost during our morning meeting.  The temperature continued to drop from that point on and the course had some hard frost here, some soft frost there, and no frost in many spots.  Eventually, we had to redirect our mowers to the portions of turf that were still workable.

Here is what happens when traffic meets frosted turf:
Notice how the tee is not damaged, however, the surrounding turf is black with tire tracks.  The taller turf, mowed at 1.5 inches will freeze well before the 1/2 inch turf on the tee.  The cold air surrounds each blade in a looser canopy and the cells freeze.  When feet or vehicles compress the turf, it breaks instead of bending.  That is the crunch you hear on frosted turf and the reason we have to wait to release play on a very cold morning. 

This occurred back on November 24th and we were back to all green turf by the 27th.  The individual plants were not frozen all the way to the crown.  The tips were killed, but the grass grew out of the damage with no lasting effects. 

The begonias were not so lucky: