Catching up on turf conditions & Tee-Up NE

I would be remiss in my duties if I did not mention the damage we have suffered from the Winter weather. Amazingly the majority of the course looks great. I thought for sure we would have damage on fairways where we have in the past. They were under water several times going into winter and some under ice coming out. So far it look like they will be fine. The greens looked very good also as they came out of ice and snow cover. The 3rd had a small section in the middle that looked a bit off but that was about it. As the frost came out of the ground and we had a few freeze thaw cycles the 3rd and the putting green regressed. The entire right side of 3 looked dead quite frankly while the PG had only two small patches. Standard operating procedure is to take a sample (plug) with a cup cutter and bring it inside to incubate in a sunny window. If it lives you have a decent chance the rest of the area will as well.
good news after only a few days inside

bottom of picture is the plug from the nursery

under magnification there was healthy turf. another good sign
As the pictures show it looks as though the turf will recover. Never any guarantees but a good sign to see green in the sheath  under magnification and then growth after a bit of heat being inside. So what happens now for the greens? Well we could cover the bad areas and try to promote some warming of the soil or we could wait for Mother Nature to wake up and send us some heat. The forecast this week showed little sun so a cover would not gain much. Plus 3 green gets very little sun to begin with (might there be a correlation there as to why this is the only green with this much damage?) We have plenty to do still cleaning up the course and trying to get the irrigation system on so baby sitting covers is not that appealing. It would also mean a temporary on 3 and the natives have suffered enough so we will wait. If this is our only damage after that Winter I feel blessed and have very little to complain about. It is that time of year again where we enjoy the epitome of green and opulence aka The Masters. I would like to continue to plant the seed so that you all link the end of the tourney with the beginning of the Tee-Up NE golf auction. This is a fundraiser for turf research in New England. We get clubs to donate rounds of golf and then have an online auction where you the golfer get to win and support turf research. http://www.tee-upnewengland.com/

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