Winter's first snow

It was bound to happen. It is winter after all and it has been cold. Eventually one of the storms hitting New England was going to give us snow instead of rain. Of course I never said it had to last. We received about 2-3 inches starting around 1 PM. The new heater in the apartment stopped working so while the repair guy was making the trek down and up the stairs to his van for supplies and tools I kept the stairs swept off for safety. During one of these forays I noticed the snow had changed to a heavy wet "snowman" consistency. Feeling the childish impulse I decided to oblige myself (a rarity for anyone who knows me) and put a "Frosty" on the bench on the 10th tee. As I did this I could feel the precipitation changing to frozen grains. The heat was repaired and normal life resumed until the kitchen sink decided it would stop draining....

Why so glum chum? 

frozen grains on deck about 5 PM

Next morning no "Frosty"

Just another saturated winter day

And just like that it was all gone. My hope is the 1.03" and high temperature of 52 maybe broke the frost but based on the short walk to work I have my doubts. I will walk the course to check and more then likely close the greens once again. It is down to 42 already and night time temps are predicted for 20's so the cycle continues. Saturate - freeze -thaw- freeze. Fingers crossed for the hearty souls who are still playing but my gut tells me we are in for a mushy stretch which will require the greens to remain closed until they drain and firm up.

Winter and the 4 F's

The roller coaster continues. This is our second spell of single digit temperatures this winter season. It has been wet with over 7" of rain in January and fairly mild temps but these deep freezes remind us that is is truly winter. We continued our light and air enhancement of the third green. The unexpected bonus of this tree removal was the improved sight lines to the fourth hole. The stunted cherry on the edge of this tree cluster was saved, for now, and should make a nice specimen tree in the area.

3 green corner thinned out

nice view of 4

This should really help get some much needed morning sun onto the 3rd green. It will also allow for errant shots to the left be found and played easier which will speed up play.

These roller coaster temps with rain have created some issues when it comes to the ability to stay on the greens. When they are completely frozen damage is not an issue. Nor is it a big deal if they are firm when not frozen. It is when there is frost in the ground and the temps get above freezing the surface can become mushy with the ground underneath frozen. A simple way to think about when the greens are playable is the 4 F's: Frost Free or Fully Frozen. It may not be a perfect axiom but it is close.

Foot prints in soft wet greens while frozen underneath

Here is a deep dive from the USGA on the principles of winter play: USGA winter play article

ice puddle on the road

Great sunset the other night

A New Year

Another year has passed. Many might say good riddance since the weather was certainly not the best. I will try to look at the positive side that it could have been worse. The first picture tells a bit of the story. It was very wet and higher than the average in several months and overall. It was not the highest in total rainfall for my 23 yrs worth of record keeping. 2003 beat it by .41" That year had 9.63" in August but one t-storm was 4.6". The 9.57" in November of 2018 was just non-stop rain. It never seems to come in the perfect amount or at the right time. We fared much better than most of New England.

By the numbers

The new year started with almost an inch of rain overnight with some heavy winds. One of those out like a lion parables. The day turned into an absolute gem though with temps of almost 60 degrees and little wind. The course had a few players enjoying the holiday and start of a new year. I toured the course at dusk and saw three deer cross the third hole. They were happy to have survived another hunting season I am sure.

Not a bad start

spectacular day

Deer Crossing

Happy Birthday- Discovery

This map was delivered to us last week from Antone "Tony" Lima, the grandson and namesake of the Superintendent in the 60's-80's. It is an as-built of the original irrigation system. The first I have ever seen. There is a bit of the "where have you been all my life" feeling. Since we are designing a potential new system it seems a weird twist of fate to finally get my hands on this one. 80 years ago today is the date of this map. Unfortunately it is in really tough shape. We will try to have a copy made but I do not have high hopes. I have taken some pictures of it and will do more in the near future. One major discovery is the location of the 7th hole. You see, all the other maps I have seen show the 7th as a dog leg left par 4 with the green in the location of the forward tee on 8.

"Water Supply System Dec 12 1938"

7 in it's current location

1938 July "Water Mains & Tree Lines"

I have showed tons of people the remnants of what sure look to be a green complex with bunkers. Even the architects I have shown agree it sure seems like it. So was it roughed out only? Seeded and then moved? No one has ever been able to tell me they remember the green anywhere other than where it is now and this new map sure as heck proves it was, as of Dec 1938 at least. But what about the features on the ground on 8? The mystery of the 7th continues.

Below are a couple of pictures of the pond off the parking lot. One is looking East at sunset and it looks more like a sunrise with the water on fire. the other is today with a skim of ice holding the dusting of snow we received. It did not settle on the grass and we had a golfer enjoy the day. Winter on Martha's Vineyard

fire and water

ice and snow

Getting closer

Well it has been almost three weeks since the last update. I lamented then about the weather and honestly nothing has changed. We have received some rain and the place has greened up, so it is starting to Look like Spring but we had snow flurries again today so it certainly doesn't Feel like it!!
In the last post I showed the spoils from the marsh project dumped on two being spread. One of our members and landowners flew in on a Cape Air flight and grabbed this picture. I circled the two main areas we worked in. You can clearly see the trenches and fish pools dug in the marshes.

Aerial of West Chop showing our marshes

We graded out the spoils again and spread the fill over the top. It was too wet to drive the loader on and even our bobcat was rutting the fill and not able to do a great job of it. I gave it a couple more days to dry out and was able to get it smooth but it was still like walking on a waterbed and the water was trying to poke thru in a few spots.

Marsh spoils on corner of 2 fairway

spoils with a line to show rough plan for grass and pollinator habitat

Tomorrow we turn on the irrigation system. A very frightening day since we had so much frost in the ground this winter. The last time we had that much frost it took a week since we found 13 pieces of galvanized pipe that had leaks. We no longer use any galvanized pipe from the original system but if it is attached to the original 1936 main it is technically live. Last Fall we lost power to a bunch of the satellites. We knew we had to replace the leg from 9 to 8 (1500 feet) but I was hoping to find a single break in the leg from 8 to 7 and repair just that. No such luck. Similar to the other piece it was riddled with so many breaks it needed to be replaced. So another 1100 feet of trench to dig and clean up. Part of the problem with this type of work is hitting things inadvertently such as the three "abandoned" galvanized lines I hit in the first run. With the main line being 6 feet deep repairs are not fun. I am praying for a miracle and these lines are no longer connected to the main. To say we need a new irrigation system is the understatement of the century considering we are still using parts of the original installed early in the last century.

Wire and trench issues

The tree cleanup from the storms continues slow and steady. These are the ones on the lawn which I showed leaning in the last post. Pictures do not do this justice. Even the video of the partial pile accumulating does not give you the full breadth of the damage all over the property.

Two large pines on clubhouse lawn

At least we have some golfers enjoying the property. I caught these two on 8 while it was flurrying last week.

Spring

As February comes to a close this week our thoughts turn to Spring. We are seeing the signs such as grass greening up a bit, return of red wing black birds, warmer weather. It was 39 this morning but they are predicting 50 today. I played 18 holes Saturday and most of that time it was stunning. The sun went away which made the last couple of holes chilly but still nice for Winter. It rained all day Sunday so we still have not broken last years rainy cycle. The records keep on being broken with temperatures and rainfall. Last week we did not have the 70's like the rest of the area, instead a marine layer socked in and kept us in the 40's. We did set a February rainfall record, at least for my 23 years, with 8.38" so far. This is on top of 5.96" in January. Most are saying it is better than snow but my Superintendent brain keeps thinking this trend has to stop at some point. I am planning for a very dry summer.

2 Green with weak looking Poa

3 Green new shot

3 Green Test plot

3 Green same test plot different angle

5 Green

The golf course is extremely clean thanks to the work of Chris and Will this winter. They have been diligently cleaning up after every storm. The turf for the most part looks healthy. I am a little concerned about the Poa Annua on a couple of greens. It does not look good on 2 and 3 but it is hard to tell to what extent since it is still covered with dye. The check plots, where we skipped the last application, are real ugly looking on many greens. You can see the yellow squares in the pictures above. Yet, on some greens such as 5 it is hard to see the square so things are greening up for sure. Once we get through the Nor Easter coming this weekend we will be turning the corner into Spring. Since the year 2000 the earliest I have mowed greens is March 14th. I do not see that record being broken but you never know.

Busy couple of weeks

I made it to San Antonio for the Golf Industry Show and had a great time. The talks I was involved with went really well. The Great Debate was a debut light-hearted event meant to be educational but entertaining. We had a blast and the overflowing room did also. I heard a lot of positive comments throughout the rest of the week about the talk. One guy unsolicited said "was that the seminar with everyone laughing? I was in an architecture seminar next door and we were all jealous thinking we took the wrong seminar!" The other was in a booth on the trade show floor. Not as many people but just as much fun.

Speaking engagements

As I always do at GIS I spend a fair amount of time at TurfNet events. This year the Beer & Pretzels event had extra special meaning. We kicked off the Jerry Coldiron Embrace Life Awards This article sums it up perfectly: Press Release It was a very emotional night with awards given to some amazing people with stories we have all followed in the TurfNet forum over the years. We have a term called the "TurfNet Village" because we have formed a community that goes far beyond just an online forum. Another part of this wonderful evening was reuniting the ColdIrons with a student they had housed many years ago from England. That story is HERE There was a personal twist to that story since Josh Webber was my roommate for a couple of days. It was fun to meet one of the bright young men in our industry and be involved in the surprise. The TurfNet Emerald Challenge/Byrne Cup had lower attendance so instead of playing golf on a course against the Irish Greenkeepers we moved it to a Top Golf. That was a blast and I recommend you try one. Cheryl and I are looking forward to this event in Ireland come October.

TurfNet events and Professor hi-jinks 

Meanwhile back at Mink we opened the greens for the first time all year. All except number 3 which is still frozen due to all the shade even after all the trees we removed. We will continue to open that green up to more sunlight in the future.The weather continues to be a roller coaster. 25 one day then 50 the next. Otis said his yard was full of robins so maybe we are over the hump? The rain and temperatures over the weekend certainly changed the color of the course with everything starting to turn a bit green again. Finally the much awaited hard fought project to clean out the old drainage ditches in the marshes began. This may not be on the radar of the golfers who play Mink Meadows but if the intended consequences of a healthy marsh come true every golfer will be thrilled. Less Mosquitoes. A better flowing marsh and having fish pools to support natural predators is in everyone's best interest.

Marked up photo for environmental committee 

Marsh and beach channel work

Boat ride off

Update

Against my better judgement I opened the course this morning. I was surprised at how dry and firm some areas were after the 2.44' of rain last night. Clearly the frost has broken in some areas. Unfortunately the areas it has not is the mostly greens and bunkers. They were saturated and had standing water on and in them respectively. So we are open for play for the first time in 2018 albeit walkers only and on temporary greens.

7 green bunker

8 approach

Practice bunker and putting green

4 fairway puddle has shrunk tremendously from earlier in the week 

It has been very windy all morning with some sun but not much. the forecast is for temperatures to plummet to below freezing so any moisture around will lock up yet again. Hopefully the remaining frost in the ground breaks and the turf can dry and firm up before that happens. Otherwise we will be on this cycle again when the temps climb back up.

Frost just won't break

a quick update for all you frustrated golfers missing this warm spell. All greens are clear of ice and snow now finally. The third and fourth greens being our last hold outs. Of course there is a ton of ice in the swale behind three. The issue is the frost has not melted. The top 1-2 inches is saturated and it is frozen below that. I have heard estimates of 20-30 inches of frost built up in that open cold spell. The roads and paths were soup yesterday and today have dried up some. The turf was mostly still frozen yesterday and is soup today. Patience is a virtue but golfers rarely aspire towards virtuosity. All I can say is eventually we will either thaw out or freeze solid and maybe be able to get back out there. The easy visual proof I can give you are the tire tracks we are putting in the edges while trying to clean up the course from all the storms and the puddles everywhere. But who want to look at the same puddles getting ever smaller? Instead I took a couple of bunkers that are not draining because of the frost. No better proof.

3 fwy bunker

4 fwy bunker

 

Lots of recovery and the lab results are back

We have some crows poking lots of holes on 9 and 6. They are not doing much damage but the question is what are they going after?

crow damage 9 Fwy

I returned to the Island after attending the local conference and show put on by the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation. I have been on this board as a representative for the Cape Superintendents Association for several years. Currently I am President so it was an interesting show with added responsibility. Always up for a challenge I embraced this time and had a great show. I was even fortunate to introduce the keynote speaker John Dennis. Formerly of channel 7 Boston and currently WEEI sports radio and The Dennis Callahan Show

Me and John Dennis after his speech

Upon my return Thursday I walked the course w/ Bert of course and saw a marked improvement in the cold temp injury areas. I also noticed how clean the place is. Will and Chris have done a great job getting ready for another great season

8 Green Thursday

8 Approach Thursday

8 Fwy Thursday

9 Fwy Friday

Folk Art 8 Fwy Friday

From Dr. Mitkowski at URI who looked at our samples last week:

"Very good recovery over the weekend.  The dead leaves are dead but plants very healthy and new leaves produced almost immediately.  These have had 24 hour light and 75 degree temps."

These plugs were solid yellow and ugly went i sent them in so great news. Of course it has been cold this week and it is snowing as I type this so recovery will not be this rapid. Forecast is good for next week and the grackles and red wing blackbirds have returned so Spring is upon us.

Winter Injury

Well we were plodding along with a fairly easy Winter so far. We have had some snow but it seemed to melt quickly. We have been open and on the greens most of the season as well since very little frost built up in the ground. Once the snow melted we were good to go. We had a severe cold snap back on Valentines Day weekend but had snow cover so I thought we would be protected. The snow melted and we once again cleaned off the greens and opened up. By all accounts it then took a few more days for these symptoms to appear. If it is direct cold temperature injury was it just a perfect storm of warm weather and a severe cold snap? The plants have certainly been acting funny with a flowering dandelion spotted on 5 earlier.The damage is on 3,4,8 and 9. Very little on 6 and 7 fairways. To be clear I do not know what this is and have never seen anything like it, ever. My first reaction seeing this up close was it reminded me of a slide I have seen in seminars of cold temperature injury to Bermuda grass. I have a couple samples in my office incubating to see if they are alive. I will also send out a couple samples to a lab and see what they say.

Winter injury on Bermuda from Internet

3 fairway

3 fairway

4 rough

6 fairway/rough

8 fairway

8 green, collar, and rough

9 fairway

8 green under microscope - leaf damage

Weather Data from our station

Aside form the odd looking patterns that resemble the picture taken from the Internet why are the x-country ski tracks still green? The pressure compacted the snow and it insulated the grass more? Hopefully I will have answers for you in the next post. Hopefully the damage is just to the leaf tissue and not the crowns of the plant. So much for an easy Winter.