When the Frost is on the Punkin

Photo Credit: Juan Wilson on 28 October 2010 for Island Breath - 
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2010/10/frost-on-pumpkin.html)

It finally happened.....Frost on the Punkin!  I had to scrape a good layer of ice off my windshield this morning and our fairways, roughs and tees were covered with billions of gleaming white ice crystals when I pulled into the shop parking lot at 5:30 AM.  While this frost was not quite a full-blown hard frost (the low was 33 degrees) it did put a kink in the maintenance crew's plans for the day as we had to wait a few hours before starting some of our planned tasks and ate into our head start on play a bit.  Luckily it did not affect our regular 9:00 AM tee times this time around.

Following Mother Nature's cue, I figured now would be a good time to review a little bit on frost protocols here at the club as it pertains to golf course prep and tee times.  Now to state the obvious, frost delays are something that none of us like to experience because as I mentioned above, it steals precious time away from the maintenance crew's head-start on play and does the same to the valuable playing time of our members.  

It messes up plans for everyone involved, simple as that.  

However, at the end of the day we are all in this together as we have the common goal of making sure that the golf course is looked after in order to provide the best playing conditions not just right now but next week, next month and next year as well.  In order to do that, sometimes we have to make decisions that look past the short-term.  Managing frost delays appropriately is one of them.

Here is what we ask of our members and guests during frost:

• Before coming to the club to play, track the weather.  A basic rule of thumb is when predicted temperatures are to be around the 40 degree mark or colder, chances of frost are high.

• Upon arrival at the club, please check in with the pro shop for the thumbs-up to use the range tee and putting green before starting your day.  Normally, the putting green and range are among the first to clear and delays for these areas are usually minimal.  We do have our covered hitting bay on the South end of the range for your use during those prolonged delays.  

• Get confirmation from the pro shop that it is OK to tee off on the first tee before proceeding.  Sometimes, things may not be what they seem.  Our first two holes have tall Douglas Firs around them that block out the morning sun and significantly prolong the burn-off of frost relative to the greens that you can see around the clubhouse (putting greens, #18 and #10).  

• Keep your cart on the cart path.  Often times, we will allow play to begin before the frost has fully cleared off shady areas of our fairways and roughs (but has cleared off our greens).  This is a calculated risk that we take as well as a concession that we make in the name of providing excellent customer service.  Please take this request seriously and be considerate of your golf course.  

Fir trees blocking morning sun on #1 green.

We do our best to provide estimates of if and when frost will clear, however, this is often very difficult if not impossible to do.  Truth be told, if I had the ability to predict this with 100% accuracy, I would be a self-made millionaire and probably on a beach somewhere in Hawaii.  (Insert big grin here).  Each frost delay is evaluated on a case-by-case basis and we will do our best to communicate the progression of the thaw-out through the pro shop.  

One thing that many of us often forget is that even after the frost clears, the maintenance staff still needs to get out on the turf to prepare the course for play in front of golfers and this takes time.  We do not mean to prolong the delay as our goal is to provide you and those after you with the best possible playing conditions that day whether that means mowing the greens, cutting a fresh cup or raking the bunkers.  Now enough business talk, here is a nice little poem by James Whitcomb Riley (1853-1916) to get you in the mood for frost season:

"When the Frost is on the Punkin"

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.
They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here—
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.
The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.
Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...
I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be
As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me—
I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

Fall 2013 Greens Aerification in the Books!

It has been exactly twenty-one days since we core aerified and sanded our greens.  I wanted to share the following sequence of photos, showing the healing process.  Each photo was taken at 10 day intervals, beginning on the day that we aerified the greens.  Notice the progression of the holes getting smaller and the sand working itself into the turf canopy as time passes.

September 24th- day of aerification

October 4th- 10 days later.

October 14th- 20 days later.

One of the most important things that we do during the aerification process is add sand to the putting surface.  This accomplishes a few fundamental things:

• Dillutes thatch buildup.  If left unchecked, thatch can cause the green to become spongy and prone to disease and weeds.
• Firms up putting surface.  This enhances ball roll and reduces pitting from balls landing on the green.
• Smooths out the putting surface.  The addition of sand smooths out the low spots for a truer ball roll.

Last winter on a hunch, we took a hard look at our sand source and found through professional lab testing, that the quality control on our existing sand source had declined below our standards and had ratios of silt and clay that were much too high.  Silt and clay are not ideal additions to a greens profile as these are tiny particles that can clog up pore space, reducing water infiltration rates and gas exchange capabilities (oxygen).  After a lot of testing and research, we were fortunate enough to find another pit in the area that produced a exemplary sand that was compatible with the existing sand in our greens profile.  

This fall was the first time we had used the new sand source in the aerification process and we immediately noticed a significant difference with how easy the sand fell into the holes and worked itself into the profile.  There was not as much "bridging" of sand across the holes which meant we were able to add more sand than ever before to the greens profile.  The sand was not as sticky (less silt and clay), so it was much easier to work it into the canopy which promoted faster healing time and less wear and tear on our mower blades.  

To summarize, the new sand made everyone happy.  The agronomy crew did not have to work as hard to get the sand into the profile, our mechanic did not have to work as hard to keep the mower reels sharp and our membership got to putt on grass rather than sand sooner than past aerifications!