Is snow really a bad thing!

[AlchemyGolf]

Apart from the frustration of not being able to get on the course (or Bike in my case) is snow really a bad thing.

Im no expert greenkeeper so im not sure what affect a blanket of snow has to the ground/turf but the fact that the course gets a sustained break from golfing traffic will be a good thing for the condition of the course early season I would have thought.

 

[Robobum]

I know that the grasses will be dormant at this time of year but I'd imagine the lack of air circulation beneath the blanket of snow is less than ideal.

 

[madandra]

Alchemy, I can see your point but one disadvantage is that the greenkeeping staff cannot carry out any drainage ar landscaping work due the the ground being solid. I know my course and courses up and down the land will use the 4 weeks of snow as an excuse for not carrying out work on the course.

 

[jammydodger]

Hey Alchemy nice to see you're still lurking

I was thinking something similar the other day and wondering how the course would hold up with no traffic. I can only assume it wouldnt be detrimental. It wont take long to mud them up again though as it'll be very wet when we're allowed back on.

 

[matt01]

is there not a greenkeeper on here

talking to the green keeper at my course and he says it is a good think with no traffic no mud and mess

 

[triguy]

As an ex-greenkeeper (is there such a thing?), I can say that a prolonged spell of lying snow is indeed a double edged sword. It is true that course traffic is severly diminished at a time of year when most damage can occur but as it is pointed out maintenance and upgrade works can be curtailed. With any long spell of lying snow there is always the problem of snow mould, especially with the more delicate grasses (bents, fescues etc), this is partly down to the air circulation being reduced and a slight temperature inversion caused by the insulating layer of snow, amongst other variables. One other, less golf related problem, is that I tended to lose a fair amount of cash at poker during these down times so I for one was not too enamoured by the white stuff.

 

[madandra]

but no work being done to prepare the course for the coming season.

 

[slugger]

snow is a great thing... means i can go skiing without going abroad

now all we need to do is figure a way to divert it from golf courses then i can have the best of both worlds!

 

[AlchemyGolf]

As an ex-greenkeeper (is there such a thing?), I can say that a prolonged spell of lying snow is indeed a double edged sword. It is true that course traffic is severly diminished at a time of year when most damage can occur but as it is pointed out maintenance and upgrade works can be curtailed. With any long spell of lying snow there is always the problem of snow mould, especially with the more delicate grasses (bents, fescues etc), this is partly down to the air circulation being reduced and a slight temperature inversion caused by the insulating layer of snow, amongst other variables.

This seems to answer my question!

I would imagine that the parkland courses will suffer more with the melt?

Links courses drain very well with the sandy base

 

[pokerjoke]

I would say a bad thing not for the time the course has been shut but when it reopens our course that doesnt drain too well will be soft and quite slushy which will be a bad thing.

 

[drawboy]

Unless you are a polar bear I'd say it was a really bad thing, there is no point to the stuff

 

[viscount17]

I think for ours, the melt can be worse than the snow.
Rivers and lakes will be up, probably joining hands across the 15th fairway as usual. A couple of patches get wet and stay wet very easily, just in front of the 11th and 12th greens - so no running one into those.
With the high water table that we have it's less a case of holing than drowning the ball.

 

[TRS30]

I hope they don't rush to open my course before it is properly ready, fully dried out etc

I am itching to play as much as the next person but not at the long term detriment of the course.

 

[thecraw]

I was actually talking to the greenkeeper today when I was up at the course picking something up. He was saying that the hard layer of ice and the really cold spell will kill off alot of disease as well as things such as leatherjackets, he didn't seem to be overly concerned about any damage but was frustrated at the set back in his drainage plans for some holes.

He believed that the prolonged rest for the course was not actually a bad thing.

It will probably be another week until we are back open for play and that's dependent on no more frost or snow. Still 3" on the ground.

 

[USER1999]

It is the idiots on tobogans sliding onto our 16th green that do the damage. The rest of the course will recover fine, but the 16th will take months.

 

[Society_Fan]

Surely all the courses could do with a rest, but I would have thought that member pressure wil mean that courses are open early and within a couple of weeks are showing many signs of muddy tees etc.. that will take the spring to repair.

We should all go off to somewhere hot and play in the winter...maybe a training camp in the algarve?

 

[Faldo_Fan]

Same as Murph we have numptys using our 8th green as a launch pad down the hill, i dread to think what that will look like after the thaw!!!!
The other big problem our club is having is that no ones driving up to use the pro shop, bar or restaurant so there's no money coming in!!!!