Frost Delays and Winter Play

Frosty turf in the morning is a normal occurrence now that winter is near.  Traffic on frosty turf will do damage that won't recover for months.  The course opens at 9:00 this time of year, but often that will be pushed back to allow for the frost to thaw.  We communicate any expected delays to the golf shop when they open at 8:30.  If you have a 9:00 tee time and your lawn is still white or frozen at 8:30, it's pretty safe to assume you have time for another cup of coffee.  The practice greens will likely be on the same delay as the course, but the practice tee can usually be opened up a few minutes before the course.  The best thing to do, if it's cold, is check with the golf shop before heading to the practice facility.   

Frozen ground is another dilemma, but that typically won't delay play.  It just means you can't get the ball to stop on a green, can't put a tee in the ground, and the sand in bunkers is like concrete.  Sometime before the next cold snap we will add 2 additional holes in each green.  This way we will still be able to move the flag around when the ground is frozen.  Doing this allows us to avoid excess wear and tear on the same areas of the greens.  Over the course of the winter we will cut new hole locations as needed when the conditions allow for it.  

The worst case scenario for turf in the winter is a warm day following a really cold spell.  It's that day in particular that everyone looks forward to playing.  It's also that day when the greens begin to thaw from the top down.  Somewhere below the surface is a frost line that is hard as a rock.  Soggy conditions on top of a frost layer are unsafe for traffic.  I anticipate that this winter could create some challenges with more members and much more play.  There will be times when conditions above ground are ideal for play, but the greens are not safe to use.  We are very liberal with our approach to allowing play in this situation and have opened numerous times when every expert would advise against it.  It definitely hurts playability for several days and likely does some long term damage that isn't immediately evident.  The pressure to open the course is more intense than the pressure to have to answer why conditions aren't perfect in March or April.  My hope is that everyone understands and appreciates the risk involved with allowing play on greens that are partially frozen.  If you want the best possible conditions in spring and summer, it's best to show restraint in certain situations.  It's my job to protect the course from the golfers and it would be extremely helpful if the golfers that "get it" would run some interference for me with those that don't.  In times when we've "caved" it's been more a function of being overruled.  

Here is a great article outlining some of the issues with winter golf...Winter Play...USGA Article