Happy New Year to everyone!  It is certainly different being back at work after having a week off for the holidays.  The “Blizzard of 2010″ ended not being a blizzard at all at Stow Acres.  We ended up receiving 8″ – 10” of snow by Monday afternoon, and after the rain passed through on Sunday morning, we are not left with very much snow cover on the course.  Although, there is still way too much snow to open for play, it is clear enough for us to evaluate how the turf has held up over the last month.  Greens, tees, and fairways are in very good shape and are showing no signs of disease outbreak.  Ice build up is minimal on the greens.  This was a huge concern after the warm temperatures and rain we had, melting the snow and freezing it again this week.  For more information on ice build up refer to an update from USGA Senior Agronomist, Jim Skorulski:

Even though this article is dated back to January of 2010, we are dealing with similar conditions right now.  We will continually monitor the ice and snow conditions throughout the winter and will restore playing conditons to normal sometime in March.  Thanks for your patience!  Have a great winter!

-Jason VanBuskirk, Superintendent