Last week, we saw a “dusting” or a few inches of snow. That first snow of the season is always exciting. The way it just blankets everything with white. It gives a sense of peace and clean all over. When managing turf, snow can be very helpful. It coats and insulates to protect from desiccation. It keeps the temperature at 32°F. It helps protect from foot traffic damaging to the leaf blades. It even helps protect from a falling tree whether it be weather related or man made. However, the snow we received last week was bad. It started as snow, but turned over to rain and resulted in ice. This ice, if left for a long period of time, could potentially suffocate the turf plant. Some precautions can be taken and have been taken such as removing certain trees, topdressing greens, and coating the greens with black sand or sunflower seeds if ice is present. Luke Bryan says it best in his hit country song, but it really is applicable to our golf course right now. Rain really is a good thing! The rain yesterday has completely cleared our course. In fact, it looks great! If you’re looking to play, please call the proshop ahead of time for details! 

  
-Jason VanBuskirk, Superintendent