New Beginings

I would like to welcome all readers to the Idylwylde Turf Management Departments inaugural blog post. This is something that I have wanted to do for some time and has finally come to fruition. My intentions are to use this forum to communicate information regarding golf course maintenance practises that may or may not impact your upcoming round of golf. Things such as routine cultural practises will be in the attached calendar so you know what to expect for course conditions on that specific day. Upcoming projects will be highlighted and when they are underway you will know exactly how they will affect your round. I'm also looking forward to giving more insight into the multifaceted world that is Turf Management. Not only will this be a great avenue to communicate information regarding the above mentioned but hopefully will serve as an educational tool as well. Throughout the golfing season it is my intention to post weekly either on Fridays or Saturdays as a minimum, however I will not limit postings to that if there is other prudent information to share.With that being said lets get to what I'm sure everyone would wants to hear about!

As the snow recedes and temperatures begin to rise it marks a beginning of a season that we all have been waiting what feels so long for, golf season! It's well known that people use the weather as a conversation starter and in this business there is no doubt that mother nature rules so why don't we start there. As of a few days ago our greens had been under snow cover for 118 days with some still covered. If you count the days the tarps have been on as well (28) you can bet that the greens are in desperate need of some oxygen.

"What a difference a year makes" is something I've been hearing a lot of lately but for me I can confidently say that this is the first true Sudbury winter that I have experienced and it was a tough one when it comes to turf management. All was fine by me (and out of my control of course) except the 5 inches of rain that fell over the winter. Rain which of course turns into ice in the winter is a proven killer of turf and especially Poa annua - Annual Bluegrass which predominately our greens are comprised of.

Constant monitoring and counting days of ice cover is something that is done to help decide if and what course of action should be taken to increase the chance of turf survival. In my experience Poa can tolerate a maximum of 45 days of ice cover if your lucky, but its more like 30. All of our greens had experienced some form of ice cover, from extreme to lets say significant. Greens 6, 9, 10, 17 had severe ice cover for a minimum of 30 days and because of there susceptibility to damage snow was removed, black sand applied to facilitate ice melt. Once the ice was soft enough it was removed. Unfortunately there was some turf loss with ten seeing the most significant amount.

With still so much snow being on the course and tarps on the greens its difficult at this time to asses conditions and how things overwintered. If the weather forecast holds true for next week I anticipate having all the tarps removed by Sunday and the recovery process started. Now for the moment I'm sure everyone has been waiting for, when will the golf course open? If we continue moving forward at this rate, I would anticipate 3 weeks from today with the goal always being not to open later than May 1st. With some cooperation from mother nature I truly believe its attainable and we will do everything in our power to make it happen.

As I have any updates I will be doing so through this blog so check it out periodically. You can also check out our facebook page to see what we have been up to and golf course course condition pictures.

Jay Sisko
Golf Course Superintendent

Hole #10 - March 21, 2012

Hole 10 - April 11, 2013