When I bump into a member this time of year at Sobey's, our conversation inevitable follows this pattern.
"Hey Adam, how are you?" asks the member.
"Great!, (member person) how are you?" I reply.
"Fine fine, how is the golf course?"
"Good, good"
"When do we open?" They ask.
We both pause to look out the window at the plow going by and pushing 3 feet of snow.
"Should be pretty soon now." I reply rather ambiguously, feeling rather uninformative.
It's not that I am purposely being ambiguous, but rather I'm being subjegated to the unpredictability of these volatile East Coast springs. There have been years when the golf course has been open early April, and as late as Mid May. There are many factors that effect the opening date. I'll try to explain the limiting factors as to what causes the different opening times. This is not a guesstimate for this year, but a very generalized explanation of the factors we consider.
The temperature. Obviously the most important factor. Until the frost has come out of the soil and the ground has a chance to stabilize, it is unlikely that we would open the golf course. Aside from the physical barrier of the course not being playable, the turf has not begun to grow. No growth means no recovery. No recovery means a constant increase of damage occurred from regular play (divots, ball marks, etc). While the course would eventually recover from the damage, the more incurred earlier in the year means a longer recovery into the playing season. The temperature must also be considered when taking the tarps off the greens. Because the tarps modify the environment by raising the temperatures, removing them too early could "shock" the turf. Which could set the greens back further than had we not tarped them at all.
To help us decide when to pull the tarps off the greens we use the information provided by the data loggers that were placed around the course in the fall. When we get close to what we feel are the correct temperatures, we begin to monitor the DL's quite closely. For the a rule of thumb, when the soil temperatures are consistent (both day and night) 5 degrees Celsius above zero, we look at the long range forecast and consider removing the tarps. This is not our only consideration but just one of the factors involved. Currently the ground is still frozen but we are seeing pockets of frost thawing.
Moisture levels. Temperature and Moisture levels are not mutually exclusive, one greatly effects the other. In order for the ground to stabilize, warmer temperatures are necessary to begin reducing the level of moisture in the soil (by stabilize I mean solid enough to drive on without breaking through the surface and creating wheel ruts). If the winter and early spring has been particularly wet and cold then it would obviously be a longer process to open the course. We are not able to get equipment on to the course to clean up debris from the winter. We are not able to get equipment to the sand traps to repair the winter washouts. However if the spring is dry, warm and sunny it's more apt to be a good start to the season.
Just typing those words makes me feel good. Dry, Warm and Sunny.
Historically the temperature and moisture levels in March and April dictate the likely opening date of the golf course. Here's some data from the weather office. In 2012 the weather office switched their tracking procedure for some reason is missing most of the year.
Temperature History
Most of our judgements are based on the worst year we have had since tracking this information, which without a doubt would have been the spring of 2009. You can see that that compared to that particular year 2013 is a little bit warmer, but too early to project an outcome.
Moisture History
Again, the information is not complete for the 2013 season, but you can see that both 2011 and 2010 we good years as far as the springs being dry, definitely below the yearly average. It's still to early to use the historical data to make a judgement call as to the outcome of this year. Stay tuned for update.
These are the opening days for the last four years;
2009 May 7
2010 April 15
2011 May 3
2012 April 24
Compare the opening date to either of the charts above. Both temperature and moisture levels have to be ideal, as they were in 2010, to cause an earlier opening date.
We have kept records on opening date as far back as 1989, and I'm sure somebody has maintained a record even further back. Unfortunately, the greens were of a much different makeup before the construction and would have reacted differently to the weather conditions, so it's not really comparing apples to apples. However, if you over look that and just look at the data, our average opening date is April 29. The earliest we have been open is the April 15, and latest is May 7, both within the last four years.
One thing of interest about the opening date and quality of turf; between 1989 and 2005 there were 11 years where the course opened with temporary greens, and none after the completion of renovations to the greens.
Now if you forget about all the scientific stuff and just look out the window, the snow is clearly going away and more turf is visible every day. So, in the very least of particular scientific methods, we are moving in the right direction.
"Hey Adam, how are you?" asks the member.
"Great!, (member person) how are you?" I reply.
"Fine fine, how is the golf course?"
"Good, good"
"When do we open?" They ask.
We both pause to look out the window at the plow going by and pushing 3 feet of snow.
"Should be pretty soon now." I reply rather ambiguously, feeling rather uninformative.
It's not that I am purposely being ambiguous, but rather I'm being subjegated to the unpredictability of these volatile East Coast springs. There have been years when the golf course has been open early April, and as late as Mid May. There are many factors that effect the opening date. I'll try to explain the limiting factors as to what causes the different opening times. This is not a guesstimate for this year, but a very generalized explanation of the factors we consider.
The temperature. Obviously the most important factor. Until the frost has come out of the soil and the ground has a chance to stabilize, it is unlikely that we would open the golf course. Aside from the physical barrier of the course not being playable, the turf has not begun to grow. No growth means no recovery. No recovery means a constant increase of damage occurred from regular play (divots, ball marks, etc). While the course would eventually recover from the damage, the more incurred earlier in the year means a longer recovery into the playing season. The temperature must also be considered when taking the tarps off the greens. Because the tarps modify the environment by raising the temperatures, removing them too early could "shock" the turf. Which could set the greens back further than had we not tarped them at all.
To help us decide when to pull the tarps off the greens we use the information provided by the data loggers that were placed around the course in the fall. When we get close to what we feel are the correct temperatures, we begin to monitor the DL's quite closely. For the a rule of thumb, when the soil temperatures are consistent (both day and night) 5 degrees Celsius above zero, we look at the long range forecast and consider removing the tarps. This is not our only consideration but just one of the factors involved. Currently the ground is still frozen but we are seeing pockets of frost thawing.
Moisture levels. Temperature and Moisture levels are not mutually exclusive, one greatly effects the other. In order for the ground to stabilize, warmer temperatures are necessary to begin reducing the level of moisture in the soil (by stabilize I mean solid enough to drive on without breaking through the surface and creating wheel ruts). If the winter and early spring has been particularly wet and cold then it would obviously be a longer process to open the course. We are not able to get equipment on to the course to clean up debris from the winter. We are not able to get equipment to the sand traps to repair the winter washouts. However if the spring is dry, warm and sunny it's more apt to be a good start to the season.
Just typing those words makes me feel good. Dry, Warm and Sunny.
Historically the temperature and moisture levels in March and April dictate the likely opening date of the golf course. Here's some data from the weather office. In 2012 the weather office switched their tracking procedure for some reason is missing most of the year.
Temperature History
Year
|
January Mean
|
February Mean
|
March Mean
|
April Mean
|
2009
|
-7.7
|
-4.5
|
-1.7
|
5.4
|
2010
|
-4.1
|
-3.2
|
2.1
|
7.3
|
2011
|
-4.6
|
-5.4
|
-0.9
|
4.9
|
2013
|
-6.6
|
-4.9
|
0.4 as 03/04
|
|
Average for N.S.
|
-6
|
-5.6
|
-1.4
|
4
|
Most of our judgements are based on the worst year we have had since tracking this information, which without a doubt would have been the spring of 2009. You can see that that compared to that particular year 2013 is a little bit warmer, but too early to project an outcome.
Moisture History
Year
|
January Total Precipitation, mm
|
February Total Precipitation, mm
|
March Total Precipitation, mm
|
April Total Precipitation, mm
|
2009
|
128.1
|
92.1
|
156.2
|
158.8
|
2010
|
92.4
|
72
|
93
|
39
|
2011
|
112.4
|
166.2
|
67
|
124
|
2013
|
missing data
|
110.1
|
.4 as of 03/04
|
Yet to Happen!
|
Average for N.S.
|
149
|
114
|
134
|
118
|
Again, the information is not complete for the 2013 season, but you can see that both 2011 and 2010 we good years as far as the springs being dry, definitely below the yearly average. It's still to early to use the historical data to make a judgement call as to the outcome of this year. Stay tuned for update.
These are the opening days for the last four years;
2009 May 7
2010 April 15
2011 May 3
2012 April 24
Compare the opening date to either of the charts above. Both temperature and moisture levels have to be ideal, as they were in 2010, to cause an earlier opening date.
We have kept records on opening date as far back as 1989, and I'm sure somebody has maintained a record even further back. Unfortunately, the greens were of a much different makeup before the construction and would have reacted differently to the weather conditions, so it's not really comparing apples to apples. However, if you over look that and just look at the data, our average opening date is April 29. The earliest we have been open is the April 15, and latest is May 7, both within the last four years.
 |
| This is 8 green on April 9th 2009, the year we had our latest opening on May the 7th. Very poor condition. |
 |
| This is 13 green on May the 12th, 2009. Still poor but slowly improving. |
 |
| The same green on March the 18th, 2010. This is the earliest year we opened, on April 15. Awesome shape. |
Now if you forget about all the scientific stuff and just look out the window, the snow is clearly going away and more turf is visible every day. So, in the very least of particular scientific methods, we are moving in the right direction.
 |
| This is 9 green on February 26. Lots of ice and snow, but some turf showing. On the right side of the screen you can see the tarp exposed. The green fleck or coloring in the tarps draws heat in and will help to melt the snow. |
 |
| Here's the same green today, much less snow, no ice and much more grass. Definitely moving in the right direction. |
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