Here we are on January 29th, it’s 57 degrees and the golf course is not open.  Everyone seems to be ok with the “too wet” answer, but I wanted to give you a bit more information on what that actually means this time of year.

The problem really isn’t that we are too wet, but that we are too wet for the amount of thawed ground we have available for the normal soil compaction to take place.  I was talking with the Superintendent this morning and he was telling me that he could only get a marking flag to go about 3 inches into the ground and then he hit frozen ground and it wouldn’t go any further.  That means that all the compaction that normally happens in the top 18 inches of the soil can now only happen in the first 3 inches of soil, and that mean the compaction is more severe.  Not only is the compaction worse, there is also more horizontal displacement of the soil as well, and this causes a “mounding” around the foot print.  If we were “as wet” as we are now in June, we would be able to play because because the ground wouldn’t have a frost layer that increases compaction.

If we were to open the golf course on days like today we would be sacrificing conditions later in the year for a few rounds now.  The greens would not be as smooth unless we aerated and/or rolled them again in the spring, both of which would cause course closures and added maintenance expenses.  Not to mention how much we know you all like to play on recently aerated greens!

Your patience and understanding now help us create the exceptional conditions that you are all used to in the heart of the golfing season.