Winterkill 2014

In previous posts it was predicated that the weather leading into winter was potentially harmful to golf course turf. Unfortunately, that prediction came true. The turf loss on golf courses in the northeast and beyond is of epic proportions. Veteran golf course superintendents are proclaiming that this is the worst winterkill they have experienced in their careers. The widespread area and level of damage are the main reasons this is news worthy topic. The damage consists of dinner table sized dead spots on greens to complete loss of multiple putting greens. The area of concern covers New England (seacoast to the mountains), Quebec & Ontario regions, and North Central region (Michigan and Chicago area).

What happened? Simply, too much rain in January. The abundance of winter rain led to copious amounts of ice. The nail in the coffin for turf was the dramatic, almost overnight, switch from generally moderate temperatures in the early winter to a chilling continuous freeze mid winter. After the last rain event in mid January the temperatures plummeted and did not rise until April. This flash freeze scenario was a main cause of the widespread damage, especially in northern Vermont. The two other scenarios that led to turf loss were anoxia (extended ice cover) and crown hydration (spring freeze/thaw cycle). Review prior posts and "post categories" for more information on these environmental conditions.

Course Updates:
Fortunately extensive turf loss was avoided, but both courses did receive isolated damage. Areas where water was unable to flow freely subsequently pooled up causing ice and turf damage. This winter emphasizes the importance of effective drainage (subsurface and surface) on golf courses. Drainage is key to creating conditions conducive to winter survival which then leads to quality conditions during the playing season.

Stowe Country Club

16th approach "Birdbaths"

The three historically wet greens received the most damage (3, 12, & 13). These greens have poor subsurface drainage and more importantly have very poor surface drainage. #12 is the worst of all greens. The entire lower shelf was damaged. Once the water drained to the green it pooled and froze solid. The other two greens were damaged in low spots, or "birdbaths" as I call them. Any other such birdbaths on the course were also damaged such as; 18 fairway, 16 & 17 approach and areas near drainage culverts, i.e 3 & 5 fairway. The 4th, 9th, and 10th green also received some damage. The damage on these greens was due to the freeze/thaw cycle in the spring.

14th fairway drain. Notice no winterkill below drain.

Stowe Mountain Club
The good news is that the fairways did well this year. SMC did receive some damage in areas that historically pool and subsequently experience winter kill. Every year drainage is added in these areas to better winter survival  to create firm playing conditions. This is an unfortunate ongoing challenge. A drain installed on hole 14 last Fall proved very successful. The bad news is that the damage to greens is more than we have seen since opening in 2007. The worst greens are 4, 7, and 13. These greens are bowl shaped and were unable to shed water fast enough when the January rains came. Other greens have smaller areas of damage at the water exit points. These areas were damaged due to what is called "collar dams". The small change in the height of cut between the green surface and the collar is enough to slow the winter rains down to form pools of water that causes ice formation. Collar dams become worse over time due to the turf maturing and forming a thick thatch. These areas will be corrected by cutting the sod out and lowering the sub-grade to make a smooth transition for water to flow freely.

Moving Forward:
The damaged greens on both courses were seeded earlier this week and covered. A limiting factor for good turf germination and growth are soil temperatures. A warm stretch of weather is greatly needed at this time to hasten seed germination. The covers are used to assist in warming the soil. Fairway and tee damage will be seeded this coming week. Selected areas in fairways will be sodded to speed up the recovery process. Sodding greens is not preferred due to the difficulty of feathering the new sod to the existing turf. This feathering process is much easier with fairways due to the higher height of cut.

The recovery process from winterkill is one of the most difficult tasks superintendents face. Maintaining healthy turf (mowing & grooming) directly adjacent to new seedlings takes skillfulness. Additionally, restricting golfers on these recovering areas may interfere with play, which is not popular. These are challenges that can be resolved on a short and long term basis. The turf maintenance team will work diligently to grow in the newly seeded areas and continue to add drainage to prevent future damage. This is not the first time we have seen winterkill and it will certainly not be the last. Your patience with the recovery during the ensuing weeks will help us with the task ahead. I will update you on a regular basis during. You can follow me on Twitter for daily updates @kevinkomer.

More information on Winterkill 2014 can be found below:
Club & Business
CBS Boston
WMUR Manchester, NH
Press Herald, Maine
Superintendents Association of New England
Michigan Superintendents Association
Ontario, Canada Damage Report
USGA Northeast Region
Chicago Damage

The Power of 36

6th Hole Stowe Mountain Club

Stowe Mountain Resort and Stowe Mountain Club have combined efforts to present a 36-hole golfing experience for members and guests to enjoy. The ultimate alpine golf course experience of Stowe Mountain Club will be presented alongside the New England charm of Stowe Country Club. These two golf courses provide players with a wide range of thrilling golf options.

It is now my job to provide the leadership for both maintenance operations as the Head of Golf Course Maintenance at Stowe Mountain Resort. I am humbled and honored to be given the opportunity to take care of these two unique properties. To be part of such an endeavor is thrilling. I am additionally excited to work with Ron Philo, PGA Professional, in his role as Golf Operations Director. While the work involved in bringing this concept to fruition is great, both Ron and I are excited and energetic about what lies ahead.

3rd Hole at Stowe Country Club

Assembling the team to tend the two courses is a crucial element to our success. Mark Finch, former assistant superintendent at SMC, has been promoted to superintendent. Mark, using his local knowledge of SMC and talents, will continue to provide excellent conditions to bring SMC forward. Scott Rossi will remain superintendent at Stowe Country Club to provide insight on the inner workings of SCC so that we can progress steadfast into the future. Please view the "Our Staff" page to learn more about the team.

This blog will be the source of information as it relates to golf course maintenance at Stowe Mountain Resort. Posts will include topics on course conditions, construction projects, agronomy, weather events, and more. For questions or concerns please contact me at kkomer@stowe.com or better yet I look forward to chatting with you on one of the great 36 holes.

Thank You Cupid

We woke up on Valentine's day to a foot of fresh snow. For skiers and riders this storm has turned around a winter that has been far from epic. The snow stake on top of Mt. Mansfield reached 60 inches indicating that making turns in the trees is free and clear. The skiing and riding has been outstanding on and off trail all week. I am sure the snow-machine riders have been loving the deep snow pack as well. A good snow pack is much more preferred on the golf course during the winter compared to bare ground or ice. The snow provides a buffer to the extreme cold temperatures and the harsh winter winds. Snow is very porous and allows for gases to escape from the ground and allow oxygen in. In essence, snow allows the turf canopy to be protected and breathe in the winter.

Patchy ice on the 12th green, January 14, 2014

Yesterday brought everyone back to the realities of our fickle New England weather. A rapid warm up made the precipitation that fell all afternoon be of the liquid state. I hate to even udder the word during February in northern Vermont. However, the reality is that .64 inches of rain fell yesterday. That is a lot of rain to fall in mid-winter. The snow pack is now much more dense allowing less of a protective buffer and more in the way of a barrier. This sealing off or barrier effect is compounded by the potential for more ice accumulation. The existing snow will absorb much of the rain but there is also a good chance that slush will form at the base. This slush will then form into ice as the temperature drops back to normal.

Nature's Concept

In my last post I described a not so good scenario for golf course turf leading into mid-winter. To follow up, the subsequent days after that post stayed above freezing and rainy. Due to this continued abnormal weather, the ice accumulation on the golf course went from really bad to just bad. The rain kept falling and the ice kept melting. When the rains finally stopped in mid-January the ice coverage was half of what it had been. The total for winter rain, after this last event, is at 7.7 inches. There are still pockets of ice all over the golf course. The maintenance team is preparing to remove the snow from greens beginning in March to reveal these ice pockets. Once the snow is removed we will begin to carefully remove the ice.Removing the snow too soon exposes the tender turf to harsh conditions. Mid-March through Mid-April is always a tricky time when it comes to golf course turf survival in Northern New England. The extended ice cover and freeze-thaw cycles play havoc with the turfgrass plant as it slowly breaks out of winter dormancy.

Vertical black drainage pipe over catch basin
13th green December 13, 2013

To ensure the removal of water off the turf surface during the spring thaw and winter rain events like we just had, we protect the catch basins from freezing over. Keeping the catch basins open so that water does not pool up and sit on the turf is of critical importance to winter turf survival. To assist in this we took a trick from nature. The idea came from the observation that the base of trees tended to have less snow than adjacent areas. The heat from the tree trunk warming up in the sun along with the wind swirling around them reduced the snow pack at the base of the tree. To mimic this phenomenon the maintenance team places a vertical drainage pipe directly over the catch basin. The pipe acts as a tree to help reduce the ice and snow from accumulating over the basin. These pipes also help us locate the basins in the snow so that we can be sure that the free water is moving into the basin. This practice is one of many that is done to keep the turf alive in our beautiful, yet harsh, mountain environment. 

Winter Rain



Shoveling water exit points on greens during 1/6 rain event

It is raining, again. Currently, it is 44 degrees and a steady rain is falling on frozen ground. Today's rain is the third rain event this winter. Our weather station has recorded 4.5 inches of rain since mid-December. While winter rains are not uncommon, the multiple rain events coupled with extremely cold temperatures in a short time period is uncommon. The result of this weather pattern is the accumulation of copious amounts of ice everywhere. Back roads, driveways, and sidewalks are pure ice. Walking through parking lots is treacherous. These uncommon winter rains and ensuing ice build are dreadful for many outdoor activities. The skiing on maintained trails is marginal. The snow-making and grooming teams are in high gear trying to keep the slopes in good condition. Skiing back country is simply horrible and non-existent. The wildlife even struggles with this weather. The raptors i.e., owls, hawks, and eagles, struggle mightily with these uncommon events as well. Raptor's feathers get wet and are unable to dry before the temperature plummet essentially causing a disability for flight. Additionally, when a crust forms over the snow, raptors struggle or are unable to break through the snow to get their food of voles and mice. There's just too much ice and not enough snow.

Block of ice on the same green 24 hours after 1/6 rain event

The survival of golf course turf when conditions like this occur is also a struggle. If I was asked to script the weather scenario that would be most destructive to golf course turf, I would have described the weather we had on December 22, January 6, or today. The scenarios include a significant rain event occurring when there is snow accumulation on frozen ground. The falling rain and subsequent water accumulation backs up in low areas. The snow slows the movement of water and the ground is unable to absorb the water. When the temperature drastically drops to below freezing a solid block of ice is formed. The weather that occurred on January 6th was the worst of the three storms. The rain started in the early morning and increased in intensity through the morning. Check out the video 1/6 Rain at Stowe Country Club in the village of Stowe. At noon the rain turned to snow and the temperatures plummeted to the single digits later that night. The result was that many areas of the course turned into skating rinks. A massive amount of 4-6 inch ice was formed throughout the course. The problem with ice on turf is that if the ice stays solid for more than 60-90 days the turf will begin to decline because of the reduction in oxygen and the accumulation of harmful gases. The key to turf survival under ice is reducing the total accumulative days of ice cover.

As a superintendent, I mitigate these adverse conditions in anyway possible. During these uncommon rain events, the maintenance team ensures the drains stay open to move the water. Snow or ice is removed if the drain has been blocked. Low drainage points on greens can be shoveled to make sure the water keeps moving off the green and is not backed up. In some cases however, this task can become overwhelming and fruitless. Unfortunately, the January 6th rain event was such the case.

The multiple rain events and subsequent cold temperatures during the early part of the winter season is of concern for the survival of many outdoor activities including golf course turf. The maintenance team will continue to monitor ice levels and cumulative days under ice. Hopefully the conditions for turf, as well as skiing, and raptor survival will improve. In the next posts I'll provide updates on subsequent actions relating to turf survival for the various weather Mother Nature provides.

November is Project Time

Starting the drainage on 18th approach by removing sod

While we strive to engage in productive projects throughout the year, there is an opportune window of time for larger projects between the date the course closes and the day winter truly arrives.

Once the door closes on the golfing season it is critical that we use this time to complete work that is otherwise too disruptive to conduct during the golfing months. In some regards, November is one of our most challenging months. On top of the essential tasks to carry out like covering the greens, draining the irrigation system, final snow mold prevention applications, etc... we also set some ambitious goals for course improvements. Numerous challenges are encountered at this time of year. Daylight, good working weather, and seasonal staff are all diminishing through October into November. Nevertheless, the shoulder seasons are when some of the most important work is done on course.

Excavation of drainage trench on 14 fairway

Drainage improvements typically take precedent on the late fall punch list. It has been discussed in prior blog posts that a well drained golf course is the foundation to a great golfing experience. Drainage improvements were made to the 3rd fairway, 4th approach, 18th approach and fairway, and on the 14th fairway. We were pleased to have completed the work on the 14th fairway as this area perennially sustains some winter damage. The intercepting drainage trench will help to reduce the large amount of snow melt flowing over the fairway. This snow melt causes ice and freeze/thaw cycles that are the major cause of winterkill.

Laying pavers at SCC "Hitting Barn"

In addition to these drainage projects, a forward tee has been added on the 3rd hole. It is located just before the bend in the cartpath as the fairway begins. It provides a clearer target view and fair access to the broad section of the fairway. The tee will be open for play soon after opening day. Lastly, a handful of staff on our Stowe Golf team made a major improvement to the Hitting Barn at Stowe Country Club. The first phase in revitalizing the Hitting Barn was resurfacing the dirt floor. We installed stone pavers and five artificial turf hitting mats. Interestingly, the pavers were reused from the renovation at the Spruce Peak entryway. This project was a collaborative effort between Stowe Mountain Club and Stowe Country Club employees. The hitting barn should be open for practice at the first sign of spring 2014.

Fescue

Bleached out fescue in the Fall

The wispy brown grass that surrounds many of the golf holes at Stowe Mountain Club is called “fescue”. Fescue or Festuca is a genus within the grass family of Poaceae. The species are characteristically a perennial tufted grass species - many are drought and disease resistant and shade tolerant. Planted at Stowe Mountain Club is a blend of the fine fescue grasses that includes; chewing fescue, sheep fescue, hard fescue, and creeping red fescue. The fescue high rough areas are an integral part of the golf experience at Stowe Mountain Club. While playing the course an errant shot has a high probability of landing in fescue since every hole has some fescue on the outer edges.  Knowing how to hit a successful recovery shot out of the fescue is very important to shooting a good score.


Fescue on the right side of the 2nd green in Summer

While there are a few basic skills to hitting out of the fescue, the same is true for managing it. Our main focus when it comes to managing fescue is to have it be aesthetically pleasing and still be thin enough to find a golf ball to advance it. This management strategy is based on a simple principle; the worse you treat fescue the better it is for playability. Successful management of fescue starts from day one. The future success of a stand of fescue grass will depend on what it is planted on. The worse the soil is the better the fescue will be. If fescue is planted on rich, loamy soil it will always be thick and healthy. Thick and healthy fescue will swallow golf balls and trying to hit through thick fescue is almost impossible.

Thin fescue that a ball can be easily found

After proper establishment, fescue should never be irrigated. Our irrigation technician is constantly on the lookout for misaligned sprinkler heads that cover fescue. When there is a very wet spring and early summer the fescue will become very healthy and thick. This was the case this year. Obviously, the growth was out of our control. Similar to irrigation we are very cautious not to fertilize fescue after it has been established for two years. Once established, fescue should be left alone. The one exception to that are weeds. If weeds become too prevalent they need to be removed. Weedy fescue is very difficult to play out of and looks unkempt.

 

Last week the maintenance team has begun to cut the fescue.  This annual mowing of the fescue is the final piece to the management strategy.  Cutting back the fescue assures even growth next year.  The cutting will also thin out any areas that have grown too thick.  A tremendous amount of work has gone into managing the fescue to get it to the current condition.  Every year the fescue gets better.  The maintenance team is committed to preserving this special feature of the golf course.

Epic Day...

In case you missed it. Beatiful day on 09/29/13. View from the 6th tee.