TURF TALK
The following article is a compilation of information originally published in the following three separate articles in the USGA Green Section Record. “Too Hot to Handle,” by James Snow, Oct. 1999 “Politics, Religion, and Winter Play on Greens,” by James Snow, Nov/Dec. 1987 “Playing Par with Jack Frost,” by Charles White, 1984 Compiled by Liz Nutter, Leading Edge Communications. Printed with permission from the USGA Green Section Record.
s winter begins, many golfers set aside their clubs for a time and settle down to watch football. But after the football season ends, their minds quickly return to golf, and their bodies avidly follow. Thus we encounter an ageold problem: morning delays to allow the frost to clear or enable the green surface to thaw. Often a confrontation arises between the golf superintendent, who wishes to protect the course during its dormant months, and club members, who view winter as another phase of the playing season and therefore resent restrictions on their pastime. Winter play, unfortunately, can not only harm the greens, but in many instances it also has a significantly negative impact on the health and
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playability of the turf during the following golf season. During the growing season, turf is able to daily regenerate new leaves and stems to replace injured tissue; in winter, though, turf growth and self-repair completely stops. The resulting thinning of the turf canopy often encourages the establishment of such weeds as Poa annua, crabgrass, goosegrass and others during the spring and summer. In addition, the turf on greens played during winter tends to wilt more readily during the next season’s hot weather, and it often is more susceptible to a wide array of primary and secondary disease organisms. A more subtle and perhaps more important consequence of winter traffic is soil compaction. Cold winter temperatures and a lack of active turf
TENNESSEE TURFGRASS OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2004
growth greatly reduce the loss of excess soil moisture through evaporation and transpiration. In addition, frozen subsurface soils may completely block the movement of excess moisture through the soil profile. Saturated soil conditions can persist for weeks or longer. Winter golfers argue that sand-based greens drain well and don’t compact, making them suitable for winter play at any time. While it is true that sand-based greens don’t suffer from compaction to the extent that older soil-based greens might, it is also true that directwear injury is likely to be more severe on sand greens. With the loss of turf density from injury and the loss of
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