First cuts, irrigation work, opening....later.

Shaking off winter is seeming easier said than done.  We are well into the latter half of March, and the weather continues to be cold and wet, and the long range forecast is bleak.  Despite this, we have been busy nonetheless getting ready for the spring.  Just last week, we successfully extracted a 10" irrigation valve that sprung a major leak last fall.  The pros will be out next week to make sure we install it correctly.  With the 60 degree temps and only a little rain overnight, we were able to get out and do some mowing.  Greens were rolled and mowed, and the fairways that weren't too wet were also cut for the first time.  We got quite a bit of winter fuzz knocked off, but upcoming temperatures in the 20's and 30's do not bode well for spring growth.  With the weekend looking like highs in the low to mid-30's, an early weekend opening does not look likely.  With any luck, I still have my eyes on Friday, April 1st as a good opening date.  Mother Nature will ultimately decide.   

Everyone likes to know what the criteria for opening are.  First off, the course must be relatively dry and able to deal with cart and foot traffic.  The grass has spent the winter using up its root structure as carbohydrate to survive dormancy, so there isn't great stability under the surface.  We must be dry, or a couple of busy HMGC weekends could cause quite a lot of damage.  Also, I like to see some growth and a vigorous, healthy plant to withstand the busy golf schedule.  The last couple of years, we have had warm March temperatures that have gotten the ball rolling a little earlier than usual.  Often I look at soil temperature and 'growing degree days' to guess at when the grass will be ready to accept play and offer good conditions.  Based on previous years, we are about 10-days to 2 weeks behind.  Here's hoping for a heat wave! 

Below are a couple of pictures from the irrigation work.  It was a big mess, but at least the sun was shining.



The fun part - digging a big, muddy hole to expose the 10" valve and pipe.

Rebar and concrete hold the valve still, so we needed a torch to get things freed up.

When in doubt, a chainsaw will cut just about anything.

The valve probably weighs about 200 lbs, so the skid-steer loader was the best way to get it out.