Sodding Greens

Part of the recovery process included sodding a few spots on greens. Number five South was repaired using sod from our nursery.



April 2014

May 1, 2014

We've Come a Long Way

We've made nice progress in 4 weeks. Number 10 South below.

April 1st, 2014

May 1st, 2014

The Correct Record

A lot of information has been communicated about winter damage, snow removal and lost turf at Oakland Hills. How much turf was lost? How many dead greens? Was the North damaged? How much does it cost to remove snow?

 

Much of the information regarding Oakland Hills in the public domain is incorrect. Here are the facts about this past winter, snow removal and our current status.

SOUTH COURSE

• We remove snow from the South greens every winter when we see a potential rise in temperature above 30 degrees. Some of the South greens are covered, some are not. We removed snow this winter after the early January snowstorm and before the meltdown of January 8-10. This action saved the South greens from more severe damage.

 

• Every green on the South sustained some damage, most of it minor. Greens 6, 8 and 12 suffered "serious" (10-15%) damage and only number eight is questionable. We are not playing to any temporary greens as of today, April 29th. Number eight may require a temporary green depending on the level of play. All of the South greens will recover in the next 2-4 weeks. 

 

• The labor cost to remove snow on the South this winter was approx. $5,000.

 

• The extra equipment required to remove snow from the South greens adds approx. $20,000 to our equipment inventory.

• Each cover we use is approx. $3,000, depending on size.

•  It takes 4 - 7 people to remove snow on the South Course.
 
• All of the South fairways incurred some ice damage and most of this will heal on its own.

 

NORTH COURSE

 

• We do not currently remove snow on the North greens. All of the North greens sustained damage. Some of it severe with the most severe #15 green, approx. 30% turf loss.

 

• We will be playing to all of the North greens when we open on May 9th. There are currently no temporary greens on the North Course. The PG did not suffer any winter damage.

 

• There are no "dead" greens on either course.

 

 

 

 

Winter Damage to Turf - Golf Course Update

Continuous improvement. The weather has not been conducive to rapid growth but the North greens are slowly improving. The damage was severe but not devastating. I think in a few more weeks we will see 100% recovery. The South is nearly damage free with #8 green the worst. The damage on the South was not as severe because we routinely remove snow from those greens.

The fairways were severely damaged and some of those areas will be sodded throughout May and June.

Below are some photos from the North comparing what we were seeing in March and what we are seeing today. We've come a long way.

#6 North March 2014

#6 North April 2014

#1 North March 2014

#1 North April 2014



#7 North March 2014

#7 North April 2014

Course Update

The date may be early April, the turf thinks it's mid-March. The golf course is slowly waking up. We have mowed greens only one time, unusual for this time of year.

As you know the greens suffered this winter. The South course, while damaged, came through in pretty good shape. The exceptions are #8 and #12 green which are struggling, but will survive. The North course greens were damaged to a greater degree, but they too will recover. Overall, we came through the winter in pretty good shape.

The golf course needs some time to recover.

Removing cover 15 green North

Why we use covers for recovery.

#7 South - weak areas due to tree shade

 

9 fairway North in March 2014


 

Covers

Some of the South greens are covered each winter. Those greens had the snow removed and this week after review, look really good. There is nothing more than minimal damage  we would see each spring. On those greens, there is little to worry about.



No Panic Yet

A lot of information has been communicated about the extreme winter now ending. Snow, ice, cold temperatures. All of this has given many greenskeepers a nervous twitch. We tend to lose sleep over any amount of potential lost turf.

Certainly we are going to see dead turf this spring. It's expected. You can't go through a winter like this one and not expect some dead grass somewhere on the golf course. But I think it's too early to know exactly how much turf we've lost, we need a warmup to make that call. It may not be as bad as we think ... or maybe it's worse.

If and when we have lost turf, we'll repair it. That's what we do. We'll keep you informed as to the conditions on the golf courses and if there is dead grass, we'll get it back in play as quickly as possible.