With winter finally here, many courses in the colder parts of our country are closed for the season. However, there are some that remain open as long as snow and ice are not present. Temporary greens may be employed, but golfers always prefer to play on the normal greens when possible. As golf rounds continue during the winter, traffic around holes becomes an issue. The turf is not growing rapidly, so recovery is nonexistent or very slow at best. Unfortunately, frequent frost delays or frozen ground make regular cup cutting very difficult during the winter months, which makes spreading out the traffic a challenge.
On a recent Course Consulting Service visit, I saw a creative way to reduce winter wear and tear around hole locations. Cut multiple cups into each green during the late fall and rotate the flagstick when necessary throughout the winter. The hole(s) not in use should have a cover over them. You can either make your own from a pool noodle with artificial turf on top or you can purchase one of many options available online. When one hole location begins to show signs of damage around it, move the flagstick to one of the other precut locations and give that area a chance to recover. While this is not an ideal scenario, it can be helpful for courses that are struggling with extremely cold weather, limited staff and eager golfers.
West Region Agronomists:
Brian Whitlark, senior consulting agronomist – bwhitlark@usga.org
Cory Isom, agronomist – cisom@usga.org