An Experiment in Ice Removal

Sorry for the length and delay of this post.  It has been a busy time at the golf course.  Yes, we do get busy in winter!  There are only three of us on staff through the winter and there is a lot to do.  While writing this I also discovered there is need for a few other blog posts relating to why we aerate late in the season, why ice build up on greens is worrisome, and what keeps the Turfcare Department busy in the winter.  But in order to shorten an already long blog post, I will try to get around to these topics in the New Year.

Ice formation on the surface of greens is never good and my collective experience with ice at Greywolf has not been positive.  As I reported previously, we have a thin layer of ice that has formed on our untarped greens (8 of our 19 greens).  The ice layer formed as the result of two rain events in late November and early December.  The ice varies between 3mm and 6mm in thickness.  Although not very thick, I believed ice covers most of the surfaces on our untarped greens.  I believed this because after each rain event we went out and dug snow pits on the greens in order to examine the turf.  We also pulled out a few turf samples to measure the thickness of the ice (See my last two posts).

On December 7^th we undertook an experiment to see if we could clear the ice from the surface of the 10^th green. The goal was to clear the ice and not cause any damage to the turf.  Another goal was to see if our sampling program was correct in predicting the amount of ice coverage on the untarped greens.    

Assistant Superintendent Colin Matheson starting snow removal

Snow Removal on 10

More Rain = More Ice

More rain equals more ice.  Not the most earth shattering statement.

More rain fell on the golf course on Sunday and Monday.  The rain resulted in an ice layer covering the surface of all eight untarped greens.   When I wrote my last post a week ago there were only three greens with an ice layer. 

The ice on the greens varies in thickness from 3mm (.11”) to 5mm (.19”).  The grass crowns are completely covered on all eight greens and only 20% of the leaf tips are protruding through the ice.  The ice on the greens is clear and very difficult to visually detect.   When the snow is removed, we can still see the aeration holes on the greens and the surface appears to have very little ice accumulation.  It is not until you place your hand on the surface of the greens or take a sample out of the greens, that the ice layer can be detected.  We took samples out of three greens so we could measure ice thickness at the shop.  I have included a video update and a few pictures.

3 mm Ice Thickness #4 Green

Ice Sample from #15 Green

The question is -- how should we deal with the ice?  There are two choices - remove the ice now or monitor turf health and ice levels and remove the ice in early spring.  None of the choices are good. 

Light Up Parade

Saturday was Invermere’s annual Light Up Parade.  The Greywolf crew were in charge of constructing this year’s float.  We went with a village-in-mountain theme.   The float managed to capture third in the float judging competition.   Best part about the small town parades is all the ribbons say first.  So we are telling everyone we finished first in the village in the mountain category!

There were a lot of people who helped.  Thanks to all and a special thanks to Chad, Colin, Shevonne, and Talia as well as the rest of the staff who participated in the parade. 

The Christmas and ski season is upon us.


Enjoy!

The Things That Keep Me Up At Night

There are two things I worry about in the winter --- snow mold and the formation of ice on our turf.  Ice is never good for a golf course.  

On Monday Greywolf was blanketed by another deep snow fall, the second heavy snowfall of the winter.  By Monday evening there was 41 cm (16") of settled snow on the golf course.  But on Monday night the warm weather caused rain instead of snow.  I estimate that from Monday night through until Tuesday night over 3 cm (1”) of rain fell on the golf course.  By Wednesday morning the rain and warmer temperatures caused the snow to settle to the 27 cm (11”) mark at the shop. 

35 cm (14") of Snow on #4 Green

Thursday and Friday we began to inspect all eight of our untarped greens.  We inspected these greens for ice and snow depth.  The snow depth on the greens ranges from 27 cm (11”) on the lower holes to 35 cm (14”) on the upper holes.  The forth and tenth greens had a thin layer of sheet ice which is a concern.  The sixth green had some ice formation.  The remaining untarped greens showed little to no ice build up.  This was surprising.  The following video was shot while I inspected the sixth green, Cliffhanger.  Apologies for the rough quality of the video and audio.  There was a lot of wind as a storm moved in. 

Tarp Time Lapse and Explanation

I have been a little late in adding this post to the blog. The tarp crew, consisting of seven to ten staff this fall, installed all 11 Green Jacket tarps from October 24 to October 30.  If weather conditions are right, the tarps can be installed in three days.  But frost and poor weather prolonged the installation this year.

The following video shows the tarp installation process. It is a time lapse of the tarp installation on #2 and #12 greens this year. The second video, put together in 2010, details the tarp installation process and was put together for our ownership group, members, and guests.

The 2011 Tarp Crew

Golf Course Superintendent Delivers His Own Son

The forces of nature define the job of golf course superintendents and the ability to improvise, adapt, and react is what makes a successful superintendent.  Tom Altmann, superintendent at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort and former superintendent at Greywolf, knows these facts apply not only to our jobs but more importantly to life. 

On October 8^th Tom and his wife Melissa had to adapt to the forces of nature, when they delivered their son, Logan, in the cab of their pickup truck.

 The story is best told by Tom and Melissa and has been highlighted in the local paper (The Columbia Valley Pioneer) and CBC radio (Hit the link to CBC radio to hear Tom and Melissa tell the story). 

The story starts with Melissa expecting to deliver on November 11^th.   But five weeks before their due date, Tom and Melissa were camping.  It was October 8^th and the couple’s wedding anniversary.  Melissa started to feel some mild contractions but thought it was false labour.  To be safe the couple decided to go to the local hospital in Invermere. 
 

Greywolf’s Own Video Auteur

Dan Kytic is Greywolf’s and Panorama’s own amateur cinematographer.  His work continues to improve with each new video.  One of his most recent works can be seen in the YouTube video that is attached.  This video has over 77 separate shots taken during the fall of 2011.  I am particularly fond of the shots of the greens mowers and rollers at the start of the video, but I am somewhat biased.