Snow Blowing Greens

Clearing 5 West Green

Snow cover is considered a good thing on northern golf courses during the winter as it acts as a natural blanket for turf, insulating it from harsh desiccating winds while still allowing the needed exchange of gases. While the majority of the time this is true, there are situations dictated  by weather in which clearing the snow from key playing surfaces, such as greens, is a good idea.  

The weather this weekend is supposed to rise above freezing for a period of time but then quickly drops down again to below freezing temperatures.  The situation turf managers are trying to avoid by removing snow from greens is ice build up.  The ground below the snow is still frozen and will not allow melting snow to drain through the profile. As the snow melts it can collect in low lying areas with poor surface drainage and form sheets of ice. Through years of research it has been found that Poa annua can survive up to 30 days under ice while bentgrass can survive up to 90 days under ice.  Our greens are predominantly Poa annua so this is of special concern to us.  Today our staff tackled clearing snow on a few key areas of the course prior to the warmer weather moving in this weekend in hopes of limiting any large ice formation which could injure/kill turf this winter.  With that said, it's always a gamble whether or not these efforts will actually pay off as winter damage can occur even after the best efforts to ensure turf health have been taken.