Westhaven Golf Club

Here are some photos from the ice storm that occurred on April 10th 2013.  As you can see all the trees are covered with ice and Sawyer Creek is well outside of it’s banks.

While being quite picturesque this storm brought a lot of precipitation that was not helpful to the start of the 2013 golf season.  Recent temperatures reaching into the mid 40′s allowed the snow accumulation to melt at a steady pace and mostly soak into the turf- eliminating the frost beneath the surface.  However, the added showers of this past week to the snow melt has left the ground over-saturated and led to standing water and flooding of the creeks.  The weight of the ice storm combined with steady winds also caused many tree limbs to break which will require pruning and removal once the ground firms enough to allow the maintenance crew access to the course.

Hopefully the weather will turn more cooperative and we can all get out and start swinging off the winter rust before long!

Each year golf courses in our area deal with possible ravages of winter including snow mold, turf desiccation and ice damage (suffocation).  We, at Westhaven Golf Club, have taken a pro active approach concerning the various potential causes of turf damage over the last several years.

The plant species on the greens (poa annua and bent grasses) usually is unable to survive under ice cover for extended periods of time (between 30-60 days).  Lately this has required removal of snow and ice one to three times per winter season.  The winter of 2011-2012 ice was removed on three separate occasions, and the winter of 2012-2013 snow and ice removal occurred twice.

The process of snow and ice removal is extremely labor intensive, requiring timely removal of the snow cover from the ice, then an application of a material to attract the rays of the sun to melt the ice.  Once the ice is softened and begins to melt it can be safely removed from the turfgrass.

The equipment used in this process can range from: a pick-up with a snow plow, a tractor with front-end loader, a super rake, walk behind snow blowers, and good old-fashioned shovels and squeegees.  The methods and equipment used varies based on the thickness of the ice, depth of snow (on the greens as well as getting to the greens), and cooperation from mother nature.  The overall process can take between 3-5 days to clear all 18 greens as you are limited to the peak sunlight and warmth hours of the day.

While this process can be time consuming and brings along risks of its own (namely damaging the turf with the equipment) we saw extremely positive results in the Spring of the 2012 season.  It is our hope we can replicate those results this coming season.

Below are a few pictures of the work that occurred this past winter.

Recreational activities of individuals during the winter months (such as cross-country skiing, hiking, and sledding), while enjoyable and healthy for humans, can be detrimental to turfgrass.

If the activity takes place upon bare and frozen turf, while in it’s dormant state, wear damage has no chance to recover until the next growing season.  If the activity takes place upon bare turf, with the surface thawed and the sub-surface frozen, root mass may be sheared off by any sideways motion- severely damaging or possibly killing the turf.

Activity that occurs upon snow covered turf causes the snow to; become compacted, lose most or all of it’s insulating properties, and be prone to ice creation in the compacted area.  If the ice is solid and persists long enough it will lead to turf suffocation and partial or complete death of the turf.

Our goal is to provide our guests with excellent turf conditions throughout the playing season- starting with the spring thaw.  Unnecessary winter activity could jeopardize spring and early summer conditions and cause significant outlays of labor and materials to re-establish damaged turfgrasses.

For these reasons we do not allow any unauthorized access to the course during the winter months and have “No Trespassing” signs posted around the perimeter.  While we apologize for any inconvenience we do appreciate everyone’s cooperation in keeping off from the turfgrass.

~Jim Hall, Course Superintendent

We are now closed for the 2012 season.  Thank you once again for another wonderful year of golf!

To reduce the risk of damage over the winter months no activity is allowed on the course.  This includes, but is not limited to; skiing, snow shoeing, dog walking, jogging, sledding, etc.  The perimeter of the course has been posted with “NO TRESSPASSING” signs stating these restrictions.  We appreciate everyone’s cooperation in these regards so we can provide the best possible playing conditions when spring arrives.

Did the mowers break-down?

Many of our customers and neighbors have noticed the grass in certian areas is not being mowed, and questions of “why?” are being asked.

The answer is: we are in the process of adding environmental zones to the course, in out-of-play areas.  The reasons behind these additions are numerous (too many to cover in this forum).  A page dedicated to these areas will be posted on the site in the near future.  These areas will be playable (able to be hit out of if golf balls enter them) but carts will be restricted from entering them.

We appreciate any feedback and hope all of our guests will assist us in the transitional period by respecting these zones.