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| Publication Type:
| Popular |
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| Author(s): | Radko, Alexander M.;
Zontek, Stanley J.;
Buchanan, William G. |
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| Title: | A winter course for your club |
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| Section: | Thoughts on building courses
Other records with the "Thoughts on building courses" Section
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| Source: | The Golf Journal. Vol. 27, No. 1, March 1974, p. 13-15. |
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| Publishing Information: | Far Hills, NJ: United States Golf Association |
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| # of Pages: | 3 |
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| Keywords: | TIC Keywords: Golf courses; Winter play; Golf course construction; Alternate event preparation; Traffic damage; Wear; Winter injury; Winterkill; Poa annua control
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| Abstract/Contents: | Explores the question of winter play on golf courses. Evaluates the consequencies for the turf and whether the course is modifiable for winter play. Concludes with seven aspects of the agronomic situation for allowing winter play. First, "if the grass plant is hurt or even worn from wear and tear, at these times there is little or no regenerative growth to replace the injured tissue that has been insulating the plant's critical growing point or crown. The crown is then much more susceptible to desiccation, diseases and direct low temperature kill." Secondly, "in late fall or early winter when the frost first enters the ground, the grass blades become frozen and brittle. Traffic at these times will break and crack the stiff and frozen blades, causing a rupturing of the cell walls and a disruption of the protoplasm in the cell. This type of injury is sometimes referred to as "winter burn." Third, "soil, the medium that determines the performance, success and failure of the green can be severely, perhaps irreversibly, harmed. Traffic on moist soil during these times of the year will result in detrimental soil compaction. As we all know, compacted soil brings on many problems." Fourth, "play on greens when there is standing water or slush can cause severe problems. Traffic forces this water or slush into more intimate contact with the crown of the grass that is already waterlogged or hydrated. This then makes the grass plant much more susceptible to ice damage (from freezing) and low temperature kill. Fifth, "some of the most serious types of injury occur to the grass plant and soil when the frost is just going into the ground (in the fall) and when it is just coming out of the ground (in the spring). When this is occuring, traffic on greens will tend to shear off the grass roots underfoot between the soft upper inch or two that thaws out first and the continued frozen soil further down. Besides shearing off the grass roots near the surface, soil compaction can also be accelerated." Sixth, "with any type of of winter injury, whether from snow mold, ball marks, soil compaction, desiccation or foot traffic, there is a stronger possibility that Poa annua will fill in the damaged areas. With more Poa annua in greens there is more potential for summer turf problems." Seventh, "when you have extensive winter play on greens there is usually more spring and fall maintenance work that must be performed to bring greens up to their highest playing potential. Winter play is certainly reflected in the increased maintenance work involved in aerations, topdressings, spikings, and overseedings." Concludes that whether to open or close the golf course should be a daily decision. |
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| Language: | English |
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| References: | 0 |
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| Note: | Pictures, b/w
Diagrams |
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| ASA/CSSA/SSSA Citation (Crop Science-Like - may be incomplete):
Radko, A. M., S. J. Zontek, and W. G. Buchanan. 1974. A winter course for your club. Golf J. 27(1):p. 13-15. |
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MSU catalog number: GV 961 .G613 |
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