TEE IT UP A NOTE FROM YOUR DIRECTOR OF GOLF
A NOTE FROM YOUR COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
Hello Old North State Members,
Question: Is it really necessary for the greens to be frost-free before play starts?
In my opinion 2021 has flown by. We have just come off our final major tournament of the year….The all-member Club Championship. I would like to personally thank the 38 players that spent the weekend with us and congratulate the winners. We also closed the book on the WGA season recently. Thank you all for the support. There will be plenty of good changes coming to the WGA for 2022. If you are interested in becoming a Member of the Women’s Golf Association, whether it is a 9hole or 18-hole participant… please call the golf shop. As we begin to prepare for 2022 there are still a few events on the calendar that you do not want to miss. Please make sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, November 20, and make sure to participate in our 3rd Annual Gobbler Shoot-out. You also don’t want to miss the Christmas Sale on Friday, December 3 followed by the Tough Day, which is a two-person Captain’s Choice. More details will be emailed to you soon. I want to make sure to thank Chris Chapman, GCSAA, and his Agronomy team for doing their part to keep our course in the best possible condition during a tough summer with bent grass greens, with limited staff. His team is the reason the golf and food and beverage operation had such a successful year. Also, I want to thank my Staff consisting of Adam Davey, PGA, Jared Hedrick, and Aaron Richardson, for working through plenty of challenges thrown our way. We definitely grew together as a team. Adam enjoyed his year so much he decided to become a permanent resident of the United States of America… CONGRATULATIONS!
Answer: Frost is essentially frozen dew. Ice crystals visible on the outside of the plant can also form on the inside of grass blades. The grass plant, normally resilient to footsteps becomes brittle and fragile when ice crystals form. Under the pressure of traffic, ice crystals puncture living plant tissues and rupture plant cells. Damage will not appear right away, but it will show up in footstep tracks the following days as the plant is unable to repair itself and begins to die. Frost damage can occur on any turfgrass mowed at any height but it is amplified when the plant is mowed low, as on a putting green. Keep in mind, a foursome typically takes several hundred footsteps on each green, so even allowing just a few groups to play when frost is present can be very damaging to the greens, and the rest of the golf course for that matter. It is not completely understood when frost will cause damage, so the decision to keep traffic off the golf course must be made conservatively to protect the condition of the greens. See you on the course! Chris Chapman
Our entire golf operation team is excited to do it all again in 2022. Thank you all for allowing us to be part of such a great Family here at The Old North State Club! Justin Mathers, PGA
ONSC WGA ladies during their closing day
OLD NORTH STATE OF MIND
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