Dear Glendale Member,

The recent cold weather has caused some damage to our sand based greens. I sent an email with photos of our greens to all of my fellow superintendents in the Greater Seattle area. The responses are coming back all the same. The sand based greens and tees at every course all appear similar. The turf looks like it has freezer burn, with gold to brown straw like color. Sand based greens drain quickly, so they don’t hold heat and moisture as well as soil greens. The plants got too cold and dry to withstand the wind that we had the last two days of the cold spell. During normal winter temperatures, the sand based greens are fine. Over the past 20 years here at Glendale, we have not experienced those low temps for a week straight. If we get another cold and dry weather pattern, I will cover the sand greens with straw and a tarp. This will give some insulation from the cold, and prevent excess drying and wind burn.

I have taken most of our sand greens out of play, and we will play temp greens on those holes until they recover. Several of the greens look bad, almost dead, but will recover as the weather gets warmer in the next two months. Some of the greens will come back faster than others. Those with better sun exposure like #3 will be back in play within a couple weeks, but #10, #11, and #13 will take longer. The best thing we can to speed up the recovery process is not do anything to cause more stress. No aeration, spiking, mowing, or foot traffic from golfers.

Our staff and I are very frustrated because there is nothing we can do to fix our greens right now. We just have to wait, and watch, as the weather gets better. The extreme weather conditions of the past year have made me a lot more humble. Sometimes I forget that Mother Nature still runs the show.

Thanks for you support and understanding during this time. I can’t wait for spring, so we can get the course in great shape for the upcoming golfing season at Glendale.

Steve Kealy
Golf Course Superintendent