Superintendents Corner
- February 22, 2011

As I sit here looking out my office window, I can’t help but think back on all the Long Island winters prior to this one. What makes this year unique? The amount of snow we received and the length of time that it has occupied our golf course. What many people don’t know about snow cover is that it is actually good for turf.

This is because a solid inch or two of snow pack will help protect your lawn from a what is known as “transpiration.” You can think of transpiration as “evaporation” from plants. Moisture contained within plants, in this case grass blades, is literally “sucked out” by very cold, dry winds constantly whipping across them. If you have a nice coating of snow over your grass, it is protected and shielded from this winter wind. Another reason a good snow pack is wanted is because when it melts, it will take a winterizer application down into the soil where we want it. Melting snow also has the nice effect of evenly pulling those nutrients into the root zone right when they are stimulated by spring heat.

Now there is one bad thing about having snow on our course, but it is easily avoidable. You see, when the snow is packed on the lawn, people are tempted to walk on it while either playing, sledding or building a snow man. This certainly is fun for you and the kids, but it isn’t fun for the lawn beneath. The grass crowns have frozen for winter and are very brittle. When you stomp on them, they crush and break and may not recover. This means brown and dead areas are left in the spring. Long story short on this one: stay off the frozen grass!

Our management team has been battling visiting snow enthusiasts all winter to ensure our course remains protected for the coming season. While it is hard to keep everyone off such a large piece of property, it is important for everyone to understand that frozen turf needs to be protected.

On a positive note, signs of Spring to come are everywhere. We have been working around the clock removing snow from the greens, helping them to dry out quicker and even removing 2’-3’ drifts that have accumulated on various parts of the course. While other areas of the island are already open, the North Shore received much more snow and sustained much colder temperatures making the melting process much slower than the South Shore and numerous areas of Nassau County.

There are a few exciting changes to GRGC this season. The 12th hole has been re-graded and will be playing a little more fairly this season. Previously, the slope and grade of the green was so severe that the only fair pin placements were located in the front of the green. With over 150 rounds per day, these limited areas see a lot of heavy foot traffic, making it harder and harder to maintain a solid playing surface. We added a 1.5’ of fill to the front and implanted a small ledge in the back, making pin placements easier to move around. This should make for a challenging, yet fair test of a short par 3 for future seasons to come.

Other work has included brush removal, tee box repair and general course maintenance. The ownership continues to prove their commitment to making GRGC one of LI’s best in semi private golf.

I look forward to an exciting season in 2011 and can’t wait to see you out on the course.

All the best,
Dan Wolf
Superintendent