It's Melting...

The daffodils that are already emerging from the ground in front of my house indicate that winter just might be over.  Well, I'm crossing my fingers at least, and with the 10-day forecast calling for temperatures to remain above freezing, it seems as if the daffodils could be correct.  If you're like me, you're ready to see some green after a winter that's brought 71" of snow (43" is the to-date normal).

Naturally, the question becomes, "So, when's the course opening?"  There are two general conditions that have to be met before the course opens: 1) the frost is out of the ground and 2) the grass is actively growing so that it can recover from any wear and tear.  As of yesterday, the National Weather Service's Stoughton station reported a frost depth of 11" with only the top 1" of soil thawed.  Although the high temperatures this week have been above average, the nights have still been below freezing, and these cold nights have decreased frost thawing.  However, the higher sun angle and warmer air has put a good dent in the course's snow cover.  There is still a significant amount of snow in the most heavily shaded areas and surrounding the greens that we cleared earlier this winter, and it's unlikely that these piles will disappear over the next few days.

Last year, the course opened on March 24, which was the second earliest opening since 1973.  Since 1973, the first week of April has been the median opening date, and at this point, that seems to be a good target for this year.  Of course, it's totally weather-dependent and can change quickly and unexpectedly.  The average high temperature for March 16 is 43 degrees, but by April 1, that average climbs to 50 degrees.  So, despite the above-average temperatures that we're going to experience for the next couple of days, you still have a little bit of time to get those golf clubs cleaned up before the course opens.

From our perspective, as long as we don't have to do this...



On March 30, 2010, we had to clear ice from the shoreline and get our irrigation system running due to an early opening date and an unusually dry period.



...again, the grounds crew will be ready for opening.