To this point the spring has been easy with us only blowing one green off and most the rest melting on their own. A little early but it looks like the winter was kind to most the areas on the course. Even the areas we did not treat for snow mould didn't really get hit too bad. There is no standing water which says the ground never really froze or there wasn't that much snow or a bit of both. With at least 70% of the front fairways without snow and only #6 and #8 greens with any real snow I encourage people to come and take walk around and check out things out.
It's interesting to look at the greens since this is the time of year when you really get a feel for the variety of grass species growing on the greens at KGC. Usually when greens are newly constructed a single bentgrass species or sometime a blend of 2 species make up the grass population to provide a consistent playing surface. The variety of species that make up the greens at KGC is pretty amazing. Even amongst the varying Poa species you can see small patches of bentgrass. Go take a look now and then make an effort to try and pick out the different patches come June. What's my point? I don't know but I guess it's regarding consistency and how it relates to playability and maintenance. Despite the huge variety of turf that exist on the greens at KGC they generally play similar but it is that variety that makes them a challenge to maintain. Over the past couple years I've been realizing that the "one size fits all" approach when it comes to maintaining the greens at KGC is a wee bit narrow minded. I am not just referencing micro climates because that is true for every property but in particular I am thinking of those cultural practices we sometime mindlessly apply to all the greens. If greens are of a single grass species it's a fairly safe bet to treat them similar but the more variation that exists between greens the more you need to consider what the impact may be (good or bad) on "routine" maintenance practices.
