Waiting out the freeze/thaw cycle

April is here and with it has come increased sunshine and rising temperatures. Coupled with media coverage of major tournaments for both the men's and women's professional tours and anticipation for local opening days has begun to mount. While its nice to finally see the sun, this shoulder season is actually a high risk period  for the course due to repeated freeze thaw cycles.

The freeze thaw cycle describes conditions where warming day time temperatures produce good melting conditions, but evening temperatures remain below freezing. Situated in latitudes between the the far north and southern Canada, the Peace country experiences more of these days than the rest of BC.  The freeze/thaw cycle repeats itself more than 70 times annually, with more than forty of those instances coming in the spring.

Repeated freezing/thaw cycles are hard on everything. Repeated creation and melting of ice  causes the extreme weathering that leads to potholes and damage to course infrastructure such as cart paths and tee boxes. The real threat, however, is to the grass. Dormant under a protective layer of snow, grass is sensitive to warmer temperatures and literally comes to life. Repeated exposure to ice can cause new plant cells to rupture and the grass to die. 

Extended ice cover is also damaging.  Once roused from dormancy, grass, like all living things, begins to breathe. If ice blocks proper air exchange, the build up of carbon monoxide  can literally cause plants to suffocate. When surface temperatures rise and cause the snow to melt from the bottom up, air pockets form,  creating conditions that can produce snow molds. Where wind removes the snow cover too quickly, evaporation sucks up surface moisture and grass ends up wind burnt, dessicated or freezer burned.

Patience remains the name of the game. Nature moves at its own pace and human attempts to speed the process can cause unexpected and expensive consequences. Left on its own, nature usually finds a balance. A wise grounds crew takes its lead from nature and where necessary, provides restorative assistance, rather than try to unnecessarily rush the process.

A recent walk of the course indicates that even though the calendar says spring is here, Links is still a few weeks from opening day.  Much of the snow is gone but there are still areas that are either under deep snow or spring run off. Until these areas clear and green grass returns, local golfers will have lots of time to assess their equipment, prepare for the season and purchase memberships at the upcoming trade show. 

Other signs of spring include organizational meetings for the coming commercial league season. Jeff will be posting updates to the course's web and Facebook pages. Hopefully this weekend we'll be lifting some of the blankets protecting the greens and tee boxes to assess growing conditions. If nature is kind it won't be long before we'll all be out on the course swinging for the greens and making the cut!