1. Winter of 2013/2014  Coldest winter since 1971(unofficial)  Wind Chills to -38C  Ice under snow  Early Frost  Cold and wet November, without much sunshine

2. Types of Winter Damage 1. Crown Hydration Injury (moisture) 2. Winter Desiccation (dry and windy) 3. Ice Suffocation, Anoxia (toxins under ice) 4. Pink and Gray Snow Mould (fungal) 5. Low Temperature Kill (cold)

3. Winter Damage 2009 & 2010  Hydration Injury – Water in the low areas of the greens – Freeze and thaw cycles kill the crown of the grass plants after they have taken up water.  Much damage occurred in run-off areas and “birdbaths” on the greens where water pools.  Kill was very severe, often sodding would be required to repair such damage.  Shaded areas were badly affected.

4. What Happened This Time?  As snow melted on the high spots of the greens, damage was already present, low areas were still covered in snow.  Very low temperatures got to these areas before the snow melted, where the snow insulation was thinnest.  Carb storage in plants were mostly used up by the longer winter and poor hardening off period.  Shade still a factor.  North-facing slopes.

5. Monitoring  We were hearing reports at other clubs of significant ice build up on greens.  In response, many clubs were plowing off greens in February, removing ice layers using aerators, and in some cases, blowing snow back on.  While our greens had significant snow, ice was not an issue. Snow was our friend during the winter!

6. Plowing  We did not plow on our greens until we could actually see turf in places and temperatures had risen.  We plowed areas that traditionally were troublesome for hydration injury, #11, #4.  On #13 we detected some thicker ice so we removed most of the snow.  In the end, plowing had little effect.

7. What’s Alive?  A plug taken from an early exposed area of #7 green yielded some clues.  Easier to detect what is dead than what is alive.  We could tell that under good growing conditions in our shop (17C), we were still going to have mixed results on our greens.

8. Spring Temperatures  By most accounts, we are estimating that we are 3 weeks to a month behind an average spring.  Soil temperatures have been far too cold to begin any serious recovery without help.  Germination of seed needs air temperatures at least continuous 12C during the day and 5C at night.

9. Recovery Methods  Tarps  Black sand  Aeration  Verticutting  Seeding  Sodding  Plugging  Topdressing  Higher mowing heights (less ball roll)  Temporary greens  Patience

10. Poa Annua vs. Bentgrass  Most older greens in Ontario are a mixture of different annual bluegrasses and bentgrasses.  The ratio of grass types on putting greens depends on many factors: mowing heights, soils, sun, shade, water, fertility, slope and green design, drainage, age.  Poa Annua is one of the 5 most common plants in the world. It is very aggressive but also very weak in the cold and the heat with short roots and small leaf blade.  Superintendents are reporting that mostly their poa annua populations are affected by the winter.  Courses with newer, mostly bentgrass greens are reporting far less overall damage.  Craigowan’s greens are a blend of 60% to 40% bent/poa in either ratio, depending on the season’s weather. Poa populations increase as we mow shorter.

11. We Are Not Alone!  Reports of severe winter damage range all over the northeast US and Southern Ontario and Quebec.  Most of the finest courses in Ontario are affected and are publicizing recovery plans for their turf.  All recovery plans include temporary greens and later openings.

12. What about Us?  All but 6 greens are affected with various degrees of damage.  Most of the damage is on the high areas where it got the coldest.  Most affected is the poa annua, but some bentgrasses were affected also.

13. What About Us ?  Fairways and tees are virtually unaffected.  The worst greens are #6, #2 and #18 and will likely take the longest to recover.  The best greens are #1, #5, #16, #17, #3 and both putting greens.

14. Trends, Theories & Conclusions  There is evidence to support that the damage was caused by low carbohydrate (sugars) in the grass plants during the winter. These sugars help lower the freezing point in water.  These carbs are stored in the leaf blades during the hardening off period on cold sunny autumn days.  Tree shade also prevented certain areas of our greens from hardening off adequately.  North-facing slopes such as #2 and #18 were colder and more exposed, and they were among the worst hit.  In our region, the worse damage seems to be on the “best” courses, supporting the above statement about leaf blade food storage.  “Better” clubs tend to mow the turf shorter, thus placing it under more stress, despite having superior resources on hand.  Courses with recently renovated greens (bentgrass) have generally fared much better this spring.  Never in history has it has gotten this cold on turf this old, mowed at this low height, with trees this large, here and at other clubs! There is a breaking point and many clubs hit it!

15. Recovery  Several different methods will be employed.  Tarps are being used to heat up soil temperature and draw out the still-living dormant turf.

16. Recovery  When soil temperatures are higher, aeration, aggressive verticutting, seeding and topdressing will happen in the thin or dead areas.  Tarps will be re-employed to mimic greenhouse conditions and get germination and growth more quickly.

17. Recovery  Fertilizer and irrigation will happen as required.  Damaged areas will be closed to ALL traffic (temp. greens).  The longer the greens have without traffic, the faster the healing. Some could be several weeks recovering.  Greens will be a bit slower and bumpier as they heal.  We would like to incorporate hardier grasses into the damaged areas to mitigate future turf loss.  Patience will be very key.  Affected courses are faced with the choice of having good greens for half a year or bad greens for a whole year (or longer).

18. Silver Lining  We are not in as bad a shape as many other courses that have twice the budget and twice the prestige. Healing should be fairly rapid if the weather cooperates.  Forward-thinking and well-to-do clubs will use this as a springboard to improve their greens now and for the future.  We have learned a lot about winter hardiness and it should compel golf courses to keep removing trees and perhaps raise cutting heights.  This type of winter will likely only happen every 40 years or so, but as long as some clubs “over-manage” their turf, we can expect other types of winter damage to happen.

19. Questions?