The use of turf covers

#2 Approach

#5 Approach

 

Last week, with temperatures dipping into the upper teens, the entire golf course staff got to work Monday afternoon with the covering of all putting surfaces.  We did a trial run the Friday before just to see how the process would go.  It took about 3 1/2 hours to cover all the greens.  The challenge about covering, as is the case with many things we do on the golf course, is dealing with Mother Nature.  Usually the need to cover is triggered with a change in weather patterns bringing a blast of cold air to the south.  That blast is accompanied by wind, and that is typically the time when the covers need to be put out.  To say the least it was a challenge, but my staff performed as I knew they would, flawlessly.  During that cold spell, the soil temperatures under the covers remained 15 degrees or more warmer then the air temperature.  That is a significant difference, and one that is visually noticeable in the pictures above.  Can you tell where the cover over lapped onto the approaches?  The heat from the covers insulated the turf and showed little effects from the cold temperatures we experienced.  Fortunately for our area these covers will not be a common occurrence, but we do have them for times just like this one.