Snow Gives Way to Another Muskoka Golf Season

Hello members! We are excited to be back publishing our blog to keep you updated throughout this upcoming season.
It was another long and cold winter here in Muskoka and throughout the entire province of Ontario. Although we did not reach our total snowfall from last season, the lack of snow gave way to a slightly colder winter. There were many mornings in January and February that reached a nostril freezing -35 to -40. These cold temperatures, accompanied with an adequate snow pack, once again insulated the greens very well.

View from 14 tee, February 9th.

Just like the previous winter, we received snow cover in November. The only difference from the previous winter is that we got a large amount of rain in December which caused a little bit of a mess. It wasn't enough rain to completely wash all the snow away, so we were left with a dangerous situation; a slush layer on top of the greens. This is not an ideal situation for the greens. Optimum turf health throughout the winter depends on a healthy snow pack with no ice. A large to moderate snow pack will allow for gas exchange at the greens surface. Ice will limit this and cause the plant to suffocate, rot and eventually die. Because of this, the crew worked very hard in early December to clear all greens of any wet snow/ slush.

Shoveling off slush/ snow mix on #2 green, November 24th.

Pretty much a recipe for disaster; wet snow, slush layer, surface water and saturated soil.

 Due to the hard work done by the greens staff during the December slushgate, the heavy dumping of snow that came throughout January was able to settle on clear greens. This has lead to another fantastic uncovering of the greens. There were spots on most greens that had a little bit of snow mould, but after a little bit of rain and sunshine, these spots have grown almost completely out.

First cut on #1 green, April 17.

 This winter, we again went with the black sand approach on greens. This technique was used last year with great success. The black sand allows us to speed up the melt on the surfaces of the greens. Once the night time temperatures are not frigidly cold, it's time for the greens to get some fresh air. The following is a small picture timeline of the black sand in action.

#6 green, March 27

#6 green, April 6.

#6 green, April 13

Greens monitoring is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to winter work. In the early months of  winter, clearing snow is a large job. Clearing snow off lane ways and roofs can be a time consuming task. Along with cleaning up after mother nature; summer season planning, course hardwear preventative maintenance and tree work were a large part of the winter.

We do, however, have some sad but exciting news to pass along. Robert Clark, who was the Assistant Golf Course Superintendent in our greens department, has moved on from the club. Robert has recently obtained the Golf Course Superintendent position at North Bay Golf & Country Club. We wish Robert all the best in his new role and thank you for the great years here at Muskoka Lakes G&CC.

We hope everyone is as excited for the golf season as we are. We look forward to seeing everyone back in beautiful Muskoka for yet another perfect summer in cottage country.