Page 13 - Gallery December Newsletter 2021

C O U R S E U P D A T E

F R O M

N O A H G E S S L E R

This fall the golf courses and all of us have benefitted from some amazing weather. Warmer than normal
temperatures have been a pleasure for everyone, and have also been of great benefit to the new overseed.
The daytime temperatures have been great for growth and the nighttime lows are easing the bermuda
into its dormant winter state.

While we are all hoping for continued warm and sunny weather, we know that at some point we are going
to have some colder weather, and that colder weather can result in frost delays. Frost delays are a
nuisance to everyone involved, from the golfer to the maintenance team and everyone one else on
property. While we can’t avoid them completely, we can prepare for what to expect and also explain some
of the various circumstances we will encounter.

Most frost can be described as frozen dew or water on the grass leaf. In extreme cold we can also get to a
point where the water inside the plant tissue freezes as well as the upper layer of the soil and the grass
roots. While the latter is of much greater concern, both can cause damage to the grass that the plant may

not be able to recover from. Once the damage occurs, it can’t be reversed. Once the cells inside the plant
are broken it is like cracking open and egg and trying to put the contents back inside.
On a property as large as the Gallery, with so many different elevations and exposures, there can be
varied levels of frost on a given day and temperatures almost always drop even more just before sunrise.
Our management team in the maintenance department begin our days by inspecting indicator areas on
the courses well before sunrise to make the best decision possible, taking into consideration all of the
different variables.These not only include the temperature but also the humidity, cloud cover and
presence or lack of wind. We must evaluate current conditions and also predict what will unfold over the
next few hours and use our prior experiences to make the best decision we can. There are often times
when frost is only present on parts of the courses but it can still be enough to necessitate a delay.
Temperatures even as much as forty two degrees can be low enough for frost.

Our goal is always to make the best decision we can to protect the courses for the whole season. On days
with frost we look for options to adjust our maintenance practice to get play out as soon as possible while

also accomplishing basic maintenance tasks. We thank everyone in advance for understanding all that the
maintenance team does to protect and prepare the golf courses during the winter months. Included
below is a link to a short video from the USGA on frost delays.

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/videos/2013/03/05/usga-course-care-video--
frost-issues-2205019686001.html