Damage on a green caused by traffic onfrosted turf

Politics, Religion, and Winter Play on Greensby JAMES T. SNOWDirector, Northeastern Region, USGA Green Section

ITIS common knowledge that threetopics are simply too controversialfor polite conversation, and should

never be brought up at social functions:politics, religion, and winter play ongreens. Not familiar with the last? Ifnot, then you apparently haven't spentmuch time at northern golf courses dur-ing late fall and early winter.

Few subjects raise such an emotionalresponse from golf course superinten-dents and golfers alike. Golfers canbecome irate at actions restricting theiraccess to regular greens during late fall,winter, and early spring, while super-intendents are just as unyielding in their

view that play should be kept off thegreens at those times.

Who's right?As with most topics of this nature,

qualifications have to be tacked on toany firm answer. It is safe to say, how-ever, that winter play can only harmthe greens, and in many instances it hasa significantly negative impact on thehealth and playability of the turf duringthe following golf season.

Repercussions of Winter Play

It is not hard to understand why manygolfers are sometimes skeptical about

claims concerning the negative effectsof winter play, because to them the turfon greens that have been played through-out the winter usually appears the sameas the turf on greens that have beenclosed. The effects of winter traffic,however, need not be obvious anddramatic to have significant and long-lasting repercussions.

Direct wear injury - Thinning of theturf due to direct wear injury is anobvious and important result of wintertraffic. Unlike during the growing sea-son, when the turf is able to regeneratenew leaves and stems to replace injuredtissue daily, winter weather completely

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1987

halts turf growth; the grass is continuallythinned throughout the winter in directproportion to the amount of traffic.This thinning of the turf canopy can,and often does, encourage the establish-ment of such weeds as Poa annua, crab-grass, goosegrass, moss, algae, pearl-wort, spurge, and other weed pestsduring the spring and summer. Trueenough, weeds can indeed be a problemon greens that aren't subjected to winterplay, but winter traffic causes them to bejust that much more abundant and diffi-cult to control.

Soil compaction - Soil compactionis a more subtle and perhaps moreimportant consequence of winter traffic.Because of the cold winter temperaturesand the lack of active turf growth, theloss of excess soil moisture throughevaporation and transpiration is greatlyreduced. In addition, frozen sub-surfacesoils may completely block the move-ment of excess moisture through the soilprofile. During the summer, a veryheavy rainfall often creates soil con-ditions that warrant closing the coursefor a day or two until the excess moisture

is eliminated by way of evaporation,transpiration, and downward percola-tion through the soil profile. Becausethese moisture losses are often non-functional during the winter, saturatedsoil conditions can persist for weeks orlonger. Yet the golfers who can appreci-ate the need to close the course duringthe summer are sometimes completelyunsympathetic to the same conditionsand concerns during the winter.

The effects of soil compaction on thehealth and playability of the turf areinsidious at any time, but because wetsoils are especially prone to compaction,the likelihood of traffic causing thecollapse of good soil structure is ofconstant concern during the winter.As soil particles are compacted andpushed closer and closer together, thepore space that facilitates drainage androot growth during the summer isgradually lost. As the season finallycommences, golfers often complain thatthese compacted greens are hard. Froman agronomic standpoint, turf beginsthe season in a weakened state, pre-disposed to a host of summer problems.

In addition to the potential for weedencroachment, the turf on greens playedduring winter tends to wilt more readilyduring hot weather, and often is moresusceptible to a wide array of primaryand secondary disease organisms.

Effects on playability - With the lossof turf density from direct wear injuryand the loss of turf vigor caused by soilcompaction, greens played during wintertend to be hard, slow, and bumpy, andthey are slower to develop during thespring, compared to greens that are notsubjected to winter traffic. Footprint-ing is often a problem, and golfers tendto complain about the lack of truenesseven after several topdressings in thespring. Finally, the effects of compac-tion on the health of the turf can last toa certain extent for much of the season,making it difficult or impossible to keepthe greens as closely cut and intensivelygroomed as some golfers might desire.

Many winter golfers have heard thesearguments before and have dismissedthem as being the ravings of overpro-tective golf course superintendents andturfgrass scientists. A favorite response

is, "I pay plenty to play golf at this club,and I'm going to use the regular greensduring the winter. That's why we pay thesuperintendent - to fix up the greens intime for spring. Besides, the Let-'Em-Play-Anytime Golf Course down thestreet lets them play through the winter,and they don't lose any grass during thesummer. Anyway, we only have a fewgroups that play much during the winter.How much damage can we do?"

Factors to Consider

On the surface, these comments seemquite valid; after all, everything is amatter of degree. But many factorsshould be taken into account in develop-ing a logical policy on winter play.

Anticipated traffic - If a single roundof golf were played on the course duringthe winter, most would agree that thepotential for serious damage would benil. Same for ten rounds? How about100, 500 or 1,000? If the weather is mildand there is little snow, how many morerounds will it add? Where do you drawthe line?

Soil type - Winter golfers argue thatsand-based greens drain well and don'tcompact, making them very suitable forwinter play at any time. While it is truethat sand-based greens don't suffer fromcompaction to the extent that oldersoil-based greens might, it is also truethat direct-wear injury is likely to bemore severe on sand greens. Turf densitycan be greatly compromised, and weedencroachment can be a real concern. Itis also true that most golf courses in theNorth do not have good sand-basedgreens. Obviously, courses with oldersoil-based greens are especially vulner-able to both types of winter injury.

Specific weather conditions - Thoughtraffic on dormant turf will indeed causesome injury, the weather and soil con-ditions at the time of play will dictate thetype and extent of the damage. Trafficon dry, unfrozen soil will cause the leastdamage, but this condition is rare duringthe winter. Frozen soil can cause signifi-cant wear injury but little soil compac-tion. Play on wet, unfrozen soil canresult in significant soil compactionbut less wear injury. Play on a thawing

soil (wet on the surface, frozen below)can result in severe soil compaction andwear injury, and should be avoided.Finally, frosted turf is extremely suscep-tible to direct injury, and play shouldnever be allowed.

Grass species - Do you have bent-grass greens and want to keep them?Then don't allow winter play. Thinnedturf and compacted soil is just whatPoa annua is looking for in the spring.

Cultural maintenance programs -Winter golfers argue that a good golfcourse superintendent should be able tofix the damage done during the winterby aerifying, topdressing, overseeding,fertilizing, and irrigating during theearly spring. If weed encroachment is aproblem, then he should apply herbi-cides to kill the weeds, and pre-emergentherbicides to prevent the crabgrass andgoosegrass from developing. However,1) it would be a rare case where intensivespring work would completely compen-sate for the wear injury and soil com-paction resulting from winter play,2) chemicals applied to control crabgrassand other weeds have a negative effect

(Opposite page) Poa annua has become well established on the front portion of this green thatis used for winter play. The rear section, which is blocked off with a snow fence each winter,remains primarily bentgrass.

(Above left) A good quality temporary green can provide satisfactory conditions for winter playwhile preserving the regular greens for use the following spring.

(Above right) Winter traffic on dormant turf leaves thin, weak areas that are open to weedencroachment in the spring.

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on the root growth and the overallhealth of the turf during the summer,3) golfers despise the intensive aerifi-cation and topdressing required duringthe early spring, since most of themreturn after a winter layoff and findtheir greens ripped up and in poor play-ing condition for weeks or more, and4) all of the work to renovate the greenstakes more money for labor and materialsand comes at the expense of other springcourse preparation activities.

History of winter injury - The effectsof winter play can exacerbate the injuryfrom other types of winter problems,including desiccation, winter diseases,and low-temperature kill (ice damage).Winter play, therefore, should be avoidedif the course regularly suffers from otherforms of winter injury.

Previous weed problems - Coursesthat have previously experienced andare concerned about weed problemssuch as crabgrass, goosegrass, spurge,moss, algae, and Poa annua would dothemselves a favor by avoiding winterplay on the regular greens.

Recent stress problems - Winter playis best not allowed on greens that haveexperienced the loss of turf or extremeweakness during the previous year oryears caused by heat stress, secondarydisease problems such as anthracnose orsummer patch, nematodes or other sum-mer stress problems. Greens like theseprobably would suffer even greaterproblems if they were burdened with thevigor-inhibiting effects of winter play.

Trees - Greens close to large treesthat suffer from shade, air circulationproblems, and tree root competitionshould not be forced to endure thecomplicating effects of winter play.Compared to turf growing in clear areas,greens growing in locations like theseusually respond very slowly in the spring,and they tend to be weak during thesummer. Many greens on the older,mature courses in the North can begrouped in this category.

Standards for play - One of the mostimportant questions to ask in contem-plating whether or not to use the regulargreens in winter concerns what thegolfers want from the greens during theregular season. If they want top-qualityturf from spring through fall, involvingvery close, frequent mowing, doublemowing, frequent verticutting, leanfertilization, minimal irrigation, orother stress-inducing practices, then itis best to avoid winter play. If the golfersdon't mind higher cutting heights, slowerspeeds, and greater inconsistency, then

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winter golf was made for them. Somebias in that statement? Perhaps, but toomany golfers want to trample theirdormant greens during the winter monthsand then enjoy U.S. Open conditionsfrom April through November. Thereare still some things money can't buy.

Some Alternatives

Given that this article won't end theuse of the regular greens during winteron all golf courses, a look at some of thealternatives might prove useful in estab-lishing a winter policy.

• Use temporary greens. Many golfcourses avoid winter injury by estab-lishing temporary greens on the fairwayapproach area to the existing greens.Often these areas are aerified and top-dressed several times during the fall,and the cutting height is lowered toproduce a reasonable putting surfacefor the winter. Sure it's more fun to hitto the regular greens, but isn't it worthsacrificing a little bit during the winterto keep the greens in good condition forspring, summer, and fall? The best policyis to close the greens when growth ceasesin the fall, and open them in the springonly when growth resumes and the soilhas dried enough to resist compaction.

• Design a winter course. This shouldbe especially appealing to the addictswho simply can't get enough. Many clubsplay their course backwards, going fromgreen to tee, using the tee as a targetor establishing a temporary green at thetee end of the fairway. Others use theirimaginations and design holes in a cross-country style, crossing roughs and waterhazards that might rarely be seen orappreciated when golfers play the regularcourse. Temporary greens can be estab-lished on existing fairways or roughs,near fairway bunkers, water hazards, orgroupings of trees. The possibilities arelimitless.

• Establish temporary greens, butuse them only when conditions are notappropriate for using the regular greens.This is a bad policy, because conditionscan go from fair to terrible in just a fewhours. For example, greens that arefrozen in the morning can thaw as tem-peratures rise during the day. If play isallowed on the regular greens in themorning, at what point should it switchto temporary greens? Who will decide?Will golfers already on the course benotified of the change? Obviously, thelogistics of this policy are difficult, andthe likelihood of damage to the greensis great.

• Use the regular greens during thewinter, but close the course on dayswhen the potential for damage is great.This policy has the same flaws as theone above. In some ways it's even worse,because the days when the greens shouldbe closed, when temperatures rise abovefreezing and the putting surfaces becomethawed, are the same days that mostwinter golfers want to be on the course.Superintendents can come under greatpressure from club officials to keep thecourse open, despite their great mis-givings, and sometimes they are simplyoverruled.

• Play the greens throughout thewinter, regardless of the conditions.Because the alternatives require difficultdecisions and complicated logistics,many golf courses opt for this worst-choice policy. For the reasons we'veoutlined, these golf courses are justasking for problems.

• Close the course for the winter.From the standpoint of having thegreens, tees, and fairways in the bestpossible condition for spring, this iscertainly the best policy. There is nodoubt that winter play on the tees andfairways can thin the turf and compactthe soiljust as it can on the greens. How-ever, golfers don't putt on the tees andfairways during the summer, and mostdon't mind some cultivation and over-seeding on these areas during the spring.Nevertheless, many courses establishtemporary tees for the winter, or sacri-fice small portions of the regular tees forwinter use if play is expected to bemoderate or heavy. If the club decidesto keep the course open, whether or notthe regular greens are used, golfersshould be asked to wear shoes withoutspikes or cleats whenever possible, andriding carts should be restricted to paths,if they're allowed at all.

Winter play can do an inordinateamount of damage to the health andplayability of the greens in relation tothe number of rounds. Every golf courseconsidering winter play should questionwhether or not it is worth the risk ofdamaging the greens and affecting theirplayability for a significant period of theregular season by allowing a relativelysmall percentage of the club's golfers touse them at that time. In the view ofmost golf course superintendents, turf-grass scientists, and agronomists, it isnot. Unfortunately, even the consideredopinion of the experts is unlikely toseparate winter play from politics andreligion as a topic of controversy amonggolfers.