Ricochet

That is just one of the types of shots needed to win the cross country!
A trophy is in the making and traditions honored.
Do not be left in the warmth.
Friday registration at 9:00, mental and physical preparations begin 9:05. We will draw teams and honor family ties. Bring a loved one.
9:30 cut off for team placement.
Be there or email me Friday morning.
No shows will be publicly humiliated appropriately.
The excitement is mounting, I can feel the electricity in the air (might be static from my long johns though).
Turf

Cross country

Cross country this Friday!!
Bring your family.
These ladies are tough, and they braved some serious conditions! Great job ladies and I hope you had fun. They needed one player and someone was conveniently underdressed (yours truly). Sorry it didn't work out.
Forecast looks perfect, shots off the ponds!
Turf

Regular greens closing, open on temporary greens

For anyone new to the process, here at Briar, we cut a large cup in the fairways that allow for us to make some swings in the winter on warmer days. We close the regular greens to play for a variety of reasons. The USGA has a good article about winter play at this link, http://www.usga.org/course_care/articles/other/winter_play/Politics-Religion-and-Winter-Play-on-Greens/
The fall weather is yielding to more winter-like conditions as you can see in the forecast. The men's cross country looks good for Friday after thanksgiving. 10am shotgun, $25 a man, scramble.
The ladies are going to hold a cross country this Saturday, awesome!!
We have the cross country set up, and all the holes named. Don't miss out!
It's all about the journey,
Turf

Looking like winter

The sun angle, leafless trees, and the forecast.....all give the impression that winter is here. The forecast looks like we will be closing greens soon, if not this weekend.
We will be watching it closely and updating as we go.
The ladies will be doing the cross country this Saturday, brrrr!!!
I love that event!
Turf

Last weekend???

Looks like a great weekend for golf and football!
May be close to the last good one for a while!

Cross country and the closing of regular greens

It is almost that time of year when we cut the temporary greens in the fairways and approaches. This practice of closing our regular greens is important.
1. We refrain from making damage at a time when the turf cannot recuperate.
2. We keep traffic off saturated soil profiles that are unstable, protecting the turf from foot printing and root shear.
The decision to close the greens is made entirely based upon environmental conditions. We monitor soil temperatures and the forecasts. Once the greens begin to freeze deep enough to prevent the entire profile from thawing out, we will move to temporaries.
As you can see the soil temps just below the frozen surface are above freezing. The forecast lows have increased, and it looks like we will keep the greens open for another weekend.
The cross country event is planned for the Friday after thanksgiving with the Saturday as a rain/snow/sleet/ day.
More panoramas to come!
Turf

Greens closing / cross country

The forecast looks like we will be keeping the greens open, we may have long delays for a few days this week as the temps dip.
The determination of closing the greens is all based on the soil profile freezing. Once the greens soil profile freezes to the extent that they will not thaw out, we will go to temporary greens. Right now, the soil temps are in our favor, we can tolerate a few cold nights and still thaw out during the day.
We will have the cross country event over thanksgiving weekend, day to be determined based on the forecast. This event is takes you on a wild 9 hole adventure. Please sign up by responding to this email.
Have a great weekend,
Turf

Things I love as much as golf

Of those things, fresh fish, namely sushi. In case you missed it, Wednesday in the Turn, we have a sushi station!
Check with Chef Harry for more information.
Turf

Final spray of 2013

We started the season painting greens and we are ending in similar fashion. This final fungicide application will protect us from cold weather fungus. We have added a pigment (more on that tomorrow).
We are still busy with leaf debris, and making some of our final mowings.
The cross country event, which is awesome, will be played over thanksgiving weekend, day TBD.
Stay tuned for more detail.
Have a great day!
Turf