Winter Play

An excerpt from the latest newsletter article on winter play on greens:
I would be re-miss if I did not put in a word or two about winter play on greens. By all accounts the recommended and preferred philosophy would be to stay off the greens entirely. At MMGC we have great sympathy for the brave and hearty souls that like to play the game all year in any conditions, so we have worked the best compromise to ensure the health of the turf and allow for the greens to be open as much as possible. “Frost Free or Fully Frozen” is the mantra I have tried to get across. When the greens are fully frozen and temps are at or below freezing we keep them open. Also if there is no frost in the ground at all we keep them open. It is when we have frost in the ground and the temps are above freezing that the top inch or two gets soft while the frost is breaking underneath. This is when they are most vulnerable to damage and we put the flag in the big cup in the fairway. Usually this is in the spring but can happen several times in the off-season as the temps fluctuate.
So we are in the thick of those conditions mentioned above. as the snow melts and the temps are high things will be soft and mushy. After this warm spell chances are good we will back on the greens fully frozen again or maybe just frost free and firm.
It is certainly more work for us to monitor the conditions and move the pins back and forth but we do this for the players who enjoy using the course all winter. We appreciate your understanding by staying off the greens in the times we have them closed

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