[Mike_Young]

This will be the first time there has been a really low temp hard freeze across the SE since the ultradwarfs have become popular.  It will be an interesting few days and a critical test for the grass.  Some are up all night waiting for freezing temps so they can water a layer of ice over the greens and others are using covers....how many here are playing ultra dwarf greens or growing it?

[Bill_McBride]

We are still on Tifdwarf and nobody seems too concerned. 

[A.G._Crockett]

Mike,
It will be interesting, especially since the grounds was already completely saturated.  I played Saturday on mostly frozen bent greens, and that was before the really cold stuff we are going to get; this will be an epic freeze here in GA at least.

I noticed that Trophy Club in Alpharetta covered their Champion greens on Friday night and left them covered all weekend.  That worries me a bit; my club is going to convert next June, and I played both days this weekend.  I'd have been bummed if I paid dues to a club that left the greens covered all weekend while other people were playing golf.

[Mike_Young]

AG,
I think the ground being saturated is a benefit more so than a problem.  A dry green with wind is much more of a problem in low temps.  We put tarps out on ours in LaGrange yesterday afternoon and will keep them there until Wednesday.  IMHO and as a proponent of ultra dwarf over bent in the South, using tarps for a few days in the winter and being able to play nice tight firm greens in the mid summer months is a very good trade-off.  If most people make it thru this freeze without many problems I predict it will be the beginning of the end for bent in the South.  I guess we will see soon.
Happy New Year,

[Carson Pilcher]

Mike,

At both of our courses (with Champions), we threw out a layer of straw and then covered them.  I would imagine they are going to stay covered for a few days.  I am a fan of the fast, firm and smooth putting surfaces year-round with these greens.

Carson

[JMEvensky]

It's 13* in Memphis as I type this and won't get above freezing until Thursday.Most in town have 5 or 6 year old Champion so temps this low are a new phenomenon.Our greens have been covered since yesterday morning.

Can a Super tell immediately if there's been damage or do you have to wait until growing season to see?

[Mike_Young]

JM,
One can pull some plugs and bring them inside and see what happens...

[Blake Conant]

In 2010 with similar temps the guys at Atlanta Athletic Club laid straw and then covered with tarps and the champion made it through.  Would think they'll do the same thing this time around.

[BCowan]

Mr young

   I played Mid Pines and they had the new Verde Grass Hybrid Greens.  I loved the firmness as they are new greens.  they seemed a little more hairier than Champion greens i putted on a day later.  I still like both surfaces over bent.  Bent just isn't firm enough when chipping on it.  What do you think of Verde and what are your favorite hybrids other than Champion?  I played a Jones dwarf in Florida and they were the best greens in the south i have putted and chipped on.

[Carl Nichols]

Could you put small heaters to blow warm air under the tarps to help?  Expensive to buy 18 heaters, but cheaper than losing greens.

[Dan Herrmann]

It's supposed to get to near zero with crazy winds in Philly.  I'm a bit bummed we lost our nice snow cover today because it can act to insulate the turf from the desiccant effects of that horrible cold north wind.

[Lou_Duran]

We've had a number of years with low temperatures in the 10-20° range and with good covers, the ultradwarfs (TE, Champ, MV) have done OK.  I do remember one club where some of the covers weren't tied down well, the wind managed to bellow underneath and sections of several greens didn't come back in the spring (MiniVerde).  From what I am told, when the temps go below 30° for any extended period of time, covers go down.    

[JMEvensky]

Could you put small heaters to blow warm air under the tarps to help?  Expensive to buy 18 heaters, but cheaper than losing greens.

I'll defer to the Supers,but I think the roots are the bigger issue.

[SB]

We have Champions greens.  We covered yesterday too, and I think the sun shining right now should help soil temps quite a bit.  We're fortunate that we don't really have any greens in shade, so I hope we're OK.  That said, I'm still pretty nervous as winterkill always seems a bit random and I've been told it's a combination of wind, soil temperatures and moisture, but the exact combination seems to be anyone's guess.

We cover at anything below 25 degrees, so I'm with you, Mike.  The tradeoff for having greens covered for 5 days in the winter (when nobody plays golf) is no comparison for 60 days of constant monitoring when people will actually play.

[Mike_Young]

In 2010 with similar temps the guys at Atlanta Athletic Club laid straw and then covered with tarps and the champion made it through.  Would think they'll do the same thing this time around.

Blake,
I think that is what most are doing.  I do think we are to have colder temps than 2010 but haven't checked...9 degrees expected.  We covered once earlier this year and what was interesting was how much heat the black tarps absorbed on a sunny day.  It really warmed the greens and I don't know if that is good or bad...but this will be a three day cover deal...

[Mike_Young]

Mr young

   I played Mid Pines and they had the new Verde Grass Hybrid Greens.  I loved the firmness as they are new greens.  they seemed a little more hairier than Champion greens i putted on a day later.  I still like both surfaces over bent.  Bent just isn't firm enough when chipping on it.  What do you think of Verde and what are your favorite hybrids other than Champion?  I played a Jones dwarf in Florida and they were the best greens in the south i have putted and chipped on.

Ben,
IMHO the three main UDwarfs, Miniverde, Champions and TifEagle all work with the right supt and the right programs.  They can fine tune to which one they want to use in which location but with the right brushes and mowing they are all good.

[Anthony_Nysse]

It's 13* in Memphis as I type this and won't get above freezing until Thursday.Most in town have 5 or 6 year old Champion so temps this low are a new phenomenon.Our greens have been covered since yesterday morning.

Can a Super tell immediately if there's been damage or do you have to wait until growing season to see?

Pull plugs and place them in a south facing window. You'll know in a few days how bad the damage is/was.

[Brent Hutto]

How long can those tarps stay in place (during a protracted cold spell) before lack of light and air creates other problems beside the cold?

[Anthony_Nysse]

Could you put small heaters to blow warm air under the tarps to help?  Expensive to buy 18 heaters, but cheaper than losing greens.

I'll defer to the Supers,but I think the roots are the bigger issue.

You can blow in hot air with the Precison Cooling/heating system that TPC Sawgrass has. I'm sure they will be running there, but its not a cheap system. A small heater wouldn't be able to keep up, in my opinion.
  A lot of courses are covering with pinestraw and then event tarps=East Lake and Belfair come to mind. Twitter has been full of pis with courses doing it today.

[Joe Hancock]

Anthony will know far better than I, as will every other super in the south, but doesn't the damage to warm season grasses, when it's cold like this, occur first in the crown of the plant rather than the root system?

I remember centipedegrass being highly sensitive to winter kill if fertilized...it elevated the crown of the plant off the soil making it more susceptible. When I was a super in NC, I never had winter kill on greens, but I was only there for 10 years and it never got cold like the nation is experiencing right now.

Hope all goes well for everyone,

Joe

[Anthony_Nysse]

Joe,
  You're spot on. There are many guys without the resources of covers and pine straw that are going to  syringe the greens ever 30 mins and/or run a tons of water and freeze the canopy. The cool temps with the wind have guys scare of crown de-hydration.

[A.G._Crockett]

AG,
I think the ground being saturated is a benefit more so than a problem.  A dry green with wind is much more of a problem in low temps.  We put tarps out on ours in LaGrange yesterday afternoon and will keep them there until Wednesday.  IMHO and as a proponent of ultra dwarf over bent in the South, using tarps for a few days in the winter and being able to play nice tight firm greens in the mid summer months is a very good trade-off.  If most people make it thru this freeze without many problems I predict it will be the beginning of the end for bent in the South.  I guess we will see soon.
Happy New Year,

Glad to hear it.  I had wondered if the saturated ground with a protracted hard freeze wouldn't be worse for root damage.  Just another reason I'm not in the golf business!

[Jerry Kluger]

My club has bent grass here in NC which they heavy aerate 3 times during the season which is far worse than 3 days of covered greens.

[A.G._Crockett]

My club has bent grass here in NC which they heavy aerate 3 times during the season which is far worse than 3 days of covered greens.

I'm surprised that your club is only aerating 3 times; many if not most bent courses in the South are now at 4, and open them up and sand them almost every Monday to boot.

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