To tarp or not to tarp ?

[Patrick_Mucci]

That is the question in the Northeast in the winter.

I was stunned by the extent of the winter damage to some Long Island courses.

And the extent of the damage to some New Jersey courses as well, especially the greens.

The courses that employ tarps in the winter seem to weather the winter far better than courses that leave their greens exposed.

Other courses indicate that they remove snow and ice from their greens during the winter, but that seems labor intensive.

What's the general consensus from Superintendents that are faced with winter damage from cold, snow and ice ?

And, what's the current cost to cover all 19 greens with Tarps ?

[BCowan]

There was damage in Michigan as well. 

[BHoover]

Doesn't it depend on the type of grass? Here in Minnesota, it seems like the courses with significant poa in the greens, cover for the winter to avoid the cold killing the poa. Courses primarily with bent, seem to go without.

Interestingly, back in Ohio, I don't recall seeing any courses cover their greens during the winters.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Here in Toronto it looks like the courses wintered very well after a devastating winter a year ago. Our super says our course (Scarboro) is in the best shape in years. We tarp most of our greens but some are left untarped and there wasn't much difference. The same with last winter - tarping didn't matter as the issue was poa being under ice for a couple of months which is deadly for the poa. Most of the older clubs with lots of poa had brown greens until well into the summer, including Hamilton, St, George's, Scarboro, etc.

Snow coverage is good, ice is not. Was there lots of ice in LI?  And did the courses damaged have lots of poa on their greens?

[John McCarthy]

Last year was absolute murder on greens in and about Chicagoland last year.  This year was about average but I played once this year so throw this year out.  

I am not a turf guy but from last year the turf guys said the ice was the killer.  And what got killed was poa.  Even in dormant grass air has to get there.  The brand new bent greens at Medinah 1 were very happy, if thin since they were new.  Elgin Highlands were very playable after meltout and they were 10ish years old. A course near me with very old greens opened for 2 weeks just gassed them and started over.  They reopen first week in June this year.

Poa dies easier in winter I guess.  And keeping poa off a green...let us not get into the California peninsula wars again.

[Brad Klein]

Typical question, as if there are some rules.

Ask 40 superintendents and you'll get 29 valid answers, varying by turf grass type, greens construction, elevation, top-dressing profile, mowing heights, expectations for performance, how much golf traffic there was in the fall, whether there's subzero temperature for X number of days, sub-20-degree temperature for X number of days., whether the snow came before or after the first deep frost, how deep the frost layer is, amount of snow cover, how much wind at what moisture level, chemical variance in the soil. Call it a multi-variate equation with infinity-minus N variables.

The more I talk with and listen to superintendents the more respect I have for the judgments they make and the more I am amazed how little even the most avid golf course enthusiast knows about the mixture of science and estimation that goes into what superintendents really do.

Brad Klein   

[Patrick_Mucci]

Brad,

The decision to tarp or not to tarp has to be made in advance, and it's a simple binary decision.

The decision to tarp requires a significant hit to the budget, hence it's a decision that has to be made long before winter arrives, and there aren't many Superintendents capable of predicting what the upcoming winter will be like.  Almost all of the variables you list are unknowns.

So the question remains.

In the Northeast, do you tarp or not tarp ?

[BCowan]

Pat,

   There were courses that tarped in the winter of 2013/2014 and they still had significant damage and didn't open until June.  It doesn't matter when Ice prevails for extended periods of time.

[Bill Brightly]

The more I talk with and listen to superintendents the more respect I have for the judgments they make and the more I am amazed how little even the most avid golf course enthusiast knows about the mixture of science and estimation that goes into what superintendents really do.

Brad Klein   

I agree. And if you've served as Grounds Chair, asked a ton of questions, maybe gone out a few times with the USGA agronomist and your superintendent, you only begin to scratch the surface of understanding what your superintendent does.

And THAT makes me crazy when the typical loudmouth member holds court at the bar and says things like: "our superintendent is babying our course" or "why can't our greens run at 12 like ______ club?"

[Patrick_Mucci]

Bill,

It's a binary decision, yes or no.

What are the pros and what are the cons and how is the choice impacted by good and bad winters ?

[Rob Marshall]

I've never seen anyone tarp in the Rochester NY area. Last year all the clubs had some pretty severe damage. This year I haven't heard of anyone having any damage.

[SL_Solow]

The supers I work with suggest grass type is important.  the newer bents are tested to be good at beyond minus 30 farenheit. They also can survive under ice for extended periods.  Those with the new grasses don't like tarps once the greens are established because they believe that the tarps encourage poa.  Brad is correct; there are numerous factors but the newer grasses really make a difference. If I had poa greens, and we used to, I would probably tarp.

[Jaeger Kovich]

Depends on the course, and even the particular green. I have been to a few courses where certain greens are tarped if they are in more exposed or have other conditions, and have a higher probably of receiving damage. Crystal Downs is the one that sticks out in my mind the most because I have seen it a few times with them on. Fore example, a green like 14 gets one because it is so exposed, as does 7 because of the surface drainage patterns. Others are not prone to damage because they are protected via trees or exposed to sun and not wind... And you don't need to spend the $ on 18.

[Bill Brightly]

Bill,

It's a binary decision, yes or no.

What are the pros and what are the cons and how is the choice impacted by good and bad winters ?

You can do nothing, you can tarp, you can use men and equipment to remove snow and ice, or you can use black sand to try and melt the ice.

We have not tarped at Hackensack and our greens are in great shape, except for one patch on the practice green and two spots on the course. Guys in visiting in the Hoffman Cup all raved about our greens. But we are also one of the few courses who wait until May to aerate, while most other courses make their superintendent do it in April.

[John McCarthy]

Patrick:  Tarp or no tarp is not a simple binary.  I have seen some greens with tarps, some left open and some with straw left under the tarp.  I have seen the January thaw and the greens get the tarp off for a few days.  

Yours is an interesting question and some.real experiments should be done...but who is willing to kill.a.green for science?

[Jon Wiggett]

If you get the green properly dormant before the winter then no need for a tarp but if there is still a bit of growth then maybe depending on the grass type.

Jon

[Matt MacIver]

Good question but in my mind not exactly binary for all, it's not a like it's a moral question - as Brad says there are multiple issues, and there is an important one unrelated to agronomy he didn't mention: $. 

WWAD: what would Augusta do (substitute Shinny or Brookline in the NE I suppose)? 

If you had the $ why wouldn't you? 

If you don't you roll the dice as it's not even a consideration (like a muni petitioning the USGA to host an Open).

It is a question for those in the middle, those that may be able to afford it but likely have to make an economic decision to then do without something else, or generate more revenue somehow.

[Brad Klein]

Pat,

As usual, it's more complicated than a binary decision even at any one club. You could easily decide which greens to tarp, when, for how long, and you better be prepared to go in there and remove the tarps if there's a sudden warm spell that could induce germination (tarps add a lot of temperature to the green) that might be followed by a deep freeze, in which case you're toasted. I'd hate to work for someone who demanded yes/no decisions in this business. If you have one green in a microclimate that includes a low area with pine trees (that shade sun in winter) on the east/south side and 80% Poa on the putting surface you might be more likely to tarp than with a largely exposed, bentgrass green with hardwoods on the east (leaves drop, sun gets through). Greenkeeping is about 77% nuance, hunch, compensation and luck and only 23% science and predictability (most of which is benefit/cost analysis). And when you have the pressure of a dogmatic membership or green committee demanding yes/no decisions, the job becomes impossible.

Brad
 

[Brad Klein]

Dave, good story. The bonus he probably got was to keep his job for another year or until another brutal winter proved he had suddenly gotten stupid.

B

[Keith Phillips]

I'm no expert but was Green Chair at my club for three recent years and can attest that this is more art than science.  After not covering any greens for several years, our practice has evolved such that we covered 8 of 36 greens this winter, with much success.  Per the points made by others already, the greens covered were those which were relatively heavily shaded and/or most exposed to the harsh western winds...(so Pat at MGC we now cover 9 of 2 and 9 of 3, which get full sun but are subject to winter dessication if not covered.)  This is one area where an experienced superintendent really adds value - our super has been using black sand for years and regularly gets the aerating machines out to break up ice cover, for example - my sense is those are things learned more from years of experience, good and bad, and less from classroom work at turf school.

[Jason Topp]

In Minneapolis the decision is synthetic, straw or no cover and the decision varies with each green and each course.  It seems that old poa filled greens generally cover and new bent greens generally do not.  As I understand it there a plusses and minuses between straw and synthetic but I could not begin to tell you what they are other than the straw mats do not last very long. 

[Dave McCollum]

My experience is Western US, so that introduces more variables.  Nobody tarps greens here.  We spray the fungicides and monitor for ice.  On bad years, the mountain courses that fare the best remove the snow and ice.  We have unique conditions here being in a deep canyon and the winter shadow from cast on the holes closest to the south wall.  We grow fish with geothermal water.  It’s interesting that the turf on top of the geothermal lines stays green all winter.  Makes me think that if we ever have to resurface out greens, we should heat our two problem greens with a sort of redneck Subair system using the hot water.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Bill,

It's a binary decision, yes or no.

What are the pros and what are the cons and how is the choice impacted by good and bad winters ?

Pat: I suspect you know this, but if you tarp, you'll protect better against a snow followed by a warm-up where the snow melts a bit followed by a quick deep freeze. That can bring on significant damage because you get a layer of ice on the greens and the grass basically suffocates to death.  The downside is that by tarping, in a warm winter, you've essentially created a Petrie dish for moisture and germs, and depending where you are, you may end up inadvertently growing all sorts of evil.  Plus, when you take the tarps off, your grass is more secceptable to disease because it's used to the nice conditions you provided (the way kids all get sick in spring because they run outside in short and a t-shirt the first time it hits 40).

If you don't tarp, you're at risk of the thaw-freeze cycle and your grass can suffocate and die.  

There are articles all over the Internet, and it's green by green, winter by winter.   You might as well be asking whether red or black is the better play at roulette...

This is exactly what we concluded at our course.
This year, for example, the greens emerged from the winter in great shape. After a mild December and early January, it then snowed 20" on Jan 21 (or so) and the mercury remained way below normal for the rest of the winter and our greens (and fairways) benefitted from "no tarps" as they were nicely insulated by the accumulating snow.

[Gary Sato]

Damage to courses at the eastern end of Long Island has been extensive.  Some courses may not open until June.  The cold weather this week is not helping.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Brad,

I view it as a binary decision because the Green Committee and Board must first vote for and then get approval to dedicate the funds to pay for a set of tarps.

Hence the decision isn't a seasonal decision, but a long term decision on the club's part.

It's the Superintendent's decision as to when and where to deploy the tarps.