Checking Greens with Ice

Today I went around to our 4 worst greens (1, 4, 7, 8) that had ice on them in November. We cleared what we could in November, but I wanted to see how they are doing currently.

The snow is pretty deep across the course, with high spots barring off a bit. For the most part, the snow depth is about 8-12 inches. Due to the snow depths, I had to take the tractor to get around the course.

Using the tractor to get around

Upon arriving at 1 green, the whole green was covered with snow which was a good thing to see. I walked out onto the green and cleared away a spot so that I could take a plug out of the green. It was all "fluffy" snow right down to the turf. Always a plus at this time of year.

"Fluffy" Snow down to the turf layer

I used a hole saw attached to the cordless drill, and this worked well. Once the hole was cut, I then used a screw driver and a hammer to pry out the plug, as the ground is frozen solid.

8 green removing a core

Once the core was removed from all 4 greens, I then brought them inside the shop and put them on paper plates by the window. The reason for the paper plates is so that any ice on the plugs will melt and not leak all over the wall. I used some pin flags cut down to write what green each plug was taken from so that I could see the process in the next week or so.