Snow Coverage????

The golf course continues to be closed with the small amount of snow coverage and the low temperatures in the single digits and highs in the teens leading to frost all day.  The snow coverage is very interesting being it is 100% covered on greens, 50% on approaches and very minimal on the rest of the course.

Why is that???

Must be height of cut of the grass, right?

#14 green covered in snow at noon on Friday, approach area 50% covered

#5 and 2 green covered

Actually it is because the greens are sand based and the fairways and rough are soil based.  The sand is a larger particle size creating more pore space (air) between the particles thus allowing the colder air to enter the ground easier making colder soil temperatures, and not allowing the snow to melt. The soil based areas (rough and fairways) have smaller pore space allowing less cold air in creating a warmer soil temperature and the snow has melted.

On the tees and approaches we topdress them with sand so there is a light layer of sand over the soil thus creating about 1/2 the effect we discussed above and the snow has melted 50%.

Snow in the approach (right side of pict), but less than on the green

Based on our forecast we anticipate the course will be closed through Monday, but hopefully opening up either Tuesday or Wednesday.