After an incredible stretch of weather for the last week and a half and a great opportunity to get out and golf, the weather outlook remains optimistic with some good days to come! During this stretch of up and down weather and course conditions, it is important that the Greens department staff continues with winter preparations and adjustments. Making the most of these days will allow us to enjoy the golf course for the remainder of the 2020 season, while also having a great 2021 on tap.

Carts

Following this weekend’s rain, the golf course remains saturated and unable to accept cart traffic. Decisions on carts are made with both the short- and long-term benefits of turf health and course conditions at the forefront. With no growth, these cart conditions are even more sensitive, despite our best efforts with stakes and arrows.

With shorter days, and significantly cooler temperatures having arrived, ground conditions will not improve much, if at all, for the remainder of the season. Therefore, carts will be unavailable for use for the remainder of the 2020 golf season.

Driving Range

Utilizing the practice facility that Credit Valley has for the improvement of all players’ games is a great opportunity. One of the important safety structures that ensures golf balls are kept on the property are the nets at the back and adjacent to the range.

Early next week the range nets will be stored for the winter season. This is crucial if a sudden change happens to the weather and wet snow or freezing rain occur. Snow and/or freezing rain, coupled with high winds, could cause significant damage to the nets and poles. As a result, we will be closing the driving range for the season at the end of the day on Sunday, November 22.

Hole Closures and Possible Alterations

Given the incredible golfing weather and level of course activity we experienced recently, we find ourselves in crunch time for tree work and sodding. To enable staff to make the most of the limited favourable weather remaining, we may periodically use temporary greens with oversized cups on one or two holes each day until the golf course closes. This will allow us to be more efficient with tree work and sodding of bunker edges, cart path ends and tee decks.

Where work is focused on the fairway it may require the closing of a hole or two in its entirety. Any changes will be noted on the website and in the Pro Shop each day.

Winter Preparations

Although the weather outlook remains positive at this point, living in southern Ontario can very quickly lead to a change in conditions and weather patterns. Prior to closing the course, the Greens department staff will begin placing covers for the greens in bunkers around the golf course. This will enable us to have a quicker transition when the weather does make the final turn. Please treat all of these areas as ground under repair, taking free relief from the obstructions.

The water supply to the golf course will be shut off for the season at the end of the day on Sunday, November 22. This will allow us to clear the lines of water prior to any damage caused by freezing. This will require all washrooms on the golf course to be closed as of Monday, November 23.

As we continue navigating through what is an unusual situation this golf season, hopefully the weather and mother nature allow us to keep the course open for the foreseeable future. As in the past, course closure will be determined by the frost setting into the ground for the winter. Based on the forecast at the time of writing this, there is no sign of this in the imminent future!