Frost Policy

The golf course or part of it may be closed on the authority of the Course Manager, his most senior member of staff on duty or the General Manager when damage would occur as a result of play being permitted. In the winter months it is our policy and intention that following a decision to close the course due to frost, we will endeavour to reopen the course as soon as possible once conditions allow.

The following criteria will be used in assessing the suitability of the course or whether a course closure is deemed to be necessary;

Policy

• When there is any frost the course will be closed until the frost is gone from the ground to a minimum depth of four inches.
• Due to the topography of Harewood Downs it may be possible to open part of the course while leaving frozen greens closed. When possible this will be done.
• In cases of extreme frost, where the top soil is frozen solid and a thaw is not expected that day, the course may be opened to allow play as only manageable damage may occur.

Reason 

When there is a frost, the water in the leaf of the grass plant becomes frozen and with the passage of footprints over the surface, the leaf can be easily bruised or even snapped off. Over time, this will put the plant under stress, particularly at the time of slow growth, making it vulnerable to disease. When coming in to the growing season, the energy of the plant will go towards its repair before turning to growth.

When there is a heavy frost which has gone deep into the ground, a more dangerous situation occurs. As the ground starts to thaw, there may be no evidence of frost on the surface while the ground below is still frozen. Foot traffic will cause the top surface to move and the stem of the plant can be sheared away from the still frozen root. A root break will cause severe damage to the plant and the loss of deep rooting required for healthy turf development will cause stress, susceptibility to disease and protracted early season development of the plant. This damage will not become noticeable until the start of the growing season.

This is our standardised policy and will be implemented as appropriate. There may therefore be course closures in play when no white frost is evident. If the frozen spell continues and excessive damage does occur then we will have to reassess the frost policy