Casual golfers already have enough to worry about. Their stance, swing, and follow through are a few examples. Now, in Western Oregon and Southwest Washington, they may need to worry about the course’ condition.
“Environmental conditions are something we cannot control”, says Phil Lagao, President of the Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Association.
The severe weather and record breaking low temperatures which hit our region last month has had a major impact on area golf courses, particularly the putting greens.
“If grass doesn’t naturally harden up, it becomes injured very easily with the sub-freezing temperatures. Because of that, the ‘poa’ -- which is the dominant grass grown on the greens in western Oregon -- it becomes very sensitive to cold snaps. And because of that, we saw a lot of winter damage”, says Rob Golembiewski, a turf grass specialist from Oregon State University.
