There are advantages and disadvantages to covering turf with covers over the winter.

18-Hole Course Greens - We used to cover the greens on the 18-hole course. Before the 2004 renovation, those greens were predominately poa annua. Poa annua is an undesirable weed grass that suffers in hot summer weather and can be damaged by severe winter weather about once every ten years. We covered the greens to protect the poa annua against the occasional winter kill. The biggest advantage to winter turf covers is that when the covers are first removed in the spring, the greens are a bright green. Unfortunately, this is a short lived benefit, as within a matter of days, a covered green looks and plays no better than a green that was not covered.

The downside to covering the greens is that the covers promote the spread of poa annua, and increase the risk of damage from fungus diseases. Use of winter covers also requires that the course stay closed in the spring until the weather moderates enough so that the covers can be removed without shocking the protected grass.

The renovated 18-hole course greens are predominately bentgrass and do not need protection from winter weather. We do not cover these new greens, in an effort to limit the spread of poa annua. In fact, it would be a good thing if the small amount of poa annua on each green was damaged by winter weather.

9-Hole Course Greens - We have never covered the greens on the 9-hole course. The use of covers would delay the opening of the course in the spring until night time temperatures moderate. In some years, this would delay the opening of the 9-hole course for two or three weeks.

Driving Range Practice Tee - We cover the practice tee every year because bluegrass and ryegrass recover differently from bentgrass and poa annua. Bluegrass and ryegrass actively grow under the covers. Divots fill in. Seedlings survive. Newly planted seed germinates. Many years, the practice tee is in much better condition when the covers are removed than it was when the covers were installed the previous fall.