Hey all,

Just wondering what the exact reason is (reasons are) for not playing while there's frost on the course.

I'd imagine that it has to do with damaging the grass in some way. Is this the case? If so, which grass? Certainly rough and fairway grasses are sliced or uprooted completely on a normal basis under normal conditions. Are the GREENS prone to damage by merely walking on them while there's frost? (Is the grass prone to breaking when it's frosty/frozen?)

Or is the delay based on safety (not wanting someone to slip on any surface due to the iciness)?

Or is there another reason altogether that I haven't really considered?

Just one of those things that I've always accepted without knowing the exact reasoning behind it.

Thanks!

/< / /2 /<

If you drive a cart or even make footprints int he frost, it can kill the grass. I see brown cart tracks all the time from idiots driving on the grass when there is frost. It is mainly for the greens. If you make a pitch mark on the green when there is frost. It will not only kill the mark, but also a small ring around the impact. Another reason is that when there is frost, generally the ground is frozen underneath. If you hit into a frozen green it is like hitting onto concrete. The same applies to hitting off frozen or frosty ground. It hurts.

Bottom line it is damaging to the golf course. More so for the greens. Like the poster above stated. This link will tell you exactly why there is frost delays. http://www.gcsaa.org/cm/contentm/modules/d...DAwMDQuMDAwMjQ=

There's also the fact that putting on a frosty green is a crapshoot. The ball jumps and skitters in a completely unpredictable way so there's no way to shoot a good score.

There is also the fact that the greens cant be cut when there is still frost on the ground. As stated above, driving the cart on the greens with kill the grass as well as if your on a course where they cut the greens everyday, they wont be able to properly cut the greens if there is frost on them.

When there's frost, the water in the cells of the blades of grass is frozen. When you walk on it, those cells are crushed and the grass dies.

the side bar on the article the link is to sums it up pretty well...

Nothing worse then 10+ groups waiting to tee when you show up for your tee time. Kind of ruins the timing for the course for the whole day.

When we have a frost delay --we will start groups on No 1 and No 10 to try to filter everyone out
so the delays are not as bad as it can be.
We sometimes have golfers show up at 7AM and he frost doesn't leave until 10:00

So there is a lot of golfers looking around while not understanding what the problem is..
If you walk on frost on the tee-fairway-or green--it will turn black or gray
It could die or severly stunt it----thats the reason for the frost delay..
It is to avoid damage to the course----No other reason

Exactly. It has to do with the moisture in the blade, remember it is a living thing.

After it goes dormant though then there's not a problem to play winter golf in sub-freezing temps.

Thanks for the replies, folks. I wasn't aware of the fact that the grass would turn a different color if walked on while there's frost. (I also probably didn't understand the difference between playing on frosted grass vs. frozen grass (which has gone dormant). Thanks!

don't about any body else but our frost delays are ice delays, could have went ice skateing on the practice range and first tee box. no lying ice skateing

The city of Baltimore's municipal courses have not had frost delays for as long as I can remember, with no apparent damage to the greens.

Just like in real life, there's always one member/customer who argues using anecdotal evidence against the superintendent's knowledge of plant biology. Please click on the GCSAA link in the above post.

"Nothing worse then 10+ groups waiting to tee when you show up for your tee time. Kind of ruins the timing for the course for the whole day."

Unless you play LA (CA) county courses. Frost is rare, but it happens. Policy is all tee times prior to when the course says play shall start are wiped out. So buyer beware if you book a 7:30 time in Feb and the course says play starts at 7:45. I kid you not, this is the policy. Most backwards policy I have ever heard..

At Eisenhower? Do they have temporary greens up there yet?

Yeah, thats very messed up.

We always stack tee times as best we can after a frost delay is over. Delay is 1 hour, your tee time is pushed back an hour. Nobody cuts anyone, and I sit there on the first tee to make sure it doesn't. It gets tough with the really hard frosts, 1-2 hours. Then you get people yelling at you all day on the first tee wondering why their tee time at 12 noon is affected by a frost delay that ended at 10am.

That's true about putting on frosty greens - your distance control gets all messed up. The frost grabs your ball and makes it behave unpredictably.

I think as long as you are consistent with your policy then you don't have issues... I worked at a course where we wiped tee times... we worked very hard to educate the membership to make later tee times... I personally think it is more fair to cancel a groups' time that insists on playing at 7 AM in 30 degree weather than to push a group back that is responsible enough to wait to keep the course in good shape.

If we ever had about a 2 hour delay we would usually do split tees and let the earlier groups get at least nine holes in and then get worked back in on the turn... it becomes a headache when you get the 3-4 hour delays....

How common is shotgun start for frost delay? It seems to me like more courses should do this - especially when the courses doesn't open up until 10:00 AM or later.

We are an upscale public course. Out of the first 10 groups to go off at least 5 of those groups are members, so we can't just say "We're canceling your tee time."

Frost season is obviously in the fall here (upstate NY) and its really only a problem for the month of October on the weekends. We still have a packed weekend tee sheet up until noon and we're still charging full till, so turning away paying customers isn't really an option either. On the weekdays its never busy in the fall (and there's no leagues in the afternoons) so its just a waiting game and not a big deal then.

Its definitely a tough balance though. I have stated our policy, and for the most part people understand it (just stating my frustration with those who don't). However, turing away that group that has shown up for their 7 AM tee time is the worst thing you can do in my opinion.



Fall is our outing season, so shotguns are scheduled until around 10am, so even if there is a hard frost that lasts until 10:30 everyone is good to go without much complaining.

Best thread I have seen in a long time. I learned something new today. I've been playing for over 30 years but too lazy to find out the answer myself.

Oh, I agree that frost on a green would mess up your putts......no doubt! However, that IS NOT the reason golf courses do not allow players to play on a course with frost on the ground. If frost was not an issue with killing the grass if played upon, golf course owners could give a crap about your score! They want their cash!!! GO PLAY!!!

Me too, Seypat!