Last month I was contacted by Scott Todd from Vail Golf Club and he wondered if I could swing by and visit the next time I was in town. Scott's greens had received severe winter damage and he was excited about how far his course had come and wanted me to see what he had accomplished.

I had already been planning on attending the Affiliate Cup at Grand Lake Golf Course this month so tacked on an extra day to give me time to visit with Scott. When I arrived, we sat down, and he showed me photos of the damage. It was pretty much a superintendent’s nightmare. In all, Scott ended up having to resurface thirteen greens. When you need to open the course on July 2 and when you are at 8,200 feet elevation, there is a lot to consider when choosing how to best go about the process. Scott chose to seed, and I think the results even surprised him. Here is what he did:

After plugs were brought indoors, it was determined that regrowth was not going to happen, so Scott slit seeded in two directions across the greens with bentgrass. The ground temperatures were still low, and it was slow to come on. Then, once the ground temps rose to a favorable level, Scott broadcast seed over the top. This he felt was the critical decision that lead to the success.  The greens were covered (and split into three groups, to be able to manage what was needed day to day, and uncover, mow, fertilize, topdress, recover, etc.) on a three-day rotation with radiant covers. Once the grass germinated things were off and running. Only as of August 8 were the greens all able to be mowed with the same piece of equipment, and all at the same height of cut) To this day, the greens are still at 0.165 but they are rolling just fine and more importantly they are maturing and establishing firm roots.

In six weeks, Todd managed to get the greens to a point where they could open them before the Fourth of July. Since then, Vail Valley has received 200 to 240 rounds a day and they are looking better still every day.

One vital component to Scott's success was communication. He was out on the course taking pictures daily and sending them to his stakeholders to keep them up to speed. While visiting with Scott, we met with Tom Saalfeld, his board chairman, and then had lunch with his direct supervisor, Mike Ortiz. I was honored to lift Scott up in front of both gentlemen and let them know that he had done an incredible job. Both individuals commended Scott for his front-line communication. More times than not, when the channels of communication aren’t flowing, the result is a loss of employment. Scott did all the right things.

Vail Golf Club wasn’t alone in all of this. Other courses in the Rockies took a hit including Grand Lake, Pole Creek, and Breckenridge, to name just a few. First, I am thankful that no one that I am aware of lost their job. If so, then I wasn’t made aware. Second, I could not be more proud of these guys and their ability to get these courses back in playable condition and avoid a financial catastrophe at their club. I played Grand Lake on Monday and you could barely see anything that resembled winter injury. Guys like Scott Todd, Craig Cahalane, Pete Tecsher, and Jim Byers have all gone through Hell and managed to do what they do best, and that is their job. Congrats to all who have had to go through this process and weathered the “storm”. You’re all a testament to our industry.