Do you want to learn about winter damage on golf courses and other turfgrass areas?

During the past year, I have sometimes heard in WinterTurf project meetings that few US golf courses report winter damage of such a magnitude that is useful to develop models for when such damages occur and how to avoid them. While this may be good for US superintendents, I am tempted to use the words of the former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his famous ‘Look to Norway’ speech from World War II: “'Look to Norway’ if you want to see ice damage!” (See President Roosevelt’s entire speech, given in a totally different context).

a man standing amid broken sheets of ice on a golf course — Figure 2. Vestfold GK, Tønsberg, Norway. Photo: Oddbjørn Tidemann.

The Norwegian Golf Federation’s project ICE-BREAKER started in 2020 and will come to an end in December 2023. The project has been funded by the Scandinavian Turfgrass and Environment Research Foundation and the Research Council of Norway and it has six different objectives. Preliminary results have on several occasions been presented in the WinterTurf Newsletter and blog, the latest posted by Dr. Eric Watkins just a couple of days ago.

All results from the project will be presented in a seminar held at Quality Airport Hotel Oslo Gardermoen on Friday, November 3, 2023. The seminar will be held in English, and golf course superintendents and other turfgrass managers from North America are especially invited. Why not combine the seminar with a long weekend in Oslo as the growing season is coming to an end?

The entire seminar program can be seen below. An English version of the registration website be soon be published at https://www.golfforbundet.no/ and http://www.sterf.org/, including options for hotel reservations, meals etc. Meanwhile, if you are interested or have any questions about the seminar, don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

Welcome to Oslo in November!

ICE-BREAKER FINAL SEMINAR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

Quality Airport Hotel, Gardermoen, Oslo

Language for all presentations: English
Questions / group discussions: Optional English / Scandinavian

PROGRAM

11:00 a.m. Opening of seminar. Pål Melbye; Norwegian Golf Federation

11:10 a.m. Keynote 1: The risk for ice and water damage: IPCC predictions for future winter climates. Hans Olav Hygen, Norwegian Meteorological Institute

11:30 Project overview and presentation of the ICE-BREAKER team. Trygve S. Aamlid, NIBIO

11:45 a.m. Break & networking

Moderator for the rest of the day: Maria Strandberg, STERF director

Main theme 1: Understanding ice encasement stress in turfgrass plants

12:00 p.m. The two main types of ice and water damage: Anoxia vs. crown hydration/freezing. Clarification of terminology. Intro by Trygve S. Aamlid, NIBIO

12:10 p.m. Keynote 2: What’s going on at the turfgrass crown level? Freeze/thaw cycles and crown hydration. Why could impermeable plastic be better than ice? Emily M. Holm, Michigan State University

12:40 p.m. The critical spring transition: Bleaching and reduced photosynthesis as the turf comes out of ice. Sigridur Dalmannsdottir, NIBIO

1:00-2:00 p.m. Lunch

Main theme 2: Management of greens (and tees) before and during winter

2.00 p.m. Plastic coverage of golf greens – not a new concept? Trygve S. Aamlid, NIBIO

2:15 p.m. Practical experiences with coverage in Sweden. Håkan Blusi, Swedish Golf Federation

2:25 p.m. Refinement of the cover technology: Undercovers and the need for ventilation. Three years of large scale experiments in ICE-BREAKER, WP3. Trygve S. Aamlid, NIBIO

2:45 p.m. Break

3:00 p.m. The adoption of cover technology on Norwegian GCs. Mads Thers, Skaaret Landskap / Holtsmark GC

3.15 p.m. From snow removal to plastic coverage at Oslo GC. John Riiber / Albert Holmgeirsson, Oslo GC

3:30 p.m. Two years comparison of snow / ice removal vs. plastic sheets at NIBIO Apelsvoll. Wendy Waalen, NIBIO

3:45 p.m. Break

4:00 p.m. The genetic component: Screening of species and varieties for tolerance to ice encasement (anoxia). Karin J. Hesselsøe, NIBIO

4:15 p.m. Panel discussion: Is use of plastic an option on my golf course? Pros and cons. In panel: Experienced greenkeepers + speakers from the previous sessions

4:45 p.m. Break

Main theme 3: Faster reestablishment after ice damage

5:00 p.m. Impact of growth inhibiting substances on germination and seedling growth of red fescue and creeping bentgrass after ice encasement. Pia Heltoft, Marit Almvik and Karin J. Hesselsøe, NIBIO

5:25 p.m. Optimal machines for reseeding / faster reestablishment using unprimed and GA3-primed seed of creeping bentgrass varieties on golf courses in Sweden. Carl Johan Lønnberg, Swedish Golf Federation

5:45 p.m. Stretch legs / short break

6:00 p.m. Spring covers and biostimulants or faster grow-on of creeping bentgrass. Results from UMass, Tromsø and Landvik. Trygve S. Aamlid, NIBIO

6:15 p.m. Wrap up: The main Conclusions from ICE-BREAKER. Trygve S. Aamlid, NIBIO

6:30 p.m. End of seminar