Hole closures - why?

Recently we've had a bit of a cold snap causing some lengthy frost delays. On more than 1 occasion  the frost was so severe that certain areas of the course never saw the frost lift. An example of an area where this may occur is the 7th hole. With the tall trees on the south side of the hole, blocking out sun, the frost can remain present all day. In a case such as this, the grounds team will post signage signifying the entire hole will be closed. The sole reason for this is turf health. We all understand that walking on a frosty green is detrimental to the turf, the same goes for shortly mowed turf such as approaches, fairways and tees. Here is a quote from my last update; "Turf is made up of 90% water and during periods of frost this water freezes in the cell causing the structure of the plant to be very brittle. If turf is walked on under these conditions the cell walls will shatter and can cause the plant much unneeded stress." By closing these few holes on the few days that frost remains present all day, we will have much healthier turf heading into the spring and arrive at peak conditions that much earlier. Our goal is to get every golfer out as soon as possible and playing as much golf on as many regular greens as possible. We just need to convince Mother Nature to cooperate.

Brett