Here's a picture of our first greensmowing of the year-- Looking pretty good. This took place on March 3 easily the earliest we have ever mowed. Most years our first mowing occurs around the 20-25th of March. Last year with the severe winter and cold spring was the latest first mowing and that occurred on April 5. Definitely ahead of schedule this year and turf looking good.
Below is a picture of a covered knob on #7 green. It looks worse than the rest of the green which is not usually the case for covered turf but it can and has happened a couple of other years. This is one reason we are not gung-ho on covering all our greens. During warmer winters the turf can stay too active under the covers and continue to use soil moisture leading to dessication. Or the still active turf can get hit by a cold snap that it hasn't prepared itself for. So while covers are often beneficial they do not guarantee turf survival in all winters. The damage you see below is pretty superficial but recovery will take some time. A couple more days under that cover without water though and that turf would have been toast.
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