Why can't we golf yet?

The spring melt always brings out the question why can't we golf once the snow is gone.
We want to open as quickly as possible also, but can't overlook the damage that can be caused by opening too early. I will try to explain our reasoning to help you understand.
Even as the surface snow disappears the frost is still in the ground. As the frost line creeps deeper from the surface of the ground the water is trapped in the top layer of the soil. This creates a slippery and destructive condition for the turf. Traffic during this time can leave footprints and tears that take months to recover. As soon as the frost disappears from the soil the water can percolate down and almost instantly change the surface structure. We monitor the frost in the soil very often (sometimes every hour as it starts to improve) and determine when we can roll the green to accept traffic. 
In the following photos I will try to show how this progression works.

3" frost depth water puddles very soft

3" probe depth

12" probe depth

3" frost depth

12" frost depth

12" frost depth no puddling firming up

This is the only green to reach this firmness. I expect to have much better news for next week!
Keep checking as we will post progress.