Thank you Sir, may I have another?

 During this time of year, it is often a challenge to keep turf alive.  However, the Bermudagrass on the practice tee is the lone exception to this.  The area which was sodded last month has already been rolled, core aerified and topdressed during the summer heat, and what does it need?  More of the same.

When this sod arrived, it was by far the thickest, heaviest rolls we have ever dealt with, and has a surprising amount of thatch.  While it is now being mown at the same height as the rest of the tee, it still has a spongy feel to it, so we will continue to whip it into shape with some additional harsh, mid-summer treatment.  This would be the one time that taking a bunch of divots will lead to a better surface.  

Progress in the Fescue

The Fescue (or native areas) of the golf course are often erroneously referred to as low maintenance.  Truth be told, with an area that is only mown a few times each year and is purposefully kept thin, if you do treat it as low maintenance, then weeds of all types will encroach.  

Coming into this year, we devoted additional resources to improving the Fescue, and are now seeing the results.  While not perfect, compared to prior years, these areas are looking a whole lot cleaner, with fewer undesirable grasses, sedges, and broadleaf weeds.

One of the other maintenance challenges here has always been that the Fescue is often more penal closer to the hole's centerline, than further out in the rough.  To address this, in areas where the Fescue density is greater on the edge of the primary rough, we have made a step cut.

While progress has been made, we are currently seeing another wave of weeds to battle.  There is definitely no "set it and forget it" here... 

Rings are Back

 In May, we were seeing Brown Ring Patch on the greens, and tackled that issue:

This past week, as we worked through the most recent heat wave, overall, it looked like the course was holding up well.  While #14 green (the hottest spot on the course) had a few areas wilt, most of the putting surfaces were in solid shape.  

Of course, that would be the time that some Fairy Ring disease came roaring in on several of the greens.  When Fairy Ring shows up, there is no need for a petri dish and microscope to diagnose the problem, as this fungus is quite easily identifiable.

There can be several visible signs of the fungi at work:  a dark green circle caused by a release of nitrogen in the soil, mushrooms may form on the turf surface, or the fungi may cause the perimeter of the ring to become hydrophobic, causing the turf to wilt. 

Moisture level on the edge of the Fairy Ring.

Significantly higher moisture inside the ring.

A combination of fungicides and wetting agents labeled for the control of this fungus have been applied.  However, these rings are persistent, and with the low fertility regimen we have the greens on, the rings really stand out.  The pictures above were taken the day after treatment, and the "10.3" reading is actually an improvement, and encouraging.

Should this Fairy Ring really have been a surprise?  Perhaps not.   In looking at our application records, we saw Fairy Ring in 2018 and in 2012.  With both of these prior times, it was during the first week of July.  A common factor seems to be some hot, humid weather during this week in all three years.  Of course, hot and humid are far from uncommon this time of year, thus there may well be other contributing factors.  

Fairway Divots

There is often confusion as to when a divot should be replaced, and when the sand mix should be used.  In an effort to clear things up, let's keep it simple:

If your divot doesn't explode, and has some bit of soil with it, please replace it.

There are many variables that come into play in determining if the divot will live or not.  This obviously includes the weather, and the location (slope vs swale).  However, even in the summer, there's a decent chance that a replaced divot will survive.

Below you can see the divot on the right was replaced and has already knitted back in nicely.  In contrast, the divot on the left is, to be kind, a real head-scratcher.

So save that sand mix for the times when your divot can't be replaced. And please don't get too fancy--we've seen well intentioned players make a sandwich with a sprinkle of divot mix, the divot itself, and a bit more mix on top for good measure.  Remember, more isn't always better.

Better Bermuda

 With the never-ending pounding that the practice tee receives, the decision was made to increase the Bermudagrass area on the back of the upper tee.  As we've seen in the past, when we get into the dog days of summer, and the cool-season turf is struggling, the Bermuda is loving life and recovering amazingly quickly.

This past Monday, we stripped the old sod, removed it, aerified the area several times, and installed the new Bermudagrass sod.  With a good number of new team members on staff this year, we had to be sure everyone was trained to lay the sod green side up 😉.

Just five days after installing the sod, it is already knitting to the soil beneath, with beautiful white roots growing like crazy.

As with all types of turfgrass, breeders are continually working to develop improved varieties of  Bermudagrass.  Cold weather tolerance, early green-up, and rapid recovery are among the desired attributes which this turf possesses.  

Weevil Woes

 The Annual Bluegrass Weevil continues to be the biggest insect threat to the fine turf on the golf course.  With Bentgrass being less susceptible to damage than Poa annua, we typically allow the year's first generation of weevils to act as a biological control of Poa on tees and fairways.   As you can see below, the weevils have the Poa looking pretty pretty beat up:

 Unfortunately, one difference from prior years, is that we're finding very high numbers of weevils in areas of 100% Bentgrass.  So, while Bent is much more tolerant than Poa, it does have its limits, and with 160 weevils per square foot, some of the Bent is looking thin.

Above you can see that we are finding larvae, pupae, and callow adults present at this time.  As most insecticides specifically target either adults or larvae, once the weevils are found at all life cycle stages, at the same time, control becomes even more challenging.  

Better strap yourself in...

With the books closed on May, 2021, all we can say is that it was one wild weather month.  In looking back at the daytime high temperatures, they ranged from 18 degrees above average, to 25 degrees below average.  

The heat in the middle of the month, along with a prolonged lack of rainfall, had the turf looking like it was the dog days of summer.  Then, over the final week of the month we received 3.6" of rain, and temperatures best suited for a polar plunge during Memorial Day weekend..

Between the highs and lows, the lack o' rain, followed by a whole lot of rain, the month actually didn't end up very far from average--but it was definitely a wild rollercoaster ride along the way.  

It seems that June is taking the lead from last month, with another 1.35" of rain in the first few days, and now some serious heat to deal with.  Managing fine turf now is definitely not boring!