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!