Course Update 7/31/21

 Greens were lightly topdressed again this week as part of our Men's Invitational prep to help firm up and smooth the putting surfaces.  We also pulled out our old spiker to create slits in the putting surface to break up any remaining black algae and help incorporate the sand into the thatch.  The spiker is a ground-driven attachment mounted on an old bunker rake that's been re-purposed specifically for this task.

Greens were topdressed first then spiked to create slits for the sand to work into the thatch.

Here's a closeup of one of the spiker blades.  There are 10 spikes per blade that penetrate up to 1" deep.  The blades are ground-driven which means they only rotate when in contact with the ground and the attachment has two sets of lead weights on top of it to get maximum penetration.

Here's a putting surface after topdressing and spiking.

After spiking the greens are dragged with a special coco fiber mat to get the sand off the surface and into the thatch where it's most beneficial.  The right half of the picture shows where the green has been dragged compared to the left half that has not been dragged yet.

We also addressed a couple areas on Lakes 5 fairway that needed to be sodded before the Men's Invitational.  This spot was caused by a sprayer malfunction that kept the booms going after the sprayer had stopped moving.

Here's the same area with sod harvested from our small nursery below Grove 1 tees.

Course Update 7/23/21

5.28" of rain has fallen so far this month and the first three weeks saw very humid, mostly overcast conditions.  Increased disease pressure and activity was discussed in the last post and this time it's about Silvery-Thread Moss and Black Algae.  Both are opportunistic organisms that thrive under warm, moist conditions, and can lead to turf loss if not managed correctly.  Fortunately, our weather pattern has changed to sunny, drier conditions that favor turf growth.  Cultural practices such as aerifying (solid & core), spiking, topdressing, and verticutting all discourage both organisms by creating a drier, less favorable growing environment.

Here's a spot of Silvery-Thread Moss growing on a putting green.  In addition to the cultural practices mentioned above, we apply a special herbicide weekly to suppress it's growth and stop it from spreading.

Here's some Black Algae growing on the soil surface of a putting green below the turf canopy.  It's commonly found where the turf is thin from prolonged shade or excess foot traffic in walk-on areas.  Similar to the moss, we utilize all the cultural practices mentioned above and a special fungicide applied weekly to break up the algal mat and promote turf growth.

Course Update 7/15/21

We've received 3.82" of rain from 9 weather events over the first 15 days this month.  Our historical average total precipitation for July is 3.90" so we're hoping for some dry weather the second half of the month.  The amount of rain has presented some challenges, but all the drainage projects, regular aerification, and sand topdressing are keeping the courses in good condition.  It's the high humidity and nighttime temperatures in the upper 60's/low 70's over the past two weeks that are really affecting the turf.  

Similar to how our skin feels sticky when it's humid, turf is affected the same way and grows best in drier conditions.  Humid weather prevents excess moisture from evaporating off the leaf blades and out of the soil, creating lush, soft conditions that frustrate golfers and turf managers.  When combined with warmer temperatures, the excess moisture creates a perfect environment for turf diseases which must be treated with fungicides.  Our most common summer disease is Dollar Spot and is easily identified by the light tan, circular spots that start out about the size of a silver dollar.  As the disease progresses, the spots will bleed into each other and form larger, irregular patches that can be several feet in diameter.  Dollar Spot is one of the easiest diseases to control and does not result in widespread turf loss if treated early.  During the summer, we spray fungicides preventively for Dollar Spot every 14 days on greens, 14-21 days on tees, and 21-28 days on fairways depending on weather conditions.  This week we had to spray fairways to control Dollar Spot after only 17 days since the last application due to the increased disease pressure caused by the wet weather.  Two different chemistries were applied for a quick knockdown of the disease combined with longer residual control provided by a systemic fungicide that is absorbed by the plant.  Several fertility products were also included in the spray to help the infected turf recover and produce new leaf tissue.  In case you're wondering, we maintain 40 acres of fairways and this one application cost $12,000.

Lakes #9 fairway.  Dollar Spot is easily identified by the tan colored spots and irregular shaped patches.

Grove #6 rough.  If your home lawn looks like this you may have active Dollar Spot.  We typically spray the rough several times per season to control Dollar Spot and Gray Leaf Spot.

June Precipitation

 We received 4.77" of rain in June from 10 rain events, but only had 5 days of Cart Path Only restrictions.  3.77" of rain fell from 6/7-6/15, and only .76" fell over the last 15 days of the month.  Our historical average rainfall for June is 4.15" and we are currently .75"above our year-to-date average precipitation since January 1st.