Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Summer Stride

Full Speed Ahead

The season of bottomless rough has left us and warm nights and hot days are arriving. You'll see rough drying and thinning, fairway turf tightening up, and greens becoming firmer and faster. 
We're using a new tool to monitor soil temperature, moisture, and salinity.  With this data we're better able to target our watering to keep greens rolling evenly.  There is also potential savings to be realized when we're able to avoid watering areas that don't need it.  


Defensive Greens Management - Heatwave Edition

"Slow grass is better than no grass" is an old adage that was used  by Stanley Zontek, a well-regarded USGA agronomist for the mid-Atlantic region in the 80's and 90's. Zontek served many top-tier courses in hot and sticky weather conditions and aided in the recovery of many dead greens due being pushed too hard through hot weather. 
The coming heat,  though short-lived, should tell Superintendents to prepare a few things so greens stress is kept to a minimum.
Here's a few strategies I've found helpful during hot spells.

  • Roll more; mow less. The most stressful thing you can do to any plant during high heat is cut part of it off.  As we can't stop mowing completely, a good compromise is to alternate days we cut, with days we roll. Effect: Possible speed change later in the day on non-mow days and day to day speed variations depending on which practice is used. 
  • Fans: If you're new to Tuscarora, expect to see a turbine blower sitting alongside the second green when we're in the high 80's and 90's.  Due to it's physical location at the bottom of a hollow and surrounded with trees on the windward side of the green, our number 2 heats up fast. The grass will 'cook' if left on it's own. The only relief we can give it is to run a blower during the hottest parts of the day to cool the surface. Effect: None. Enjoy the breeze!
  • Hand Watering: You'll see the crew dragging hose to the greens to water small areas that require it.  Every green has inconsistencies that cause different responses to water.  Hand watering allows uniform watering and cooling of those  areas.  Our automatic system is s. very good, but can't account for mounds, sandier areas, or low spots. Effect: Faster greens
  • Spiking/venting: With all the rolling and foot traffic, greens tend to 'seal off'.  This hurts the plants ability to respire and cool itself. Holes, obviously, allow gas exchange and water infiltration and break through that seal.  Although we can't do big holes this time of year, we do have a machine that puts a small slit/vent in that helps greens 'breathe'.  Effect: None 

 Almost all golfers understand that repeatedly pushing greens for speed in hot weather leads to eventual turf loss.  This is why 'tournament conditions' are fleeting and generally last as long as the tournament does. All greens can withstand some abuse for short periods before intervention is needed. A more secure course is to prepare ahead and try to feather the pedal through tough weather before we stomp on the gas again.  
So, through prolonged heat remember what Stanley Zontek liked to say:  "Slow grass is better than no grass".

No comments: