Heat Wreaking Havoc on Golf Courses Nationwide

The following article was copied from the weekly GCSAA news release. It was written by Clark Throssell, Ph. D. GCSAA Director of Research

Prolonged periods of high temperatures, and in some cases, excessive rainfall, and high humidity have made life uncomfortable for golfers and golf courses alike, with Mother Nature holding all the cards for true relief.

"The simple fact is the cool-season turfgrasses such as bentgrass, fescue, bluegrass, annual bluegrass (Poa annua) and others are stressed when temperatures climb and humidity is high," Clark Throssell, Ph.D., director of research for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, said. "Golf courses in many parts of the country experience this every year, however what makes the situation so dire this year are the high levels of extended heat and humidity, and the sizeable part of the country affected (Midwest, Mideast, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic)."

According to Throssell, golf facilities and those entrusted with managing the golf course – golf course superintendents – are not alone in this battle with the elements. However, the nature of their product makes their challenge greater.

"We are certainly seeing homeowners, athletic fields and businesses suffer turfgrass damage brought on by the conditions," Throssell said. "What makes it more difficult for golf facilities are the mowing heights are much lower and traffic is much heavier. That just adds to the stress on the turfgrass."

Throssell indicates that golf course superintendents are addressing the issue with a variety of management practices to make sure turfgrass survives. While there may be some short-term impact on playability of the course, the alternative is the loss of grass, the closure of the course and the additional costs of re-establishing playing surfaces (primarily putting greens).

He also cautioned golfers from thinking that water, whether from rain or irrigation, is the answer to the ills. There is a difference between heat stress and drought stress. Adequate irrigation will alleviate drought stress. Adequate irrigation will not alleviate heat stress. It is not only possible, but likely, for a turfgrass plant to be adequately watered and still suffer from heat stress under extended periods of high temperatures.

Among the practices that superintendents are implementing to manage golf courses include:

Raising the mowing heights of playing areas, most notably putting greens.
Alternating daily practices of mowing and rolling putting greens, with consideration to skipping a day if the schedule of play allows.
Forgoing double mowing, topdressing, verticutting or grooming greens.
Watering to provide adequate soil moisture, but not over watering as saturated soil will cause the turfgrass to decline rapidly.
Hand watering as much as feasible. If a green has a dry spot or two, superintendents will hand water the dry spots only and will not water the entire green. When the entire green shows stress from a lack of water, superintendents use the overhead sprinklers and water the entire green.
Avoid aerifying using large diameter tines that penetrate deeply into soil and remove a core of soil. If a superintendent feels the putting surface is sealed, venting using small diameter solid tines or other similar technique is employed.
If fertilizer is required, small amounts of fertilizer are applied via a sprayer and observation of the response occurs before fertilizing again.
Monitoring and adjusting golf car traffic patterns to minimize stress to turf.
Throssell indicated that during periods such as this, it becomes easy to compare golf course conditions and pressure decision makers into actions that might prove detrimental to the long term health of the playing surface.

"Communication is vital," Throssell said. "Superintendents, golf professionals, owners, managers and others must be in constant contact with golfers to educate them on what is happening at the facility. But golfers must also understand that golf courses are like snowflakes – no two are alike. Some courses may be able to withstand the challenges of Mother Nature better than others because of better drainage and soil conditions, better air flow due to the placement of trees, less traffic or the presence of greater financial resources.

"We know the weather conditions will become more agreeable. What is important right now is to manage the golf course in a manner so that turf can be kept alive until that point."

SEEDING, SODDING and OSCILLATING

Joel is pictured seeding thin areas on greens.

Replacing sod on various bunker faces.

Pictured above is one of our new TurfBreeze oscillating fans.

USGA: Summer 2010: Bad To Worse For Creeping Bentgrass - July 2010

USGA: Summer 2010: Bad To Worse For Creeping Bentgrass - July 2010

Dog Days of Summer - You Aren't Kidding

Here are just a few stats regarding the temperatures of June and July.


The National Weather Service reported that Louisville experienced the hottest June on record. The average temperature was 6.9 degrees above normal. The previous record for June was set in 1952.

Believe it or not, July came in as the third hottest since the record in 1901. Typically we experience eleven days of 90 degree or warmer weather but this past July the temperature surpassed that by more than double.

There is no doubt that this summer will be one of the hottest that Mother Nature has thrown our way in some time. However, I am happy to report that other than a few trying areas, our golf course is standing up to the stress very well.

Number 12 Green Temporarily Closed

Beginning on Wednesday, July 28th, we will be temporarily closing the green on hole number twelve; in the interim said green will be located in the approach. Although the green is tolerating the heat and foot traffic fairly well, we are going to take some preventative actions to ensure the continued well being of the turf. The green is being closed for work only and should be open for play by the end of next week.

In the next few days, it appears that we might experience a slight break in the current weather pattern that has held us in its grip. If this holds true, we would be remiss if we did not take measures to assist the green in the recovery process. During this brief respite, the ground crew will be plugging, seeding and in some areas sodding the weaker areas.

The Golf Course Operations Department is also in the process of preparing greens number eight, twelve, thirteen and fourteen for new fans. The electrician is on sight and the poles will be in the ground in the next day or two. The fans will be installed and operational by mid-August.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause. As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to call our office at 425-0160.

Sincerely,

Walter K. Pritchett, CGCS
Director of Golf Course Operations

Hurstbourne Country Club / Flash Flooding

MESSAGE TO THE MEMBERSHIP

FROM THE GOLF COURSE OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT


It is incredible how hot it has been so far this year and the forecast looks like we might be heading for a record year. Here are just a few statistics I have compiled over the last day or so. As of July twelfth we have already had thirty-one days above 90 degrees with the next fourteen days projected to reach that or higher. If you compare this to last year in Louisville the differences are quite astounding. In 2009 we only had twelve days at or above 90 degrees with a temperature of 92 being the hottest day of the year. We have already had multiple days above 95 degrees with 97 being the hottest temperature recorded so far in 2010. Last year the most consecutive days to reach 90 were four and so far in 2010 there have been sixteen. Most of the golf course has held up very well to these extreme temperatures and humidity however there are a few greens that have become stressed.

Some of the members have voiced their concerns about the condition of these few greens and asked why they are struggling. I would like to take this opportunity to explain some of the science behind these conditions and dispel some misinformation that is going around. Most of the greens are very healthy and doing very well considering the extreme heat over the last few weeks. However, during the sixteen straight days in late June of high 90 degree weather the greens were infected with a disease called pythium. Pythium attacks the roots and weakens the plants resistance to heat and the stress of foot traffic. The thin areas on the greens have nothing to do with poor mowing practices or aerification. In fact, if we had not aerified the greens with the needle tines on July sixth we would be in a much worse situation. The aerification process opened up the soil allowing the greens to breathe (CO2 buildup in the soil from decomposing organic matter is replaced with oxygen from the atmosphere); this allowed the infected roots to recover from the pythium and strengthened the other roots to help deal with the heat. We are always on a preventative fungicide program to prevent Pythium and theses fungicides and fertilizers were all applied at the correct times and at the correct rates but the extreme heat and humidity, along with poor air circulation on some of the greens, were just too much for some of the areas to handle. As soon as the infection was spotted, we immediately applied a fungicide to cure the plant and arrest further damage to the greens. The greens that were most affected were eight, twelve, thirteen and fourteen. This is mainly due to the fact that they receive very little morning sun, which is very important to the newer Bentgrasses varieties, and they are blocked from the prevailing wind due to houses or trees. I want to be clear, the disease is under control it has been eliminated and will not be spreading; in fact, the turf around the affected areas is so healthy that the thin areas are already filling in.

Now that you understand why we have this situation and what corrective measures we have taken thus far, I would like to explain what we are going to be doing in a broader sense. We have 135,000 square feet of greens and approaches at Hurstbourne and of that less than 4000 square feet have what I would consider unacceptable turf coverage. This represents less than 3% of the greens surface. First of all there is nothing on the greens that will not heal with a few weeks of good weather. However, to speed up the recovery process, we have put out temporary fans on four of the greens to increase air circulation and help cool the turf canopy and are in the process of obtaining pricing for permanent fans for greens eight, twelve, thirteen and fourteen. These fans will be similar to the fans on nine and sixteen which used to be two of our weaker greens but as a result have become two of our more consistent greens. We have increased our fungicide applications to prevent any future outbreaks and we have slightly increased our liquid fertilizer applications to help stimulate growth. We must be careful though not to over fertilize the greens this time of the year because that will increase our potential for more disease and the effects of heat stress. A few areas will not fill in on their own and will need to be plugged out; this will take place as soon as the weather breaks and we get a few days in a row with temperatures in the mid 80’s. The idea of temporary greens has been suggested by some of the membership but at this time would be an extreme measure. Currently, the turf on the greens in question is healthy and recovering nicely; the foot traffic that they see daily is not hindering the recovery. If there comes a time when temporary greens become necessary we will take the steps required to protect the greens.

I have also had a few questions about the areas we have sprayed out on a few of the bunker faces. These areas had become overly contaminated with Bermuda grass and needed to be removed. Unfortunately to successfully eliminate the Bermuda it will take three or four applications of Roundup over a six to eight week period. Once we are sure the Bermuda is dead we will sod the bunker faces with Fescue. Sorry for the inconvenience but it is a necessary practice.

Current course updates are always available on our blog at www.hcclouisville.blogspot.com. As always, the Department of Golf Course Operations is working very hard to keep not just the greens but the entire course in the best possible condition for your golfing enjoyment. If you have any questions or concerns about the course please feel free to contact me.


Walter K. Pritchett, CGCS
Director of Golf Course Operations