Reel to Reel

 I'd like to share with you my favorite shots of the month. 

...superintendents do NOT.  The extended 10-day forecast looks to be pretty warm.  It will be a challenge to keep the plants happy and healthy during this period as these temperatures are well above their optimal growing conditions.  We have tried to give the plants a little additional help this week to get them through this stressful stretch of weather via: - Additional fungicide applications to fight off fungal attacks - Additional soil ammendments and micro nutrients to improve stress tolerance - Timely syringing to cool the plants down - Traffic management - limited rolling on the greens As we navigate through this hot stretch of weather, we will not be pushing the plants for green speeds.  When weather conditions allow, normal maintenance practices will resume.

I think most superintendents would agree there is no such thing as a typical day.  Caring for living plants in an ever-changing environment means the plan is constantly evolving.  Since it's difficult to articulate what a typical day on the golf course entails, I decided to document this past Monday. 

The warm weather is begining to takes its toll on some of the poa annua on the fairways.  You may have noticed some discoloration on the fairways.  The yellowing turf is the weaker poa plants displaying some heat stress symptoms.  Most of it is concentrated on fairway edges where soil conditions are compacted. Poa is extemely intolerant of heat and suceptible to a wide range of fungal pathogens. For these reasons, poa is not a very desirable turfgrass. Although the discoloration is not aesthetically pleasing, it is not all bad.  We will take this opportunity to overseed these weaker areas with some bentgrass seed.  With the poa in a weaker state, the bentgrass will have a competitive advantage and will likely allow for more germination.  Bentgrass is much more tolerant of weather extremes and better suited to ward off attacks from fungi. Discolored poa on #11 fairway

We celebrated the longest day of the year today by working one of the longest days of the year.  High temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions made for good drying weather.  The majority of our day was spent syringing the turf to cool down the plants.  Although air temperatures were in the low 90's, the surface temperature of the turf was in excess of 100 degrees.  I'm pleased with how the plants held on today.  The weather looks to be more favorable over the next few days with temperatures topping off in the mid 80's. 

Working in this industry, you learn early that Mother Nature often dictates what you do and what you don't do.  Yesterday we were unable to verticut and topdress greens due to the impending heat and humidity.  Both practices can be stressful to the plants when conducted at the improper time. Instead, I opted to apply preventative fungicide applications to greens, tees and fairways.  The turf is extremely healthy and the rooting has never been better for this time of year.  I think they're going to hold up pretty well in the forecasted heat. As a turf manager my goal is to put the plants in the best position to withstand the stresses that Mother Nature throws at it.

Intense sun, low humidity and wind were all factors contributing to yesterday's drying conditions.  This made for a long day as we were busy syringing greens to cool the plants down.  As discussed in previous posts, poa annua, our primary turfgrass on the golf course has extremely poor heat tolerance.  A normal nightly watering cycle is often not enough water to get the plants through the low evapotranspiration day like we experienced yesterday.  It is necessary to syringe during the afternoon to cool the plants down.  It is not uncommon for the turf surface to be 10-15 degrees warmer than the air temperature.  During yesterday's 90 degree day, the temperature on the greens surface was over 100 degrees.   Jose syringing #9 green to cool the plants down Today's forecast looks to be even warmer and windier, so we will be back behind the hoses and turning on select fairway irrigation heads.  As always,...

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) has a popular series that airs on GCSAA TV, entitled "What's In Your Cart?"  They travel around to various golf courses and ask superintendents that very question. Here's the KCC version of "What's In Your Cart?" Soil Probe - used to view the soil profile Moisture Meter - used to measure volumetric water content of the soil Infrared Thermometer - used to measure the turf surface temperature Macroscope - used to view turf under magnification Stimpmeter - used to measure green speed Titleist Bullseye Putter - used to test putting surface and miss 3 foot putts Miscellaneous tools including paint gun, hazard paint, extra drain caps,      soil thermometer, irrigation valve key and directional stakes

Over the last couple of days, we have been performing an irrigation audit on our system.  An irrigation audit is the procedure of collecting and analyzing information concerning the uniformity of application, precipitation rate, and general condition of an irrigation system and its components.  This data is then used to determine a plan for maximum irrigation efficiency. How is the audit performed? First, twenty-four containers are set an equal distance apart on the green.  Then, the irrigation system is run for a designated time.  Next, the water collected in the containers is measured and the data is then put into a spreadsheet.  Finally, a series of formulas determine the precipitation rates and distribution uniformity, which indicate how efficiently the irrigation heads are functioning. Mike measuring the amount of water collected on #1 green Why is this information helpful? Knowing the precipitation ...

We walked into a mess on the golf course this morning.  Wind gusts reaching 27 mph yesterday blew down all sorts of debris, in addition to a small dead tree on #12.  The tree was located in the woods along the west side of #12 fairway.  We are in the process of cleaning up the course with our full arsenal of blowers and rakes.  The tree has also been cut and cleaned up. dead tree that fell across the fence on #12 Alejandro blowing the debris off #2 fairway