Reel to Reel

Over 2 inches of rain has made it difficult to maneuver around the course today.  Below are a few photos taken this afternoon. #9 green #1 right rough and fairway #7 tee #6 green #5 fairway #2 fairway

The weather this spring is proving to be unseasonably cold.  Cool days and nights have made it difficult for the turf plants to fully recover.  Optimal growth of cool season turfgrass species occurs when air temperatures are between 60-75 degrees and nighttime temperatures are in the mid 50's. Over the last 50 days, we have had only 20 days in which the day time high reached over 60 degrees.  In that same span, we have had only 6 nights in which the nighttime temperature remained above 50 degrees. The speed of recovery has certainly been hampered by the cool spring weather.  To put these numbers in perspective, I looked at the same 50 day span from 2009-2013. From 4/1-5/20 in this five year period, we averaged 29 days over 60 degrees and 9 nights over 50 degrees.     Despite the poor weather this year, we have certainly made some positive gains, just not at the pace in which I was hoping.  Greens 5, 10, and...

The weather this month has been less than cooperative.  Over 2" of rain the last four days has made it extremely difficult to maneuver around the course to perform our weekly maintenance.  We are hoping for drier conditions tomorrow so we can catch up. #6 tee #5 fairway #11 fairway #10 tee

Recovery has been good, but slow.  Cool, damp conditions over the last couple of weeks have slowed down the recovery process.  Soil temperatures have increased gradually, but have not warmed enough to really promote growth.  We continue to foliar feed the plants and be proactive with needle-tining and slicing.  Our methodology is working despite the lack of cooperation from the weather. The forecast this week looks promising.  I would expect to take some positive steps forward.  Below is a photo of bentgrass seed germinating under the cover on #10 green. bentgrass seed germinating on #10 green