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 17 are still lagging behind the other greens. A lot of new bentgrass plants have emerged, but have not fully started to grow due to the cool temperatures. I would anticipate the rate of recovery to increase fairly quickly as the extended forecast looks favorable for at least the next ten days.
Below are some pictures from #13 green documenting our recovery, thus far. We are far from perfect, but we are getting closer day by day.
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| photo taken 4/7 |
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| photo taken 4/17 |
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| photo taken 5/6 |
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| photo taken 5/21 |