Surviving the heat
Once again July’s above average
weather has brought a challenging summer.
All things considered the course is holding up fairly well. We certainly have some isolated spots here
and there but the staff has done a great job at nursing the grass through the
heat. August is also a potential stress
month with a history of producing excessive heat. To get through this stressful period we have
relied on a defense strategy stressing plant health and increased water
management procedures.
With leaf temperatures reaching as
high as 130 F and soil temperatures as high as 98 F in recent weeks, we have
employed the following techniques or procedures to help us get through the
stress. 1) Raised the mowing height to increase
plant photosynthetic and natural cooling ability. 2) Needle tine aerification
of the greens every three weeks to allow increased gas exchange in the root
zone. Increased air flow also helps keep soil temps cooler. 3) Light and
frequent irrigation by hand and by the sprinkler to cool the turf. Excessive amount of water can lead to rapid
turf loss during hot weather, while are rainfall amounts are below average we
have been fortunate that we haven’t got 3” down poor during the heat.
Driving Range Tee
The driving range tee conversion
to “Latitude 36” bermuda grass has been successful and is now open. The old cool season turf struggled during
warm summer months when we do the most rounds.
With limited teeing space the use exceeded the recovery rate resulting
in less time on the turf and more time on the mats
Latitude 36 is the most recent improved variety of bermuda grass
for area. It offers earlier green up and
longer color into the fall (early May – to the end of October). It also offers a leaf texture very similar to
our bentgrass fairways. It combines
transition zone adaptation and turf quality features that make it particularly
useful. It should produce high quality
turf by virtue of its relatively fine texture, good sod density and dark green
color. It is very aggressive and spreads via rhizomes(modified roots) and stolons(modified
stems). Accordingly, it recovers rapidly
from physical injury such as divoting making it an ideal turf for teeing areas.
Proper use of the tee will help insure a faster recovery of the divoted
areas. Please take divots in straight
line, starting in the front and working backwards. Leaving a small row of grass between the
divot lines will allow for quicker recovery and more efficient use your
practice tee.
 |
| Incorrect Divoting pattern |
 |
| Correct Divoting Pattern |
No comments:
Post a Comment