August 23 Update

As the end of summer approaches it seems like a good time to reflect back on our season.  On a positive note the Bermuda was awesome once it got going.  We are growing grass in areas that have been thin or were dirt for a long time.  The sod work on the range, number 5 and number 6 looks awesome.  The other thin areas on the course are much smaller than last year.  Quality on the fairways has been good with a much farther ball roll.  We have raised the height just a little this week to prevent scalping.  The rough is also very thick and is being mowed at least twice a week.  Even on the second pass after only 2 or 3 days we are having to blow off the clippings everywhere we cut.  We have held the height the same all year long, but it is playing tough right now due to the density.

The greens have been a struggle for us this July and August.  Early wet weather in May and June led to some disease problems, anthracnose in particular.  This is not a common disease of bentgrass, but is a difficult one to get rid of once you have it.  The extreme heat followed up in the last couple weeks of June causing some turf loss due to direct heat kill as well as some loss due to wilt.  The putting green in particular dried out on a hot windy day, and even though we got water on it that day, it never recovered.  The roots on that green are never good and the turf just wasn’t strong enough to recover in the poor location where it sits.  We did vent greens on a frequent basis, we did adjust fertility, growth regulator and fungicide applications for the weather.  We did raise the mowing height on the greens on July 25^th, in hindsight maybe sooner might have helped some?  No way to say for sure.  We were not seeing any damage from the mowers even when we raised the height.  Going into next year we will make some changes to our programs in the event that mother nature hits us again with a once a decade heat wave.

Good news is that September aeration is right around the corner.  The cooler weather this week has helped tremendously in just a couple of days and the greens are already happier.  Hopefully next year we won’t have as many dog days of summer.