Turf Scouting Report, June 21st

This week and the next few weeks there are a couple of things which I think are important to you and your golf course which can make or break your summer. This weekend we have our first blast of heat and humidity. As everyone has some grasp of the problems this brings in relation to disease pressure increasing, I can only hope that you have had a plan in place for this type of weather in relation to disease management. There are some points however that while I have already touched on them need to be re enforced - opening up your soil profile without huge amounts of disturbance will be crucial for maintaining oxygen in around the rhizosphere and the more oxygen you can get down there right now the better. Empathy is a word I feel is useful for managers who have had some of the vast amounts of precipitation since the start of the year. You have gone from saturation with little heat to high heat and humidity pretty quickly and this is not a nice change. Moving water as much as possible away from the rootzone is a primary concern and again wetting agents will be of use to you regardless of rainfall. Remember - oxygen is crucial right now and the best way to get it into the roots is to open the profile up as much as possible with limited disturbance to play.

Secondly - everyone has had or is getting into member competition times. These can really set up well as long as the climate cooperates. You have worked all year to set up for a great day or weekend and it's nice to receive the compliments for your labor. It is also important to remember the day is about the game of golf and not the golf course itself - promoting faster play, sustainable conditions, quality surfaces and meeting the demand of memberships all come about through effective communication. Tournament set up is not the same as day to day set up due to labor cost, turfgrass management practices and time management - this can be communicated effectively to ensure there is grass on the golf course all through the summer. You can also use the events to showcase your efforts and professionalism and so don't treat them as another headache in the way of maintaining the course - if they are not there - then there is little reason to have the course. Try to keep everything even handed and ensure that your staff knows what to expect ahead of the event - life gets easier.

Finally - as the summer stress hits remember you may not be able to always beat the weather and so keeping a calm head and trying to decompress will be crucial to both you - and your grass!

Click here to view the June 21, 2013 Scouting Report.

As always if you have a question or query please do not hesitate to ask and you can call or email.

Ed Nangle PhD
Director of Turfgrass Programs
Chicago District Golf Association
www.cdgaturf.org
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