Naperville Country Club Green Department

We received another small batch of snow this morning. All has melted from the hard surfaces and only the closely mowed bentgrass is covered on the course. Very little snow so far this year. When(if) we do get snow, the course will be available for snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and sledding. We only ask you avoid traffic on the greens. The ice rink has a layer of ice but is not ready yet. We make lots of progress on building ice when the temperatures are in the teens.

The inside work on the equipment is well underway. Some equipment is complete, other pieces are yet to be started. After the equipment we will begin on the course products. We will also be working in the clubhouse in January on a few projects that are planned there.

This will be the last post for this year. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year. See you in 2013.

Even with the greens closed for the winter season, this topic is relevant year-round. I think this will become a monthly post on the blog through the season. Ball mark repair is a regular topic during Green Committee discussions, not just here at Naperville, but all clubs. It only takes a few seconds to repair your ball mark on a green, and that few seconds will leave a better playing surface as well as a better looking surface. The topic of discussion for us most often revolves around how the surface looks. Repairing a ball mark is not just about creating a level surface, but also covering the mark. This video from The Golf Channel videos "The Golf Fix" does an excellent job of demonstrating how to fix a ball mark properly. This method leaves a flat surface and also leaves the smallest possible brown spot.

This is one small effort that will go a long way to making a better playing surface on the greens through the season. This small effort is not being done for the green department either. It is the responsibility of the golfer to leave the course in as good of shape as they found it for the golfers that play after them.

When I brought up the blog this morning to make an update, I noticed the blog had turned over 100,000 page views. It seems like only a few weeks ago I was tweeting about 80,000 page views, but it was a few months ago now. It is nice to see that people are finding information on the blog and hopefully it is useful. I periodically like to check out what people are looking at on the blog and how they find it. Here is a run-down of the highlights.

Most popular blog posts:

1. Verticutting - Sunday, May 16, 2010
2. Cicada Killer Wasps - Thursday, July 29, 2010
3. Invitational Preparation - Saturday, June 11, 2011
4. Rumble In The Maintenance Facility - Wednesday, September 14, 2011
5. Slime Mold - Friday, June 18, 2010
6. The Superintendents Tool Box: Soil Moisture Meter - Saturday, June 4, 2011
7. Practice Tee and Divot Patterns - Friday, March 30, 2012
8. Disease In The Rough - Wednesday, August 3, 3011
9. Uninvited Guest - Monday, July 26, 2010
10. Verticutting Fairways - Monday, June 28, 2010

Most popular referring sites:

1. www.google.com
2. www.napervillecc.org
3. gcmbloggingworld.blogspot.com
4. napervilleccgrounds.blogspot.com
5. blackhawkgrounds.blogspot.com
6. hawkslandinggreens.blogspot.com
7. www.golfcourseindustry.com
8. cdgaturf.com
9. facebook.com
10. www.google.ca

Location with most visitors:

1. Naperville, IL
2. Chicago, IL
3. Madison, WI
4. West Lafayette, IN
5. Montgomery, IL
6. Downers Grove, IL
7. La Grange, IL
8. Highland Park, IL
9. Clarendon Hills, IL
10. Bridgeview, IL

I hope the next 100,000 are just as interesting for all the visitors.

Another piece of the winterizing puzzle was put in place yesterday with the completion of the irrigation system. We finished in the moon light, which isn't saying much, it is out at 5pm now. Winterizing the irrigation system is not difficult, but it is important to do a thorough job. When water freezes, it expands; and the plastic components of the irrigation system were not designed to expand. Ensuring that all the water is out of the pipes, heads and valves makes for an easier start to the year in the spring.

We do not winterize our pump station. This provides the water for our fire sprinklers in the maintenance facility. The pump station remains on and operational through the winter. This does require a little extra work to cover vents and make sure the heater and thermostat are working.

We made lots of progress today towards finishing our on-course preparations for winter. The greens are closed for the season and the temporary targets are in place in the approach. Please do not walk on the greens until next season. Tee markers, benches, ball washers, trash cans, signs and ropes are all off of the course also. The Halfway House is closed for the season and cart use is finished for the season. It has been a long year and the course is looking forward to some rest. The irrigation system will be winterized starting tomorrow and our winter snow mold treatment will be going out later this week also.

I had seen this video posted by The Midwest Association of Golf Course Superintendents but had forgotten about it a long time ago. It shows some of the early methods of Greenkeeping in the Chicago area.

Thanks to Scott Pavalko at Cog Hill for posting it on Twitter this morning and reminding me of it!

The warm weather is going to continue this week as 3 days near 60 degrees are in the forecast. The course will be open and cart use has been extended to Sunday. We do still plan to stop carts and close the greens on Monday, November 26th. This could change if night time temperatures stay above freezing, but the extended forecast is not showing that will be the case.

2012 has been an extremely hot year, and this weeks temperatures are continuing that trend. Last week I attended the 60th Turf Clinic at Medinah Country Club. The Turf Clinic is the annual meeting for the Midwest Association of Golf Course Superintendents, and consists of a day of education. Naturally, many of the topics related to the excessive heat that a large portion of the country experienced this year. This graph shows the variation from the mean temperature of all years from 1895 through October of this year. The striking thing is not that 2012 is above the rest, but how far above the previous 5 hottest years. With this weeks temperatures, I would assume that line will remain the same distance above. Dr. Settle, who puts out the Turf Scouting Reports each week through the season presented this graph and the following graphs that show the periods of hot weather through the summer.

With the early spring warmth that came in March and this warm stretch now, it has been a long golfing season for the course. Put on top of that the hottest year on record along with one of the driest and it becomes a VERY long golfing season for the course. The course and the crew are ready for some snow.

Growing Season Ends: Winterizing Irrigation, Sandy's Winds Cooled Chicago, Turf Begins Dormancy, and Tim Sees Control of Poa in Bentgrass

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

And so the season concludes. How do I know? This morning while working in our lab (outer wall is adjacent to Sunshine Course) a hissing sound got my attention. A little worried I was relieved to find our superintendent winterizing our irrigation system - compressed air blows water from underground lines and this prevents freezing/breaks. I smiled as it meant one thing, our growing season in the upper Midwest had ended. On Sunshine Course in October the turf increasingly had developed a dormant look - from the purples of cool-season creeping bentgrass, Agrostis stolonifera, to the golden hue of warm-season zoysia, 'Zenith' Zoysia japonica.

To be sure, growing season 2012 will be remembered. For the young ones, we would use a lot of exclamation marks in our week to week communications. For turf professionals long in the tooth (anonymous highly respected individuals who've seen everything) they instead were reminded of two growing seasons (1988 and 1995). And so together we would learn valuable lessons (first time or again) in the great outdoors. Have a good winter with some well-deserved vacation time. For continued communications/blogs see www.cdgaturf.org or check @TurfResearch on Twitter.

Click here to view the November 2, 2012 Scouting Report.

On behalf of the CDGA turf program, your support during the 2012 growing season was appreciated. Thank you,

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
(630) 685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
(630) 685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

Our big project this fall involves removing bentgrass from the bluegrass adjacent to the tee boxes. Large areas on 3 and 4 tees have already been completed. The other tees are in the process of being cut and cleaned now. New sod will be arriving next week to complete the project.

The bentgrass variety that is used on the tees has an aggressive growth habit. This is great for recovering from divots, but does cause problems at the edges. This bentgrass will invade the adjacent bluegrass and become unsightly and at time a maintenance issue.

While we are cutting the sod we are straightening tee lines and making sure the tee boxes stay square. This will give a much cleaner look to the tees next year.

All seasons seemed to be moved up about 3 weeks this year. Spring came early. Summer was hotter and sooner than normal. August temperatures cooled like September temperatures normally do. We will see if winter comes earlier. The tree are ready before they normally are. Here are some comparisons.

October 28, 2012

October 31, 2011

October 28, 2012

October 31, 2011

The downside to this is less recovery time for the turf from a very stressful summer. The course is in good shape going into the winter and we are not anticipating any extra growth this year.

Tree Leaves Largely Down: 70s Felt Nice, Needed Rain Continues, Dollar Spot Went Crazy and Tim's Dollar Spot Susceptibility of Bentgrass in Fall

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

In a simple week of time, big change occured. I was gone for part of the week (Cincinnati) and then I came back. Upon return, I was surprised to find most tree leaves were suddenly down. In particular the oaks, Quercus spp., would catch my attention because they had let me down? You see, I was readying myself to write about oaks in their flourish of fall leaf color. Well, in a season of interesting temperature from start to finish I can now say... oak tree leaves fell early during a week that saw highs in the 70s. Obviously our attention continued to be more holistic as far as the landscape was concerned - it's not just turf after all. We continue to wrap things up this growing season and that is a good feeling.

Back to turf. The meeting I attended was all about something called C-5 (aka Turfgrass Division of the Crop Science Society of America). A little digging and I found Division C-5 objectives to share. "A) To provide a common forum for the exchange of turfgrass research and educational information... B) To advance scientific research and promote practices that will improve the utility, culture, and performance of turfgrass. C) To further the professional development of its members and to promote and recognize quality research and teaching of Turfgrass Science as a profession. D) To maintain liaison and to cooperate with other scientific or educational organizations, national or international, whose programs are allied to Turfgrass Science." Those four Turf Science objectives sound good to me!

Click here to view the October 26, 2012 Scouting Report.

Have a good weekend though light jackets no more since our forecast says 40s/30s (highs/lows).

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
(630) 685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
(630) 685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

Needed Rain Arrives: A Mild Week Of Temperature, Very Few Issues, Dollar Spot Is Active Again, Meanwhile Tim Says Fall Fungicides AND Dollar Spot

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

This week was a temperature zig zag, so to speak. Best of all, it was in the right direction of up! Following our coldest period since spring which ended annual flowers in the landscape, Mother Nature relented. Instead she delivered a reprieve in a big way and our high temperatures climbed considerably. For example, on one day we touched 70° with two other days coming pretty darn close to that mark as well. Meanwhile, nights also jumped and all 7 were without freezing. Few if any issues are now troubling turf, although dollar spot has continued to nag - redeveloping on creeping bentgrass surfaces for golf. Biting our nails, dancing for rain and going to church finally paid off... needed rain fell with 1.7 inches this week's tally on Sunshine Course in Lemont.

The main feature of the landscape continues to be excellent fall color of trees. Never mind it follows an otherwise difficult growing season and that some individuals had speculated this summer that 2012 wouldn't see much fall color. Shew, it turns out they were wrong. Our most recent splash of color over the past week or two has been spectacular and not surprisingly some have enjoyed more attention than others - luminescent orange sugar maples. Not to be outdone, ginkos American elms, and lindens began to peak with golden color. This week in a nutshell? The return of rain, few issues and spectacular fall color. As you might expect, there are few complaints.

Click here to view the October 19, 2012 Scouting Report.

Have a good weekend and enjoy THAT fall color.

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
(630) 685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
(630) 685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

One of the major sod projects we are working on this fall involves removing bentgrass from the bluegrass roughs on green and tee banks. Bentgrass from the greens and tees has made its way to the roughs and is unsightly when mowed at the height of the roughs. There are many ways that this can happen, but the easiest way to fix it is with new sod. The tee bank on 3 tee (left) was nearly all bentgrass. The entire bank was stripped and new sod installed.

Roughs immediately adjacent to the tee boxes are the most prominent areas of bentrgrass invasion. These areas will be done throughout the course this fall. When doing this, the tee box is measured and squared if it needs to be, and the edges straightened.

The tee bank on 4 tee had bentgrass on it, but it was also the victim of the bluegrass billbug larvae, and grubs.

Many of the tee edges will be done this fall, but these are the 2 largest areas of sod to be laid.

We make several references on the blog about trafficed areas. These are the areas that receive a disproportionately large amount of cart traffic or foot traffic. Traffic on the course packs the soil and removes air from the soil. Roots can only grow in air pores that exist in the soil, the more the air is pushed out of the soil from traffic, the less space there is for roots to grow. This results in thin, weak turf that is more vulnerable to unideal growing environments (hot and dry weather this summer).

Though these areas may show thin turf on the surface, the problem exists underneath the surface. We fix this by adding more air space in the soil through the removal of a plug during aeration. This was done yesterday around the bunker edges in the fairways.

In other areas across the course, the cart traffic is spread enough for the compaction to be relieved through our regular aeration and the freeze and thaw cycles through the winter. Here is a picture of Torres deep tining the fairways. This started yesterday and should be completed today. We will do this as many times as we can before the ground freezes. The more air we can get into the soil the better the turf will be.

It Feels Like Fall: Light Jackets Can't Cut It, Few Issues, Residual Dollar Spot, Rust Is Mild So Far and Tim Teaches Turf Students About Research

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

We were feeling 20s early on Monday, October 8 and it meant the coldest temperatures since April had come true as forecast. At this point we had to accept our flowers and vegetable gardens were no more. On the turf-side, the grass is still green (or maybe a purple-green) but its use has also tapered - cool temperatures and shortened daylength naturally slows the game of golf, but not greens! We saw the fewest numbers of golfers playing the game in a season that otherwise had a lot (a warm, long lasting, dry season was 2012). Still, we don't quite want to accept it, the end of a growing season. Some even continued a tendency of going outdoors unprepared (from experience...my light jacket thing).

Meanwhile, some good news this week. The landscape did pick up some needed rain, but the bad news is that it still wasn't near enough in a season who's current total is half of normal. And so irrigation and necessary handwatering were still required in an otherwise low water demand period for turf. And golf courses still saw other activity. They saw numerous projects either finished or in their final stretch prior to winter. They saw more tree leaves had senesced, now finding a place among the blades of grass, streams of water, lakes and paths. They saw a golden glow of shagbark hickory, honeylocust, green ash, basswood, elm and maples begin their orange. They saw a most beautiful sky. They saw an exclamation mark in the landscape, the peak purple-red leaf color of white ashes. Man oh man, fall in Illinois is sure nice.

Click here to view the October 12, 2012 Scouting Report.

Enjoy your weekend and those fantastic fall colors.

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
(630) 685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
(630) 685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

The first two drainage projects of the fall were completed this week. Both areas exhibited the same problem. They were areas where irrigation water and rain ran down the path and collected on the edge. We put in a basin at the edge of the cart path and connected it to another nearby basin.

One of the areas was between 16 and 18 green. The basin at this location had already been installed, the crew just needed to trench a line for the pipe. The other area was by the chipping green. The next area where a similar project will be done is at 4 tee.

We were able to get the greens aerated on schedule yesterday. A frost delay forced us to start late, but they were aerated, cleaned and topdressed. The greens are playable now, but the process is not completed. We will return to the greens with another topdressing later this week to fill a few remaining open holes. Rolling will continue throughout the week to smooth them again. We will attempt to do this work in the afternoon when the surface is dry. Doing this in the mornings when the sand is wet from dew usually creates more of a mess that when we start.

We did start some aeration in the first cut of rough yesterday as well. You will notice the plugs sitting in the rough along the fairway edges. This machine is living on borrowed time and we are trying to squeeze the last remains of usefulness it possesses. Cesar was able to get a little more than half the fairways done before it broke once more yesterday. We have not looked at the machine yet to estimate repairs.

Some sodding, and additional aeration will continue through the fall. Tees may be aerated again depending on weather. Fairways will be aerated again with a solid tine in conjunction with a topdressing. As always check back for regular updates and course conditions.

Fall Color Says Pow, Pow, Pow: Coldest Night in 7 Months, Chicago's Turf Very Healthy, Dollar Spot Fires Up (briefly) and Tim talks Poa Control?

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

Wait a minute, how did THAT happen so fast? It's October. Well it happened and just to show you...on Thursday of this week we lost something like 27 degrees in 6 hours - from 80° at 2 pm to near 50° by 8 pm. Friday morning it hit me when I found myself in Naperville at a couple of courses unprepared - two light jackets didn't cut it. This growing season suddenly seems striking in it's contrast of 'degrees' in just a few months. As far as pest 'issues' and things of plant health, very few now exist given nighttime lows are rhythmically falling to the 40s. The bigger issue at hand is a realization that we continue to be way behind on annual rainfall and current lake level information is the perfect illustrator. Versus the same time a year ago, the Great Lakes tell the 2012 story of drought (Superior -2", Ontario -11", Huron -13", Michigan -13" and Erie -17"). Besides Lake Michigan being down 13 inches from a year ago, drought is serious because it also effects needed soil moisture reserves for crops and the landscape and this can last into the next growing season (e.g., the severe drought of 1988 meant 1989's growing season was also negatively affected).

Currently we are holding our heads up more and more. Not just because we did a good job in season 2012. Ha! Mainly it is because the canopy of the landscape has begun to change rapidly. Talk about nice fall color. White ashes are a reddish burgundy purple and green ashes are golden. A group of honeylocusts today... I found myself forming the word "electric".

Click here to view the October 5, 2012 Scouting Report.

Have a good weekend and don't forget to put on your 'good' jacket!

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
(630) 685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
(630) 685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

I looks like a chilly weekend ahead, but sunny. Frost delays are likely for both days this weekend. Come early anyway, a breakfast buffet will be available in the Member's Grill.

Another item on our list of fall projects involves leveling areas that have settled through the years. Drainage lines and irrigation heads are the most common offenders. This picture shows the drainage lines in 11 fairway that were installed last year (Drainage Project in 11 Fairway, Back To Work On 11 Fairway). Through the year the soil underneath has settled, which was expected, and it is now time to start topdressing them heavy to level them again. We will put a heavy layer of sand on and brush it in until the area is level.

Many of the areas are around irrigation heads. These areas are being dug up, the heads leveled with the surface, and the areas around the head leveled as well. Making the surface as level as possible with allow for a more uniform look, and a more even mowing cut.

This week we started a more involved aeration in some fairway locations. Our usual aeration in the fairways involves only a solid tine. (Due to our fairway topdressing program, we do not want to bring up the heavy soil underneath and mix it with the sand that has been applied on top). However, some areas that receive heavy cart traffic are too compacted for the regular solid tine to keep up. This fall we will pull a core in these areas, remove the plugs, and refill the holes with sand.

These areas are concentrated around bunker edges in the fairways. These spots funnel the cart traffic through a smaller area resulting in a higher concentration of cart traffic. Heavily compacted soil results in less pore space for water, air and roots to move through the soil. A poorer growing environment will lead to less than ideal conditions in these areas.

On Monday we completed the areas near the green in 5 fairway, and around the bunker in 6 fairway. Many of the edges of the fairway bunkers will be done this fall.

Fall Color Begins: First Real Frost, Other Than Grubs...Few Issues, Ryder Cup Sees Perfect Weather and Tim says Fairway Creeping Bentgrass

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

And on the fourth week of September, the Ryder Cup came to Chicago - nice weather would be on tap! After all it is fall, and we had just recorded our first two frost events. In other words the weather was perfect with tree color appearing in the landscape early, some of our deciduous trees like maples and honeylocusts already had turned gold to orange. For cool season turf things just line up nicely in the fall. For example, the natural growth of turf begins to slow and soil temperatures are at optimal levels for root growth (60s). Also this scouting report gets kinda brief - as we cool there are fewer and fewer pest issues in the landscape. For creeping bentgrass golfing surfaces it means perfection personified - good health both above and belowground.

Ahh September. By September we have reclaimed quite a bit of our lost roots due to summer's heat (all-time record heat that is). By September, if you manage turf, you can now look back on a season and her lessons to better prepare for next season. By September you have more time to volunteer on the grounds crew for things like the Ryder Cup! And so we remember the 2012 season for all its challenges present during regular day to day play as well as during numerous tournaments and events. At the end of each growing season it's hard not to be in awe...especially in 2012 when you find yourself working with a team at Medinah under Curtis Tyrrell. Go USA!

Click here to view the September 28, 2012 Scouting Report.

Have a good weekend and... if you can't be in Chicago this weekend, enjoy the Ryder Cup at Medinah on TV!

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
(630) 685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
(630) 685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

It's Fall: Residual Dollar Spot of Bentgrass and Summer Patch of Bluegrass, Animals/Grubs Rough Up the Rough, and Tim says Cultivar A B C D E F G

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

Midweek, a light frost on Chicago's blades of turf. I would take a look at my weather archives only to discover we hadn't been that cold since the 3rd week of May. So now the growing season works in reverse as we lose daylength by about 3 minutes a day - it all happens too quickly. To be clear we had wished for our first fall day of September 22nd months ago. For most (those in the growing season trenches of 2012) that wish was about mid-July when extreme weather events had brought us to our knees both mentally and physically. Olympics weren't just on TV because we were living it! It was record pace stuff - an early greenup in March segwayed into extreme summer drought/heat and later meterologists would report clocking the hottest summer month ever in the United States. If you ask some they will say we were just fine.

Actually we had begun to panic, but of course we can never publicly say so. Nevertheless by about late summer (regardless of year) both human beings and plants seem to say, "What summer?" Our human mind is forgetful and plants in the landscape are just amazingly resilient. Still we should know otherwise - the watchful superintendent continues to monitor and report surface water levels are still quite low. But alas we are now well progressed into our end of season project phase. In a week a certain camera was focused less on being a scout in the name of integrated pest management (IPM). Click would follow the hum of engines that propell heavy equipment to rennovate areas. Click would follow the silent germination and emergence of turf. Yep, it's fall.

Click here to view the September 21, 2012 Scouting Report.

Enjoy your cool, with a dash of a little wet, weekend.

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
(630) 685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
(630) 685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

We usually do not make a frost delay post until October, but it looks like we could have our first frost delay Sunday morning. Some courses in the Chicago area have already had to deal with frost this week. We did have patches of frost in the roughs, but nothing that delayed our work.

Here are some previous posts with frost information:

Frost

Frost For Friday?

The strain of a hot dry summer proved to be more than some areas could withstand. We sodded spots of a few bunkers, and resodded all of the green side bunker on 5, and the pond bank on 14. The two predominating characteristics of these areas are south facing slopes, or a large amount of sand is hit onto the bunker face. In some cases both contributed to the decline of condition.

Please respect the ropes in these areas until the sod has a chance to attach roots.

South facing slopes were particularly hard hit by the continuous sunshine and heat this summer. The pond bank at 14 green was resodded because of that.

This picture shows how much sand is thrown on to the bunker face from shots hit out of the sand. If you have walked across a beach on a hot sunny day, you know how hot the sand can get. The same thing happens to the sand on the bunker face. When the sand heats up, it kills the grass that is around it.

We plan to do more sod projects as the fall progresses. The areas we will concentrate on later are the tees. Many of the tees have bentgrass creeping into the rough around the tee box. We will cut that bentgrass out and resod with bluegrass.

The driving range tee and its divots continues to be a major topic of conversation. The club enjoys one of the finest practice facilities around, and it shows - it gets used a lot! Rarely is there a time during the day when there is not at least one person on the practice tee warming up or working on their game. This leads to lots of divots. We are continuing to try to spread the word about divot patterns that will disrupt a smaller area (Practice Tee Divot Patterns) and allow the divots to heal faster.

Here are a set of pictures taken recently of the practice tee the morning after a day of regular play. It shows how much the tee gets used.

Divots taken in this pattern (above and below) will take much longer to heal than divots taken in the preferred pattern of a line.

The practice areas get used very frequently. The more use they receive, the longer it will take for the surface to return to normal. By disrupting less area with a divot pattern in a line, it will take less time for the tee to return to normal.

Cool Nights Mean Normal: Dollar Spot, Rust, White Grubs, Sod Rolling Up (animals search for said grubs) and Tim says Festuca arundinacea

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

This week, temperatures were both warm and cool. Plants said Huh? Actually it meant our season was acting right again for a change as the calendar is now pretty much between summer and fall. Our jaws would drop wide open when lows dropped to 47° twice in Lemont - we've now experienced our first really cool period since June. It's a real joy when nights hold the mercury to 50° or less. The surprise/enthusiasm if you manage turf? Well if jackets are on, the trend of FEWER issues will only accelerate. Rewind. Just a week ago the landscape looked and felt like a lot of trouble. Midsummer had briefly returned to 5th gear when our nights remained warm and humid. My Everything word last week meant all major fungal diseases of turf were banging their pots and pans - should've said Yikes as eyes get real big seeing nuclear dollar spot.

But it's September and so fast-forward to normal. Normal would be dealing with moderate levels of foliar rust and dollar spot affecting Kentucky bluegrass roughs. Normal would be root damage from things like annual white grubs. Normal would be waking up to see the amazing sod rolling ability of hungry animals - grubs!?! Normal would be catching up with paperwork. Ahh, normal.

Click here to view the September 14, 2012 Scouting Report.

Enjoy normal and what is to be a beautiful weekend of weather!

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

Everything: Anthracnose, Bipolaris of Bent, Brown Patch, Dollar Spot, Pythium Blight, Summer Patch, and Tim's Data Says Brown Patch and Dollar Spot

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

September begins to Lights, Camera, Action. In other words this summer didn't quite stop when I said so! We would see everything in a week and along the way we just kept on learning more and more. And do you know what I decided? It appears that the MOST impressive fungus on planet earth is arguably Sclerotinia homoeocarpa or dollar spot. In just a few days we saw it's developement double in untreated research plots on our creeping bentgrass greens at Sunshine Course in Lemont (30-40% blighted area became 60-80%). Furthermore, any creeping bentgrass varieties which lacked genetic resistance to dollar spot were observed to light up like a Christmas tree. Only it's not December though Santa Claus early sounded really good to most of us back in July.

Still, golf courses remain on a relatively smooth road to recovery as roots continue their deligent downward return to home (a moist and nutrient-rich rootzone is waiting). "Good health" are recent reports of greens and fairways and it means core aerification can begin on schedule for many (nothing promotes root growth/penetration more than poking holes). We continue to round what feels like the last quarter lap of the longest marathon ever run and continue to be tested. Our brains, experience and artistry has gotten a workout in 2012. I cannot remember seeing more fungal disease varieity in a week...I just relearned turf plant pathology 101, everything in 4 days!

Click here to view the September 7, 2012 Scouting Report.

Have a nice cooler feeling weekend. I for one will be listening to the roots grow!

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

Return of Warm August: Roots Are Better, Poa Collars Wilt, 1st Grub Damage Wows, Dollar Spot Brews, Yellow Tuft Surprises, and Tim's Research Update

Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

August decided it was August after all and we would warm considerably and find ourselves right back in the saddle of summer. Yet, our attitude is decidedly different compared to early July. Why? Well we know this 2012 growing season is now past midsummer peak heat caused by long day length and a bright sun that is directly overhead midday. Currently our nights are much cooler by about 10 degrees, seeing 60s for lows mainly. Still, this week got hot and if you were out in the sun without sunscreen your skin was lobster-like? On these new found warm days of summer we began lifting our fingers (again). In the week before Labor Day I for one said, "forty-two, forty-three, forty-four". Yep, we are getting close to forty-seven, the all-time record number of days with high temperatures at or above 90 degrees in a Chicago growing season. New signs tell us it's really the tail-end of a difficult growing season. We began noticing fall color of trees, our first went from green to golden yellow (honeylocusts and lindens). I was also glad to notice Illinois wildflowers continue their peak, tall things like asters, sunflowers, and THAT goldenrod.

Golf course superintendents are increasingly turning their attention, goals, and labor to projects to improve playing surfaces and the overall landscape of their courses. We continue to distance ourselves from July and it now has me saying something quite profound... Welcome September!

Click here to view the August 31, 2012 Scouting Report.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend with family and friends!

Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog

Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog

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