Well we are just over half way through the summer season with another six weeks to go until the end of August. Many of you feel that 15th of August means relief and if you have not lost turf by then, you will be good for the rest of the year. This week was the first test and it seems like many of you came through. It is the first however and it does mean that the roots which looked excellent 3 weeks ago are not a happy [.....]
This week gave us some good examples of how plants react to hot weather. Multiple days with heat indexes over 100 degrees has been enough for the plants to show typical stress symptoms of growing conditions that are not optimal. Up to this point of the season, aside from being a little wet, the weather has been very conducive to growing plants that we do. This allowed us to maintain a very healthy plant - one that can withstand a stretch of temperatures like we have had this [.....]
The weather forecasters have their special weather statements out for the week, so it is time to have ours. The most difficult stretch of weather so far this year is upon us, and we are doing what we can to keep the grass as healthy as possible. During these weather stretches, if you feel uncomfortable in the hot and humid weather, the grass feels the same way. We try to keep the grass as healthy as possible to make it through this type of weather. So far so [.....]
This week I took the opportunity to visit courses in Central Illinois and it was a very nice week visiting and interacting with some of the hard working ingenious superintendents in the area. It's a very different dynamic in central and southern Illinois where issues such as goosegrass and crabgrass are more prolific. Grasses differ and the pressures from disease, insects and weeds are much more difficult to deal with. I would like to thank the superintendents for their hospitality and graciousness when I visited. I will continue [.....]
That time of year has arrived once again for all of us. It seems the heat or what heat we may get has begun to build. Its also that time of year where problems start to pop up. This is also the time you lose the most sleep and deal with the emergencies while trying not to pull your hair out. It is also the time that we can over manage.... Turfgrass mowed at such low heights is always a difficult proposition to handle and pushing it through [.....]
I am reposting this video that demonstrates the proper method for repairing ball marks. Play has been picking up on the course and ball marks are becoming very noticeable. It is not hard to repair a ball mark and it only takes a few seconds.
Two things are critical to repairing a ball mark correctly:
1. Pull the grass from the edges to the center of the mark. - When a ball mark is made, it is very likely that grass will die in the middle of the mark. Pulling the grass from the edges to the center leave less area for the grass to cover while healing.
2. Tap the repaired mark level after [.....]
This week I was all ready to produce a profound and deeply insightful scouting report. Tuesday night and Wednesday morning changed that. The problems with rainfall are unprecedented and will leave some of your colleagues in tough situations going forward. The response and empathy however is what struck me strongly this week and followed on from last weekend at the Encompass Championship. As an industry I would like to say that your willingness to lend a hand and jump in to do whatever it takes is astounding in [.....]
June 30, 1973 was just another day for the members and their guests at Naperville Country Club. Nothing significant enough happened that would have caused a person to remember an event they may have witnessed on the course. If you were on the course that day, you may have seen an 18 year-old on his first day of work at the club staining the old wooden bridge that once existed over the waterway in front of 2 tee. On June 29, 2013 you would have found that same man in the maintenance facility checking the cut on the greens mowers. For 40 years Greg Morar has been the club’s mechanic, fabricator, handyman and any other person the club [.....]
