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 bunch right now and probably have retracted dramatically. That being the case despite the cool weather predicted early next week, trying to get oxygen down in the hot soil is the best thing you can do early next week. Many people I have talked to this week have cut back on a lot of things, whether its top dressing, raising mowing heights or growth regulation. The understanding that grass is not recovering as quickly and pushing turf harder will lead to problems is clear.


Click here to view the July 19, 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
Follow us on Twitter @TurfResearch

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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 week.

 The Salvia that is in the circle drive in front of the clubhouse has had fantastic color all season.  This week the blooms have slightly faded in color.  Some petals have even fallen off.  We have been diligent about keep moisture available to the plant, but the heat has been too much stress.  This is a particularly unique situation on the property due to its location.  This bed is in the center of a circle of asphalt which exacerbates the hot temperatures.

This picture shows the temperature of the asphalt adjacent to the planting bed.  134 degrees!  The radiant heat from the drive is too much for the flowers to handle.  Thankfully, we only receive these temperatures for stretches at a time.  Once a few days of cooler temperatures set in, the plants will have a chance to recover.  And, hopefully, present the vibrant color it had earlier, before another heat wave comes through.  It's summer in Chicagoland, so we are bound to have a few of these stretches.  It helps us to appreciate the cooler stretches even more.

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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 good, but 2 more days is a long time in this heat.

Working to manage moisture in this type of heat is critical to turf health.  I have heard some comments after we had 0.30 inch of rain Monday like "I bet this really helped the course."  Actually, any excess rain during hot stretch is very detrimental to our efforts to keep a healthy playing surface.  The first picture shows a few patches of disease, this particular one arrises during hot and wet periods.  The picture on the left shows our efforts to remove moisture by dragging dew in the mornings.

The playing surfaces are healthy and in good condition which is our number 1 effort for getting through these type of stretches.  If you see some things different on the course this week, it may only be temporary while we work through the heat.

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