Golf Course Update
Now that the warmer
temperatures have finally arrived and the grass has greened up, any suspect ice
damage is now apparent. Ice damage is evident on greens 1, 6, 8 and 14, a
handful of tees, as well as a few fairway sections (most notably on the 11th
fairway). Specifically, the damage on the greens is more of a thinning than
devastation.
Many golf courses in the
northeast received more widespread and severe damage, forcing the closure of
greens and implementing temporary greens (to help expedite the recovery process).
The ice damage on the golf course could
have been much worse. In our case, I believe we can still use all of our
playing surfaces and at the same time commence with the recovery process.
In late March, as the snow
finally started to melt and we could get onto the greens, we noticed what could
be some ice damage. Since the verticut slices and holes from the fall green aerification
had not fully healed yet, we had the perfect seed bed if ice damage was going
to be an issue, so as a precaution we performed an overseeding on any greens where
the ice damage was suspect. This seeding was performed in mid April but with
such a cold spring, recovery has been slow. Complicating matters is the use of
plant growth regulators (used to limit poa seedheads and keep greens rolling
smoothly).
For seed germination, the
soil temperatures need to be 50-65 degrees. Soil temperatures are usually
cooler than air temperatures and soil takes longer to warm up than air. Now
with the warmer seasonal temperatures of recent we will be continuing with the
green recovery process and start on the affected areas on the 11th
red tee and select areas in some of fairways. This will be a program of ”light”
aerifications and slice seedings and will be repeated periodically as
needed.
“Understanding or even trying
to explain the injury patterns is always a challenge. Several variables,
including site characteristics (e.g., surface drainage, sun and wind exposure,
soil type, grasses etc.) and weather events, ultimately dictate where winter
injury will occur and how severe it will be”. For instance, in my tenure, none
of the poorly draining areas at Hop Meadow have ever had ice damage. I can only
surmise that the soil does not freeze as extensively as the higher, better
draining areas. If you think about it, greens 1, 6, 8 and 14 can dry out very
fast (because they drain well) and in the summer you’ll often see us hand
watering those greens more regularly. With these “best draining greens” the
ground freezes earlier and more extensively so when a winter thaw occurs the
water just sits on the surface and can’t go anywhere, killing the grass after
an extended period of time. Additionally, these greens are sloped to the north
(lower sunlight intensity).
The weakest link in the ice
damage arena is the annual bluegrass (or poa annua) population. Established, older golf courses (Hop Meadow
included) consistently battle to keep the poa annua alive but over seed with
bentgrass at every opportunity. Bentgrass has a much higher tolerance for
freeze (and drought) conditions than poa annua. Unfortunately our natural growing environment
encourages poa annua. Newer golf courses
constructed using bentgrass are not as susceptible to ice damage. And once bentgrass
greens are established, poa annua invasion can be kept at bay with the use of
plant growth regulators. These PGR’s are not for the greens with high poa
populations and unfortunately, converting to bentgrass greens is a costly and
time consuming process.
As with any recovery program,
patience is critical. This is especially true in the spring when growing
conditions often are less than favorable.
Thank you for your
understanding.
