The frost is here

 

The sun pushed down some 38 degree air this morning resulting in the heaviest frost of the week in the rough grass. The short turf is insulated just enough by 50 degree soil temps to keep the frost from forming yet. Zebra stripes and dormant looking rough are on the way.


With warm season grass growth all but finished for the year, the battle against annual bluegrass (Poa annua) will intensify. Poa annua is a winter annual meaning it germinates in the fall and winter and dies in the summer. Warm season turf has no defense naturally against a weed that wants to germinate and grow all winter. In fact, Poa annua is one of the most invasive weeds on the planet. It has been found growing in Antarctica and is a problem for the trails on Mt. Kilimanjaro on the equator. So here in North Carolina we have started spraying a few different pre and post emerge herbicides to prevent and stop Poa from taking over our warm season turf for the next 5 months.


The bermuda greens get a different pre-emerge than the fairways and it is watered into the root zone to prevent any seed from germinating. This pre-emerge will be applied two more times through the winter.


Controlling Poa against the bentgrass greens present a different challenge especially with the newer zoysia sod installed. We will use a variety of different herbicides that can be applied next to bentgrass to help delay and control Poa through the winter.


We still saw some warm temps early on the week which allowed us to spread the last bit of Potassium on the short grass to help with plant strength going into the winter.


The ryegrass is coming in nicely on most of the range tees. A different pre-emerge is used here to help prevent Poa but allow the rye to flourish.


The dark frosty mornings mean a change of pace for the crew. Isreal has made use of the time installing new cartpath yardage plaques around the South and repairing a few on the North.


The guys continue to grind away in the bunkers. This week we worked on bottom edges to make sure too much sand wasn't getting built up and also checked some depths in a number of more frequented bunkers. In the fall bunkers are more known as leaf traps so prepping them for play each day requires an extra step, especially ones close to willow oaks!

Enjoy another beautiful weekend and cross your fingers for nice rain recharge early next week!

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