Carmel Country Club Agronomy

  As we head towards the winter solstice and the official start of winter on Sunday we wave goodbye to some seriously cold temps. The next two weeks will see above normal temperatures which mean highs into the 60's and more limited frost in the mornings. January also looks about normal which is a welcome change compared to the last two weeks of fairly cold weather. Sunlight hours will be back on the rise starting next week! The forecast did not fluctuate much last week and the 16 degree low on Sunday night into Monday morning held true. The decision to cover the greens was made Thursday night to cover the greens Sunday to keep the frigid temps from freezing the bermudagrass profile. The gusty winds that were bringing the cold temps in were not exactly helpful on Sunday afternoon but 15 dedicated team members wrestled the tarps across the greens and put the greens to sleep for Sunday night. Monday morning was certainly cold but the greens remained at about 34 degrees in the top inch...

  The rain has moved on but the wind is back and we have one scary low temperature to look at on Monday. As of right now the concern to cover the bermuda greens is low as our residual soil temps should easily remain above freezing. The bermuda has had a nice run into dormancy as well which allows it to tolerate the cold during December. The spring time is when concern rises as the bermuda starts to peak out of dormancy. This is where a cold snap at night could damage some turf. For now though we are focused more on getting work done while it is dry and the sun is out.  Thursday night update: The forecast has dropped even more now and we have succumbed to covering the greens Sunday afternoon.  We have blocked the tee sheet after 12:05 on Sunday to allow our crew to the pull the covers on. We will open the North back up at noon on Wednesday. The South course will open on Monday at 12:30 for anyone that wants to brave the cold. First tee time on the South on Tuesday will be ...

  The wet weather has returned and so have the cold temperatures and frosty mornings. An inch of rain accumulated on Tuesday but carts were back out Thursday just in time for more rain Friday. It sounds like a weak La Nina is in place would should give us more mild temps and drier weather this winter, just not in the next 7 days! You can always access this weather station at our facility here . The bent greens on the South were topdressed again last week in front of a different rain storm. We will stay on top of applying sand through the winter to help defend against foot traffic and ballmarks while the bent growth is slow. Some people have noticed our two Christmas lights out on Carmel lake and the pond on 17 south. These green laser lights come on at night and help deter geese from hanging around the property.  In wetter periods it is easy to see earthworm castings form on the fairways. These castings are result of the worms coming up for air after the rain saturates the soi...