As hot as it gets!

 

Our warm season turf is soaking up the heat beautifully this week. Two quick thunderstorms last weekend recharged the soil so 100 degrees is no problem for all our bermuda and zoysiagrass. The North course is ready to go for aeration next week and will be closed Monday through Thursday. The greens will be dryjected and then solid tine aerated. These processes will limit golfer disruption but still allow us to put over 60 tons of sand into the upper profile. The tees and approaches will also be lightly verticut, solid tine aerated and topdressed with sand next week.

The heavy lifting next week will be on the North course fairways. The fairways will be verticut with our new tractor mounted machines to a depth of close to 1". The debris will be blown off, picked up and then around 300 tons of sand will be spread out evenly. This annual process will allow us to keep the North fairways firm and consistent through the season.

The bunker banks received an application of fertilizer, insecticide and growth regulator this week. We continue to tweak how we can mow these steep faces in the growing season. Some new hover mowers are on the way to help make these big features look and play more consistent.

We have a fairly impressive population of cicada killers on our property. These insects love to dig down into full sun, dry, sandy areas to create their layer.

Insecticides do not do much to harm them but if you flood their new house with water they will fly straight up into a bottle and then are easily re-homed. Luckily these cicada killers will only sting if you step on them with bare feet. We have treated a few yellow jacket nests in bunker faces this season and will continue to keep our eyes open for them.

In more dry, sandy news the zoysia approaches on the South were topdressed on Monday. With all of our cultural practice equipment headed to the North next week the South guys tossed out a light topdressing and brushed it in. Keeping up with these light topdressings on the zoysia helps us get a better cut and tighter surface over time.


Last week we applied a 1 acre trial of sorts with a herbicide that is noted to take bermudagrass out of zoysia. You can see in the picture that the bermuda in the foreground is turning off color and dew is absent. The larger patch of bermuda closer to the green was not treated. The largest area we treated was on 13 fairway adjacent to the fairway bunkers. The idea is to have the bermuda melt out slowly so that the zoysia can fill in and avoid sodding. There are a number of areas however that we know would have to be sodded out but also areas where this herbicide can help us stay ahead of the bermuda encroachment. This trial will help us determine any priorities in bermuda removal for next season.

The bentgrass is hanging in there through the heat so far but we have a few days to go until the weather turns next week. With root function on the edge of shutting down these greens will remain on the softer side through the oppressive heat. In the late afternoon when surface and soil temperatures are in the upper 90's we will be out cooling the plant off, with help from the fans, in order to keep it alive for another day. 

Enjoy the 4th festivities, we will be out in the heat watching over the turf!

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