It is 2pm on Thursday September 3rd and our weather station reads a 100 degree heat index and a feels like temp of 109. There are 5 golfers on the South and not many more on the North. We have gone from the hottest July on record to one of the muggiest August months recorded. Our warm season turf is loving life while the bentgrass keeps checking the 10 day forecast for some kind of night time temperature below 75.
The last two weeks have been tough on the bent. Getting rolled for club championship, then crushed with rain, then aerated and now sweating through 78 degree nights and 100 degree days there should be no wonder why they look tired. We have raised heights slightly since aeration and put a second fan on 2 and 11 greens in order push more air across the entire surface. Our best greens have the best fan placement so we will continue to tweak positions this winter. The subair is running at midnight to expel gases from the previous day and 5 am to help pull over night irrigation down but overall when soil temps are this high, any benefit is fairly minimal.
Now at the end of a nasty summer it easy to see where the bentgrass has segregated over the years and is showing its different tolerances for heat and wear. Finding a perfect patch of bent next to one that is thinning out is frustrating but common on greens that are 15 years old and seeded with bent that was introduced 30 years ago. Newer generation bentgrasses are bred from these stronger patches and bred to not show so much segregation over time. Some lower night time temps over the next few weeks will have these greens back in solid shape for the fall.
The bermuda greens of course continue to thrive in the heat. A slightly heavier topdressing went down this week and was brushed in on Monday. The texture on these greens continue to improve and putting quality is optimal as it should be this time of the year.
A few more trees on 9 North were cleaned up this week from the storm along with this larger tree right of 1 South.
This section of concrete on 10 North was replaced early in the week. There was a bump here and number of panels in poor shape.
Our new contractor is doing a great job, working quickly and cleanly. This section will be open for the weekend. We have a few more areas to be repaired on the South in October.
Our fairway mowers on the other hand aren't doing us many favors. A hydraulic hose blew on one mower on Monday resulting it some dead turf on 15 fairway that will have to be sodded out.
The rough is starting to respond from the organic fertilizer applied over the last two weeks thanks to the heat. We continue to nurse along these zoysia collars on the South with liquid fertilizer applications almost weekly. The sand under these collars is not doing a good job of holding on to any nutrients so frequent applications have to be applied to the surface.
Luckily this year we have not had too many pictures of irrigation breaks. A thrust block gave way here on 11 Sunday night and was leaking. James and Micah were on top of it and with some help from the excavator had #11 back up and running Tuesday morning.
Hopefully this is the last time writing about 100 degree temperatures for 2026. Officially Charlotte has only recorded 100 degree temperatures 5 times in September with the last one being in 1954. Enjoy the long weekend!
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