Feast or Famine- A Summertime Grounds Update

 So far this summer the weather conditions have either been feast or famine. In late June we experienced one of the hottest heat waves in many years and had little to no rain events. In fact, the country club only received a total of .11"of rain for a 20 day stretch in mid to late June. This coincided with the longest days of the year resulting in high evapotranspiration rates and an irrigation system that was running for 6 to 8 hours every night to keep turf alive. Then, on June 26th, mother nature decided to open up the spigot and we experienced almost a month long period of wet conditions with our weather station picking up 4.6" of rain. 

The extreme dry and wet summertime conditions increased the stress on some cool season turf areas. The dry period led to many localized dry spots and thirsty turf, especially close to the tree lined perimeters of the fairways. Running irrigation heads, and hand watering made up a good portion of the work day. Once the monsoons began, the mowing and spraying operations became commonplace. This back and forth, along with the very hot temperatures, produced some dead patches in rough and fairway locations.

The most stress on the cool season turf is actually during the very wet, humid, and hot conditions. Two common maladies that we experience every year are wet wilt and sunscald. Wet wilt occurs when very high soil temperatures and low oxygen levels (because of the wet soil) cause the impairment of root function. This causes the roots of the turf (especially poa annua) to slow down water intake decreasing the transpirational cooling that the plant needs to survive. Thus, on hot days with high evaporation rates the turf begins to overheat, wilt and die, despite having adequate moisture in the ground. Sun scald usually happens in the same type of wet conditions and is essentially the water surrounding the turf becoming extremely hot and literally cooking the grass. It is more pronounced in areas that hold onto water longer and have higher thatch levels. The short rough around the fairways is a prime example where these conditions regularly occur. The low cut of the fairways increases the surface drainage onto the perimeter rough. While the medium cut rough slows down the drainage, holding water longer before draining into the higher cut rough. Consequently, wet wilt and sun scald occur and we are seeing dead patches starting to appear is some of the short rough areas.

Of course along with the drainage issues, tree roots, thick thatch, and summer time diseases are also a factor. Over the last couple years cultural practices have been implemented in the fairways to decrease the high organic matter that was becoming problematic. A similar approach needs to be implemented to combat the current conditions in the short rough. As always, time and money are the biggest roadblocks to improving these environments, but we will start to implement thatch reducing procedures this fall. In the meantime, we will continue to keep up with spray applications and begin to reseed areas that have succumb to the summer time stresses.

Dead turf in the short rough right side of #8 fairway. This area holds water during rain events and it is one of the factors for turf decline. We have slit seeded and raised the short rough mowing height to help with recovery. Notice the fairway is still healthy. The cultural practices recently implemented in the fairway program have resulted in healthier and more resilient turf.

Low area between #6 green and #6 fairway that experienced sun scald.

Tree roots at the right of #13 fairway competing for moisture with the rough. Since the short rough is mowed at a much lower height the stress from the tree roots is more impactful.

Soil probe of the dead patches right of #8 fairway. The thick thatch layer broke off when the plug was pulled. This is indicating the shallow root depth in this area. Also, the thick thatch will hold onto moisture-keeping it in the top portion of the plant for a longer period of time. Verticutting and deep tine aeration need to be implemented to decrease the organic matter.

Wet area in #7 fairway by the lake. The golf cart marks indicate the reason why cart path days are implemented during wet weather.

Slit seeding the hillside on #3. Some of this area dried out during the heat wave despite nightly watering.

Thunderstorms

The barrage of storms that have recently ripped through the area are accumulating a steady amount of debris that needs to be cleaned off the golf course regularly. Many large pin oak branches have fallen over the last month and this has given the new Vermeer chipper a good workout. Also, the pin oak tree that was struck by lightning to the left of #2 red tee is rapidly declining and needs to be removed. We are in the process of scheduling the removal and it will be taken out in the next couple weeks.

Large pin oak branches

Chipping up debris. Since we purchased the Vermeer chipper we have over doubled the unit's operational hours.

Dying pin oak that was struck by lightning in May.

Green Speed

July is typically a month when we receive many questions about green speed. When the heat and humidity tick up, the distance the ball travels decreases (Here is a link to an article from the USGA that explains the variations in green speed throughout the season). We are within the WHCC standard range for green speed; however, current and past stimpmeter readings have shown that the greens are usually at the lower end of the range during the heat of the summer and higher during the cooler months. During the summer, humid conditions cause the turfgrass plant to literally swell with moisture, increasing resistance when the golf ball rolls. In addition, the hot soil temperatures increase microbial activity, thereby increasing turfgrass growth and slowing down speeds. We spray PGRs to combat the growth, based on clipping yield measurements, but it is definitely a challenge to get the sprays down during the busy golf calendar. 

Balancing the speeds with trying to keep healthy turf is another added challenge. The environmental conditions dictate how aggressive we can be with height of cut, decreasing irrigation, increasing rolling frequency, and PGR applications (Click here for a previous blog post on factors influencing green speed-The Need For Speed). Ultimately, we have to keep the turf alive and healthy to perform well throughout the long golf season. Pushing to increase speeds for daily play during stressful environmental conditions is not recommended for quality putting surfaces. Knowing when to pump the brakes for aggressive practices is a necessary skill that involves data, science, and experience. For tournaments, we will push the limits on the turf to achieve faster speeds; however, once the tournaments conclude, the turf needs time to recover. Overall, I believe the WHCC greens are performing very well. Continuing to implement weekly cultural practices, such as verticutting, PGR applications, venting, and topdressing will continue to improve turfgrass health. Healthier turf will allow for more aggressive practices that will eventually lead to faster greens. Hopefully, everyone understands that speeds will fluctuate, especially during the summer, in order to keep the greens healthy.

Measuring green speed on #5 green.

Bees in Bunkers

Over the last couple of years small wasps have begun to buzz around some sand bunkers. They are smaller than the usual suspect, the cicada killer wasp, but tend to look almost identical. These are sand wasps (Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus). Joe Boggs, Ohio State Extension entomologist, wrote an article about these wasps a couple years ago when he found them at White Oak Garden Center (click here for the article). They feed off of brown marmorated stink bugs and are also named stink bug hunters. Like cicada killers, they are solitary wasps that are not aggressive and rarely sting. They dig burrows into sandy soils, making bunkers a perfect environment. Chemical control is difficult because the wasps are scattered out into many different burrow colonies. Daily raking of the bunkers helps to keep the populations down, but the wasps are extremely difficult to fully eliminate. We have made some pesticide applications; however, they eventually resurface. Sand wasps are technically a beneficial insect, and are not a threat to stinging humans. We will continue to frequently rake the sand traps, and if this year is similar to the past, they will eventually move on.

Annual Flowers

The flowers around the club are continuing to grow. The new landscape beds parallel to the parking lot and by the pool entrance have increased the beautification of the front entrance. As we head into the the late summer months, the flowers will continue to fill in. Hopefully, the membership is enjoying the increased summertime displays.

The fountain side of the new parking lot landscape bed. The feather reed grass is the divider between the pink vincas/petunias and the orange/yellow lantana.

Tiny tidbit hydrangeas in bloom. The white blooms will begin to fad to a solid red color as the summer progresses. The 'Edith Bogue' southern magnolia is the center piece of this newly landscaped area.

Front part of the new parking lot bed with pink vincas.

Persian shield and margarite sweet potato vine around the clock. 

Supertunia vista bubblegum

Cana 'Australia', pink cleome, and zinnias 'zahara' yellow by the baby pool.

Hot and humid summer weather is a recipe for cool season turf decline, especially on older courses with a high percentage of poa annua. I have been blessed to be a part of the grounds crew for over 20 years and I fail to remember any summers that did not include at least some dying turf. Honestly, considering the extreme conditions that we have experienced in the last two months, I believe the golf course is in good shape-I have witnessed much worse. With over a month left of a Cincinnati summer, the conditions could very well deteriorate, but we will continue to use sound agronomic practices to keep the stressed turf in a healthy condition.

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent