Update of our Green conditions

I spent a few minutes after lunch checking out our green conditions.  Overall we are holding our own but do have a number of greens that are showing some significant stress, well all of them but some are definitely much healthier than others.  We received very little rain yesterday .06" of an inch but the cloud cover did help hold green internal temperatures down into the low 80's which is great until the sun came out later.  I'm sure we are well over 90 again this afternoon.

 I closed the course to all employees for tomorrow on our club closed day in an effort to give the greens complete relief from any activity except some potential watering that we might need to do to keep the turf as healthy as possible.  We mowed on Saturday and rolled only on Sunday.  The greens will receive at least two days of no mowing and our weakest greens listed below might be allowed to rest even longer if we see limited growth.  We have a few more days of this near 100 degree heat with some days near average coming toward the weekend.

The month of July 2011 is shaping up to be the 4th warmest on record.  At least 3 degrees warmer than last year and the warmest July since 1980 by almost one full degree.  Eight days over 100, 2 at 99, 2 at 98, and 25 total days of at least 90 or better, 10 more than average.

Below is a summary of some of our troubled greens.

The practice green has good color but is stressed overall from the activity that it receives on a daily basis.  The surround turf is going dormant due to a lack of adequate irrigation since it is the only green that does not have a true green surround system.

#2/3 are basically about equal in their level of stress.  Both are located in the worst area of the golf course. Lack of air movement on both greens creates serious issues.  #3 is probably in a more difficult environment because it receives sunlight almost all day until near sunset.

#11 has shown marked improvement over 2/3 but is still struggling.

#6 is beginning to suffer a little more than it has over the last few days.  Air movement last week helped this green but it is beginning to show some stress but it is growing.  The sod line where replaced turf last year on the right side has thinned significantly giving the appearance of a spray damage but it is the sod that is trying to check out.  We will do some extra spiking this week in an attempt to rejuvenate the sod that is declining.

#8 is doing okay but does has some significant stress in the front area of the green.

#9 has been looking pretty well but is beginning to show some additional wear since earlier in the week.

We will be placing our tractor mounted and cart towed blowing units near our worst greens for the next few days to give them some air movement which helps to keep the surface at a lower level.  Fans  and or air movement on the golf course allows the turf to respire which assists in the plant cooling itself.  If the plant does not receive air movement, it closes itself off and begins to build internal heat like a human body which could lead to cell death and ultimately death to the plant just as a we would experience during a heat stoke or exhaustion event.  There is a course in the area that has an infrared surface thermometer that they have utilized to check surface temperatures.  In the area where a fan was assisting the green, the surface temperature was 92 degrees and the area away from the fan where it could not impact temperature, the surface was around 117 degrees.  A marked difference.

We will be moving these units every couple of hours to another green to aid in their recovery process.  We appreciate your understanding as we continue to do all we can to protect our greens from this most stressful period.