Greens update

This past week, I raised the mowing height another .005" of an inch to .130".  This second increase gives us a total of 7.3% increase for the season.  I do not expect to make another increase unless the health of the greens would begin to decline.  We do have 3 greens that are being mowed at a height of .140".  Holes 5,6 and 8 are three of the most vulnerable greens on property based on their lack of air movement.  In an effort to protect these greens from damage from the severe heat, I made the choice to give them just a little more protection.  I had been noticing some weakness in #6 and was concerned that if additional steps were not taken, severe turf loss could occur.   So, we made the change.  This mower is also being used as our circle or clean up cut that is performed on each green every other day.  Greens become soft and especially the edges become very vulnerable to scalping.

We will be doing some light topdressing over the next few weeks to help protect the crowns of the plants and reduce some of the scalping that occurs from greens being soft.  We will also be monitoring our water more closely in an effort to begin to firm the greens up as the heat stress becomes less severe.  We will also increase rolling which will improve ball roll and help to smooth our surfaces.

I would expect that speed will begin to improve as temperatures begin to moderate over the next couple of weeks.