Golf Course Update September 3rd,
2020
Overview:
The golf course was in terrific
condition throughout the spring and into the latter part of July. Although
there were various signs of stress in late July, we were very encouraged with
the overall condition of the golf course.
(2nd Fairway – July 25th – 4:30 PM)
July was hot and humid. In
reviewing the past 20 years of Richmond weather data, I learned that July 2020
recorded: (1) 2nd hottest average daily max high; (2) T-1st
hottest average temperature; (3) T-1st warmest average daily low and
(4) T-2nd highest average daily dew point (humidity). In addition to
the heat and humidity of July, August brought unprecedented rainfall. In a 6-year
span, 2014-2019, August rainfall averaged 3.14”. Through today, we have
recorded nearly 15” of rain. Aside from the 477% increase in rainfall, most of
this rain has either been accompanied by, or followed by temperatures near or above 90 degrees. I am confident in saying that the conditions we experienced in August were largely attributable to this combination of heat and saturation. In fact, throughout July and August, we had sent off
samples to Rutgers University. These tests have included tissue tests, pathogen
tests, nematode tests and soil nutrient tests. We have received no positive
diagnosis of any pest that would be responsible for turf decline.
In addition to the absence of an
identifiable pest (pathogen, insect, etc.), on or around the 10th of
July, we raised mowing heights, decreased mowing frequency, softened our PGR
program, dedicated our most experienced staff to the most troublesome holes,
applied turf pigments (for heat relief), customized our irrigation patterns,
kept all staff on a 7-day work cycle and began a small tine venting program. All
these decisions were mitigating the heat of July.
General Bent grass Decline:
So, what happened to the turf throughout areas of our fairways and tees? The answer is two-fold:
(1)
Much
of our newly laid bent grass sod began a rapid decline in late July, with an
acceleration of that decline throughout the first 2 weeks of August.
(2)
Established
bent grass suffered wet-wilt, scald and over-saturation.
If we look closely at the golf course, and inventory the decline, we can see that much of our decline is sod that was installed last summer.
In fact, if we go back in time and look at photos of the 6th and 9th fairways, we can see that the decline we saw in August, overlays almost perfectly with the areas that were eradicated and replaced last summer/fall.
(Right side 9th fairway - eradicating bermuda 2019)
(Upper fairway 6th hole - eradicating bermuda 2019)
We could walk every tee and fairway and I would estimate that 75% to 80% of our decline was the sod we installed last season.
So, why did the sod fail? This is a great question with several explanations and theories. We know the sod was not declining because of a biotic stress such as disease or insects. We also know that the sod was double aerated, and top dressed in late February. This is important to note because we know that puncturing the soil on which the sod was grown will enhance its ability to root into our native soils. I spoke with Steve McDonald and he is suggesting that new sod comes off the truck with too much thatch. In other words, sod is sold on yield and thickness so quick, excessive growth under heavy fertilization is the recipe for thatch. He contends that: (1) you have a new turf; (2) rooting in year one is okay at best; (3) the excessive thatch layer holds abnormal amounts of water; (4) the sod receives attention during excessive heat because the rooting is less than ideal; (5) the sod is already weak during hot stretches; (6) it encounters moisture, does not release the moisture and heat death ensues. In layman’s terms, the sod gets wet and cooks.
Explaining the cause of death, does not make the death any less painful. And we will be adding additional establishment techniques to the sod that was installed last month. And as poorly as the sod performed, I do have some empathy for the turf because it did endure a blistering July, followed by a deluge of rain in August. Asking younger turf, with excessive thatch, to survive that stretch unscathed is a tall order indeed.
The new sod was not the only bent grass that has suffered. Make no mistake, we had damaged grass that has nothing to do with new sod.
(Landing area 3rd fairway)
(Drainage Basin 15th Approach)
(15th basin near green)
(Pythium tracking with water in #17 rough)
These are just a few pictures that I have taken of damaged bent grass and primary rough, unrelated to sod. However, although this decline is unsightly, when I survey the golf course overall, I would consider our primary, established turf to be scarred and bruised, but the actual loss would not be an extra ordinary issue. Particularly considering the anomalous rain in August.
Excessive Weeds in Fairways and Tees:
There is zero question that the
amount of crab grass and goose grass that we have encountered this season is
not only unsightly, but completely unacceptable. And I cringe that I must
revisit the new sod that was installed last summer, but the fact is that nearly
100%... I’ll repeat that, nearly 100% of our weed infestations are located
within the new bent grass sod. I have been a golf course superintendent for over
16 seasons, and I have never seen the populations of summer annuals that we
have observed this season. For a period, I lamented the fact that I skipped my
annual pre-emergent program this spring.
However, our deferral of pre-emergent herbicide is NOT the reason that
we have goose and crab grass growing throughout our fairways and tees. But
before I support that claim, I would like to explain the rationale for
deferring our pre-emergent herbicide.
In the spring of 2019, I knew that the renovation was going to be on a tight schedule and that we would be sodding in some challenging heat. Furthermore, I assumed that I would be seeding in addition to the new rough sod. So, knowing that we would have no member play until October, I decided to skip pre-emergent control to eliminate any potential barriers to sod and seed establishment. The herbicide that we use is called Dimension (Dithiopyr) and it is an excellent product. However, it is widely known that Dimension is very hard on new roots. Also, we were not confident when the barrier that Dimension creates would no longer be effective. Although the label suggests 90 days of control, we have seen this product persist in the soil for 120 days. Interestingly, as we progressed through 2019, I remarked on several occasions how impressed I was with the lack of weeds across the property… despite the omission of pre-emergent controls. Then, in early 2020, we met with Dr. Travis Gannon of North Carolina State University. Dr. Gannon’s expertise is weeds and herbicides and the purpose of our meeting was to discuss herbicide strategies if faced with the re-emergence of common Bermuda grass. It was in this meeting that we discussed the detriments of Dimension with respect to newly established sod and seedlings. Based on the cleanliness of 2019 and the knowledge that I could treat a minor infestation with post emergent products, I made the decision in favor of our new grasses and deferred our pre-emerge controls for an additional season.
As the goose and crab emerged in 2020, I began second guessing my decision. In my entire career, I have never seen such infestations in bent grass. The post emergent product that will eradicate goose grass is Pylex. Unfortunately, to protect the bent, Pylex must be sprayed multiple times to kill the weeds, while leaving the unsightly bleaching. But over the past two weeks, something has occurred to me. We do not have a wholesale, summer annual issue. Our roughs are very clean, and any established bent grass is very clean. In fact, to take it a step further, consider that we ordered 4 different sods from four different farms:
1.
New
Jersey Sod Farm – Infested bent grass
2.
Maryland
Sod Farm – Mainly clean HGT Bluegrass
3.
Virginia
Sod Farm – Mainly clean tall Fescue
4.
Central
Maryland Sod – Mainly clean HGT Bluegrass
5. KGC – Mainly clean existing turf
As discussed with bent grass
decline, if you were to walk the golf course and inventory the weed
infestations, you will find them almost exclusively located within the
boundaries of the newly sodded bent grass.
(Sodded area 15th Fairway)
The good news is that Pylex does kill these weeds and we will continue an aggressive program of hand-picking and hand-spraying. Once we see our first frost, all these weeds will die off naturally. And in 2021, we will resume our annual pre-emergent program. This issue has never risen to this level before and will not be an issue again.
First Cut Areas:
Our first cut areas are comprised of perennial ryegrass with a splattering of KBG and TTTF. Rye grass decline in our first cut areas is an annual occurrence since the course was constructed. In recent years, we have enhanced our plant protective programs to the extent that the Rye is being treated with similar products that are normally reserved for putting greens. Unfortunately, the Rye is just so sensitive to summer heat. In addition, acting as a collar grass, it takes the additional mower traffic as the fairway units turn to make their passes. Many clubs in the mid-Atlantic are either abandoning their first cuts entirely or they are choosing new turf species. Last year during the renovation, we sodded HGT Bluegrass around all our bunkers. This turf has been nothing short of extraordinary. It handles the heat of summer in a way that I have rarely observed for a cool season grass.
(Thermal Bluegrass #18 Bunkers)
(Thermal Bluegrass #9 Greenside)
Putting Greens:
Our greens have been outstanding
for the past 4 seasons. The addition and location of our fans, strategic shade
reduction and enhanced aeration techniques have made our greens exceptionally
resilient, despite the weather. We need to continue to search for new ways to
increase texture, but aside from some collar decline, our greens remain very
solid.
(16th Green)
(17th Green)
Newly Installed Fescue:
In our newly sodded Fescue, we have suffered some recent turf loss to Pythium Blight. However, overall, this new grass is performing beautifully. And perhaps more importantly, to date, we have seen no re-emerging Bermuda grass in the renovated rough.
(6th Hole)
In the picture above, the newly installed Fescue on the left is completely unaffected by the Summer Patch that is damaging the Kentucky bluegrass to the right. However, KBG is not affected by Gray Leaf Spot where Tall Fescue is. Therefore, I want to continue drilling thermal bluegrass into the newly renovated fescue so that over time, we will have a clean, diversified stand of cool season rough.
Progress to Date:
Since my last blog post in the middle of August, we have:
Solid tined all stressed bent grass
2. Over-seeded all thin bent grass on tees and fairways
Repaired damaged bentgrass throughout our fairways
4.
Aerated
and seeded the 1st round of thermal bluegrass to all first cut areas
5.
Sprayed
and picked thousands of weeds
6.
Sodded
some of the most damaged tee boxes
7.
Began
inserting our traditional mowing patterns
8.
Applied
2 rounds of micro-fertilizers to all stressed/damaged bent grass
What is Next:
3.
Re-seed
any thin bent where the seed is too slow
4.
Install
our second round of seed throughout all first cuts
5.
Solid
tine and begin over-seeding all thin/damaged primary roughs
6.
Continue
redefining our traditional mowing patterns
7.
Continue
the micro-fertility program on fairways and tees through the 3rd
week of September
8.
Continue
to scout and eliminate unwanted weeds
Final Thoughts:
Somewhere around the end of July
and the beginning of August, our golf course conditions turned sharply. My sense
is that as fast as we saw decline, the recovery can and will be just as
dramatic. We would prefer Mother Nature play nice, but regardless, we have a
very organized, methodical approach to recovering the wonderful conditions that
our membership expects.
(18th Fairway)
