August Lifestyle 2020

Air movement across the playing surfaces has a strong influence on the overall health of the turf, particularly in terms of disease susceptibility and cooling of the plant. The pathogens responsible for the most destructive turfgrass diseases are far less active and damaging when air moves over the turfgrass. Once nighttime temperatures exceed 70 degrees, the fans around the greens are utilized to move air in order to keep the turf and the surface of the soil dry in these challenging growing environments.

Plants stay cool in a similar fashion as humans. On a hot day, our skin is cooled as we perspire. The plant's perspiration system is called evapotranspiration which is a combination of evaporation and transpiration of water through the stomata of the pore of the leaf. Please note that for the fans to be effective, they need to be close to the green surfaces. From a playability standpoint, these fans can have an impact on the rules of golf and under the rules of golf as immovable obstructions. You can visit the Club's website under Grounds Maintenance to obtain additional information regarding turf fans and how they affect the Rules of Golf.

With the hot summer months, we are seeing the benefits of last year's resodding on the Driving Range tees with the bermudagrass coming to life! This grass is at its best between 80-95 degrees and the enclosed photos show the grass filling in the heavily divoted areas on the range tees (light green from this excessive amount of rain, our staff used small venting tines on the practice and green surfaces to increase oxygen in the soil and assist in drying out the soil and putting surfaces. These tines affect approximately 1% of the surface and have little to no effect on playability. Depending on weather, our staff will continue to utilize these practices throughout the summer and fall to ensure the greens remain healthy and in the best possible color). Because our tees on the range are small and undersized, it's important that we practice properly to maximize the use of the grass on the tees.

As a reminder, the linear divot pattern is the preferred method for warm up and practicing by placing each shot directly behind the previous divot. In so doing, a linear pattern is created and only a small amount of turf is removed with each swing. This can usually be done for 15 to 20 shots before moving sideways to create a new line of divots. So long as a minimum of four inches of live turf is preserved between strips of divots, the turf will recover quickly. This divot pattern removes the least amount of turf and promotes quick recovery.

Now is a critical time for divot repair on fairways and tees and everyone can play an important role in taking care is taken, if intact and soil remains attached, it will most likely survive if it is placed back and tamped back in place. If the divot is destroyed and can't be replaced, fill with the divot with the seed/soil mix on the carts (including push carts) and tamp with your foot so the mix is level with the surrounding area. We appreciate your assistance and how it relates to keeping both courses in the best condition possible.

As you are aware, how a golf course looks and plays is easily influenced by the current and past weather conditions. During a five-day period in late June, we received over 5.5” of rain and temperatures became more “summerlike.” In order to relieve stress from this excessive amount of rain, our staff used small venting tines on the practice and green surfaces to increase oxygen in the soil and assist in drying out the soil and putting surfaces. These tines affect approximately 1% of the surface and have little to no effect on playability. Depending on weather, our staff will continue to utilize these practices throughout the summer and fall to ensure the greens remain healthy and in the best possible condition. ◆