Week of July 14th
What a stretch. This has been some of the toughest growing conditions I can remember. Storms, heat, humidity and no wind made this week brutal.
3 rounds of storms this week made the course soft and saturated. When you combine the rain, temperatures, high humidity, and lack of wind the course is staying wet and has no ability to dry. This has made mowing on normal schedules nearly impossible. We had to raise the heights of cut on all short grass areas to help prevent mechanical damage and give the turf a fighting chance to survive.
Emergency soil and foliar sprays were needed this week to help prevent soil diseases and protect the plant through this stretch.
Moisture management and being in control of the moisture is the most important factor to making it through the summer months. We have been very successful so far this season pushing soil moisture and keeping surfaces drier until this week. For example we like to keep the greens anywhere from 12% to 16% on the soil moisture meter. After all the rains this week we have areas on the greens that are as high as 46% moisture, making things tricky this week.
Soils are completely saturated and the water has nowhere to go.
The team is trying everything to help keep the course alive especially in the wet areas. We have even been using blowers to help areas dry and stay cool.
Even when we thought we have made all the right decisions to help keep grass alive, we still have challenges. After the first mow on greens this week, we had some areas that weren't happy. The team has been topdressing these scalped areas to minimize and prevent further mechanical damage.
Lastly, I know that my decisions regarding cart restrictions and slower playing conditions have not been well received and are tough to deal with. We are currently in full protection mode to survive this brutal weather stretch. I am extremely happy with my team's efforts over the last couple weeks to keep as much grass alive as possible. We will never win against Mother Nature, but we will continue to make the best decisions for the protection of the course.