Record Breaking Temperatures

Record breaking temperatures from Wednesday, March 14th through Wednesday, March 21st for central Illinois.  Six out of seven days we exceeded the record for high temperatures.  Highs in the upper 70s to middle 80s were common, along with lows in the upper 50s to middle 60s.  Normal highs for mid-March are in the lower 50s with normal lows in the lower 30s.  Observed temperatures were more typical of early June than mid-March.

The fairways and rough are lush and healthy at this point, as they should be with the weather we are having.  Our greatest struggle in recent weeks has been keeping up with the mowing of the grass.  This recent warm weather has directly coincided with the annual spring peak in vegetative grass growth.  Mowing fairways and rough hasn't exactly been successful as the combination of healthy thick grass and heavy dew mornings has made it extremely challenging.  We resorted to having 2 power blowers chasing the rough and fairway mower around, doing our best to break up the clumps immediately after mowing.

The spring aerification process is scheduled to begin Monday, April 2nd, weather permitting.  We are aerating greens and tees to remove thatch, add creeping bentgrass seed to weak and thin areas, and amend the root zones with more sand for greater rooting capabilities and internal drainage.  Core aeration is the process of removing cores of thatch and replacing them with sand.  These sand filled channels will break up the undesirable layering of organic matter created over the years and allow for air and water movement through the root zone.  The healing process usually takes approximately ten to fourteen days depending upon the weather.  We will be applying fertilizer and watering to germinate bentgrass seed and expedite surface recovery.  Members will experience softer, slower and bumpier greens containing many sand-filled holes during this time.  Once the bentgrass seedlings have become established and the surfaces have sufficiently healed, we will return to our normal watering practices and the greens will dramatically improve in firmness and drainage.  We understand cultivation temporarily disrupts the ball roll and is an inconvenience for the golfers but keep in mind that the long-term benefits far outweigh the temporary disruptions.

Late Winter Spring Cleaning

Abnormally warm weather will continue in Springfield Illinois into early next week.  High temperatures each day are likely to be 25 to 30 degrees or more above normal for mid March, and many record highs are likely to be approached or broken during this period.  Even the low temperatures will be warmer than the normal highs, and will likely set daily "warm low" records.  We are about two weeks ahead on our growing degree days, which means earlier than normal mowing, fertilizing, preventative fungicide and pre-emergent application.  If you are a homeowner and want a weed free lawn this year plan on applying your pre-emergent for crabgrass soon.


No later than I got back from the Golf Course Superintendent's Industry Show, spring was here and the Green Department was in full swing preparing the golf course for an anticipated great week of golf play.  The focus of our operation this week has been on smoothing putting surfaces, implementing our first mowing procedures on greens, tees and fairways, detail bunker work and removing debris in the rough.  The first few mows will be considerably higher than our normal in season mowing heights.  The objective is to slowly cut off the old winterized leaf tissue at the tops of the plants.  This will prevent the grass from going into shock and possibly re-winterizing.   

Jason Herbert Rolling Greens

Jordan Snyder concentrating on straight lines