Extreme heat, humidity
and rainfall continues to dominate the weather scene through July and into
early August. Springfield recorded its 2nd wettest July on
record with 9.51”, 5.57” more than average. A severe thunderstorm on the
night of July 24th brought 65 MPH straight-line wind gusts, just 10
MPH shy of actual hurricane strength, along with a torrential 3.5 inches of
rain in about 45 minutes. In terms of wind damage to trees, this was the
most extreme weather event the golf course has experienced since the fall of
2010, when we lost the massive Burr Oak tree left of #10 fairway. Tree
damage is still a work in progress, there are a few stumps to grind and limbs
to remove from several trees. While there was flash flooding and considerable
washouts in the new bunkers, there was thankfully no grass loss due to washed
silt and sand like we had on holes #1, #9, #10 and #18 during the flash
flooding event in July, 2010. The course thankfully had just enough time
for the excess water to drain before an intense heat wave began.
The greens are in fair
health; the investments of drainage, drill and fill, and labor involved with
aggressive aerification continue to make the greens more predictable to manage
and more resilient through some of the most challenging climate. The lack
of oxygen due to water saturated soils and extreme heat indexes has quickly led
to short, dysfunctional root systems resulting thinning bentgrass. The
greens have benefited greatly from conservative management during stressful periods.
We have been able to play offense and speed the greens up by double cutting and
rolling on only a few occasions for tournament days this summer when ideal
weather allowed for minimal stress on the greens. Yet the majority of the
year we have been forced to play defense on days when hot, wet and sunny
afternoons lead to wilt stress which is in turn exacerbated by double cutting
and rolling. As soon as the weather turns for the better and root mass
and density improves, we will resume normal mowing, rolling and grooming
schedules.
The tees and
fairways have remained in good shape through the summer. The high
humidity has reduced our water management to lighter overnight watering and
more handwatering for less water-soaked tees and fairways in the
mornings. This approach has demanded more frequent yet short, light
afternoon waterings and handwater for less wilt and resultant thinning.
The biggest agronomic problem we are facing on fairways, and so far this
summer, is the scattered areas of isolated dry spots. Even with record
setting rainfall and high humidity, isolated dry spots can form and cause
problems quickly. Smaller in size due to the rainfall, isolated dry spots
remain hydrophobic until completely saturated with water. To eliminate wet
areas from becoming even more saturated, we have implemented watering cans to
water just the smaller isolated dry spots preventing other areas from getting
wet. This year crabgrass, goosegrass and other weeds have germinated
throughout the golf course. The nearly 10 inches of rain that fell in
July, followed by the intense humidity and highs in the upper 90s, combined for
a breakdown in the soil of our crabgrass preemergent products. We will be
selecting the safe solution of manually removing the weed grasses, as opposed
to using herbicides that would likely damage the desirable grass at this time
of year.
We will begin our fall
aerification process on greens, tees and fairways starting Tuesday, September 6th.
