After a winter that seemed that it would never end, the sun is finally out and shining, and the course is coming back into shape, albeit about a month later than we are used to. The extended cold temperatures and excessive rainfall that we experienced in the months of March and April delayed the green up of the bermudagrass and have caused the delay in some of our maintenance practices that we would normally have performed by now.
The delay in the normal springtime temperatures has caused delays in the green up of a few areas on the course and we have been asked about these, why they occurred, what we could do about them, and how long will they be this way. Dr. Jim Brosnan, Associate Professor University of Tennessee, recently wrote an article about the delayed greenup that we are experiencing in the transition zone and I thought I would pass along his excellent explanation.
To be honest a few weeks ago, as I examined the golf course, I was fearful we would have to sod several areas on the course. Since the weather has taken a turn for the better in the past week, with full days of warm sun and little to no rain, the turfgrass has also taken a turn, and one for the better. We are seeing substantial growth and recovery in these areas and will be doing a few cultural practices over the next few weeks to help the turf along. The first practice, which started this morning will be to vertical mow the weak areas to remove any crusting of thatch and algae and expose the underlying turfgrass to the warmth and benefit of the sun.
The next practice will be to use our Aerway shattertine slicer to solid tine aerify the weak areas to allow a void for any water that falls or is applied to be removed from the surface as to not drown the new plants as they grow or allow any algae to reform and to allow oxygen into the soil to promote root growth and recovery. We will follow the solid tine venting with mowing of the fairways to smooth out the surface. Following this we will apply some extra fertility to these areas to give them a little boost.
Your agronomy staff has worked very hard over the years to provide the high quality conditions that you have come to expect. We understand questions arise when things look out of place and we will do everything we can to answer those questions and concerns. The golf course is quickly coming back to form, now that Spring has finally decided to show up, and we are confident these weak areas will be filled in shortly. As always if you have any questions, concerns, or comments about the course or any practices we perform on the course please don't hesitate to let us know. We will do our best to answer them.
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