The recent hot and dry weather has exposed some flaws in our irrigation system. The greens are fine and most of the surrounds are okay. Any dry areas around the greens is primarily due to the soil type under the turf especially on the top of mounds. This situation has been a problem at the club for many years but always improves with cooler weather. I am also not a believer in requiring a golf course to be emerald green across the property for the entire golf season. A few dry areas should not be of any concern. Having said that however the fairways are wetter than we would like. The Poa annua on the course requires more water than normal during long dry spells. Also over the last few days we have applied a second application of wetting agent on the fairways that should allow us to reduce irrigation requirements for the remainder of the summer. Unfortunately it needs to be watered in and that has resulted in some wet areas. We are cutting back the water and should be able to dry the turf out, hopefully before the thunderstorms that are sure to arrive in the next few weeks.
If you follow me on twitter or play the course enough you will have noticed some yellow spots and streaks on the turf on the greens and tees. There is no regular pattern or specific condition (shade or sun areas) that seem to be present either. Testing has not identified any disease organisms. We did test for nematodes and to our surprise we do have a small population of cyst nematodes that are harmful to turf. This is a complicated problem that we have never encountered. For that matter it is pretty much an unheard of issue in Alberta. Without going into great detail (there is detailed information on the internet) there is no registered chemical control for nematodes in Canada. There is a treatment protocol involving a mix of non chemical materials that we are currently researching for effectiveness but we aren't holding our breath. Fortunately the situation seems to be stable at the present time. No better and no worse.
On The Course Next Week:
- Adding irrigation coverage between the 9th green and the 1st tee slope
- Adding a sand/seed bottle exchange site at 16 tee
- Core aerating the collars (3/8 inch hollow tines)
- Topdressing greens, collars and approaches
- Light topdressing on fairways (remember: once a month for June, July and August)
- some sodding next to the putting green and behind the 9th green
- Clover control
Overall I am very pleased with the golf course and the work above will allow Turf Care to fine tune some areas and improve the playing conditions even more. Enjoy the great weather.
Regards,
Wade Peckham and the Turf Care Team
