After a nice respite the grunge has returned and is expected to stay with us through the weekend.  Hazy, hot and humid conditions make this job extremely difficult so we will be really happy when cooler days return.  The nice change that occurred over the weekend improved the turf dramatically so we are hoping for a return to better growing conditions next week.

Cool season grass is difficult to grow when it gets above 90 degrees.  It naturally declines as temperatures rise in the upper 80's.  This plug is from the tree lined area of the ninth fairway and there  are very short roots. 

This plug is from the beginning of the fairway where there is more sun and better air movement.  Notice the roots following the aeration channel.  The roots are a good one inch longer than the previous frame.  Cool season grasses naturally shorten during the summer just when they need to be their longest which is crazy.  Aeration helps roots grow deeper and stronger before the grunge hits.

Rhizoctonia blight in the fairways last Tuesday.  The humidity was 90 percent with temperatures around 80 when this was taken-perfect conditions for this disease to occur.  This disease was not observed in my first trip around the course but was seen about two hours later.  Fortunately we were spraying fairways that day!

Lots of birds have been feeding on a number of surface insects so we applied an insecticide to alleviate their pecking.

Growth regulators are improving the bent populations throughout the course.  This is from the second green with bent overtaking the darker annual bluegrass.

This shows the importance of drainage.  The turf failed between the drain lines but where the soil has been amended the turf survived.  Seeding will start soon!

Many thanks to Groody's Groomers and their help repairing divots.

  

Julio has out done himself this summer with some of our plantings.

Another beauty.

A family of deer enjoying our lake while pruning the trees.

The fourth green better than ever.

There were no winners this time identifying the cause of the turf loss above.  Remember the small purple leaf plum at the beginning of the seventh fairway?  Anyway this turf had adapted to the shady environment underneath the tree.  After it died and was removed the shock of this summers heat spelled its decline.  

Whew! What a stretch of hot nasty weather we just endured.  The course is a little dinged up but all in all it performed well under conditions we haven't experienced since July 2013.  Temperatures reached 95 or above for seven straight days and didn't go below 80 for 134 consecutive hours which was only four hours short of a record.  There was remarkable recovery from the welcome rain Thursday followed by more moderate temperatures.

Right before the hot weather arrived we solid tined all the greens to get more oxygen to the roots.

We had a pretty good storm and lost this tree when the weather was still pristine.

Pylex herbicide was applied to all the fairways on July 19th and its performance is easily seen a week later.  The herbicide's rate of application is 1/8 ounce per acre and it only affects the bermuda.  Think about that!  Pylex temporarily suppresses the bermuda and will green back up about three weeks later. The whitening of the bermuda prevents photosynthesis from occurring thus keeping it from spreading when it is growing at its peak.  The negatives is that it is aesthetically unappealing.

Pylex herbicide selectively inhibiting bermudagrass with the bent performing well.

One week later the bentgrass in beginning to show quite a bit of heat stress.  Look closely and you will notice tire tracks from golf carts.  This is the reason we restrict carts when temperatures soar.

We had some great tree pruning done this week featuring James Earhart the 2015 world tree climbing champion.  He lost his title this year but will be competing at the National Arboretum in 2017 to try and reclaim his title.

Lots of cleanup for our crew.

The pollinating garden is moving along.  Here Julio and Cayatano plant inkberries completing the shrub phase.

Turf twister.  Be the first to explain why this turf failed and win a dozen golf balls.  This area is located just to the left of the 7th fairway near the beginning.  The answer (and winner if there is one) will be mentioned in my next blog.

Another amazing day begins!

At long last our intense tournament grind is over and we can take a breath!  The golf course handled the extra stress very well with the help of some nice weather and timely rain.  Many thanks to my staff for their hard work.  They are the best!

Preparing the fifth hole on July Fourth for club championship finals.

Dusting greens with sand to improve playability.

It has been difficult scheduling rough mowing around all the tournaments.  The rough has been particularly healthy this season as you can attest to!

The benefits of lightweight mowing are already being seen.  This along with aggressive growth regulator applications have helped improve our fairways.

Enough said….

Our purple martins occupied every house again this season.  They don't seem to mind the tilt to this house either.  They will be moving south very soon so enjoy them while they are here.

Saw this guy in the creek by five green this morning.

Our red tail hawks are doing well and are on their own now.  Their loud high shriek can be heard regularly.

Jack is getting use to the course but the adjustment has been tough for him so far.

The early bird catches the worm or in this case a beautiful sunrise!

Summer has officially arrived.  After a challenging start weather proved to be our ally and the course provided a great test for our members and their guests.  Next up is the club championship and if the weather stays as currently forecasted it should be quite a competition!

Tournament mode.  Mowing fairways at dusk during Member Guest.  The quality of cut in our fairways is much improved using lighter mowers.

Rooting in cool season turf is outstanding to date.  Here some deep roots are observed in the ninth fairway.

Wildlife continues to prosper throughout the course but how dare the deer that ran across the sixth green during the opening round of Member Guest.

Practice round of Ladies Member Guest and this doe is wanting to play the green tees!

Right after she moved off the tee Mr. Buck followed.

Remember the diseased sycamores?

Three weeks later and look how nice they look now.

We have two baby red tail hawks! They can be seen regularly near the ninth hole.

Springfield honeybees pollinating winter berry hollies at the fifteenth tee.

Bees on milkweed on the fourth hole.  This is one of our most beneficial flowering plants and is native to our area.

Time to say good bye to one of our best employees and a good friend.  Doug has moved to Myrtle Beach and is completely retired this time!

Jack has arrived!

Selfie with my new buddy.

It has been a beautiful week on the course.  For the first time this season we did not miss a mow which is truly amazing and speaks for how wet the course has been.  Regular applications of growth regulators have been instrumental in keeping growth manageable.   With the hot and dry conditions we experienced this weekend we started to irrigate quite a bit.  Amazing how fast conditions can change!

New fairway mowers have arrived.  These lightweight mowers will benefit our fairways tremendously.

Four new greens mowers were also purchased and used this weekend for the first time.

A circulation fan was recently added to the thirteenth green complex.

Growth regulators are really pushing the bentgrass to overtake the annual bluegrass in the fairways.  This area was predominately annual bluegrass last year.  Not anymore!

All that rain helped undercut this bridge on the seventh hole.  Here Jose begins the repair.

The next day the other side of the pipe was worked on.

Completed flowerbed at the second tee.

Lots of deer are seen on the course almost daily. 

There is a really little fawn with its mother in this picture.

Foxes are seen regularly too.  This little guy is quite curious and paused long enough to have his picture taken.