So what exactly happened to the greens this summer?
Remember this? This picture is of the back of #13, taken right as all hell began to break loose. In the very simplest of terms, near the end of July, we experienced massive turf loss on some of our greens due to a combination of severe heat stress, a lack of oxygen in the soil profile, and the turf's lack of a healthy root system.
Now, you don't just find serious issues knocking at your turf doorstep
without a fair amount of provocation (or neglect) on your part.
Turfgrass will only give you as much as you put into it, and it will be
the most honest with you during the most difficult times of the growing
season. This season the grass told me, in no uncertain terms, that it
could not grow under the conditions, or with the resources I provided
it.
Looking back I've been able to identify a handful of small mistakes on
my part that contributed to the problem. I've also learned that I had a
few preexisting conditions that also factored into these problems.
Some of the smaller factors that contributed to the major issues:
Early in the spring the greens seeded heavier than usual - Our
greens are primarily poa annua, which will flower in the spring, and
put out large quantities of seed heads. The seed heads not only
compromise the quality of the putting surface, they also require the
plant to use a good amount of energy to produce. The resources that
went to seeding should have gone to rooting. Our greens started off the
year with a poorer root system than they should have had.
The greens struggle to move water through the soil profile - The
first four inches of soil, from the surface of the green down, is a bit
of a mess. It tends to hold onto more water than it should. It's in
it's current state because of the lack of a consistent topdressing and
aerification program. Take a look at the picture below:
Notice the dark brown to black streaks in the plug? Notice the chunky texture of the broken up plug? This is not conducive to good drainage of water.
The "problem" greens on the back 9, struggle to drain water from the entire green complex - In
a healthy green complex the water naturally moves downward. As water
moves downward, healthy turf will push its root system to find the water
below. I learned the hard way that many of the greens on the
back 9 had been holding onto almost all of the water I had been giving
it leading up to July. They are essentially bathtubs. Consequentially,
the turf never had to move anywhere to find water and I didn't have
much of a root system develop on those back holes.
Over-watering the greens - I did not do my due diligence in
evaluating the state of the greens in the spring and their ability to
drain water. I treated them all the same, giving them the same amount
of water at the same frequency. The greens on the back held onto it.
When the soil holds onto excess water it leaves less space for
necessary oxygen the roots need to be healthy. I was unwittingly
asphyxiating some areas of the greens heading into the summer.
One major factor (nearly) out of my control:
The weather. This July was one of the hottest on record on the Delmarva Peninsula. We recorded daily high temperatures above 90
degrees for 27 out of the 31 days.
Even before July we had experienced above average temperatures in May
and June. All of our problems came to a head after a weekend where we
recorded highs of 103 and 104 with the nighttime temperature never going
below 80. After that weekend, the root system of the turf was totally
compromised, and any wilt, foot traffic, or water stress caused the turf
to die.
I wont name the weather as a direct cause
though, as a good turf manager will have the grass ready to go during
these tough stretches.