Freezing and Thawing

The forecast for the next week is calling for freezing over night lows. This will lead to the greens becoming frozen at night and thawing during the day since the weather still reaches the fifties during the day. The constant freezing and thawing we will experience may arouse some questions about course condition. I wanted to write this post to hopefully help answer any questions so you are prepared when you play golf over the next few weeks. Since the weather is not constantly cold the top few inches of the rootzone will freeze over night. Not only will this begin the hardening process and start to turn the grass off color but it also addes oxygen to the top few inches of the soil. We all know when the pipes under the house freeze, the water inside expands and the pipe breaks. The same process happens when the water in the soil freezes it expands, enlarging the pores in the soil. How does this affect you? Soft playing conditions. With the constant freezing and thawing that takes places the greens will become much softer once they thaw. The green will be much more receptive and can feel spongy. This is all collectively the freezing overnight weather. We are not overwatering greens. Actually we have not watered greens for a couple weeks now, even though the temperatures have been elevated and there has been no percipitation. When you tee it up in the weeks to come and you find the greens are a little soft and spongy, it is because of the freezing and thawing conditions that are upon us. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Fall Fertilization Application

We have applied our fall fertilizer application to the golf course. We used a 50/50 organic synthetic mix that we applied wall to wall. The green banks and tees complexes along with a pass around all bunkers was done with rotary walk spreaders while the bulk of the golf course was covered by the vicon.

This application is integral in getting the course jump started next season. Turfgrass management 101 states that a majority of your nitrogen should be applied in the fall. Not only will this application give the plant the extra carbohydrates it needs to store over the winter but will add to the color and vigor of next season. Here is a link to another course explaining their fall application. http://chrislecour.blogspot.com/2009/09/late-summer-and-fall-fertilization.html

When I first arrived on the property the main complaint we had when the course was not in threat of disease was the pocketing around the greens in the rough. We discovered that this was from insect damage but to take care of the problem once the insects were controlled was proper fertility. Fall applications helped the course fill in quickly once the weather warmed in the spring.

Fertility is an important factor when maintaining the golf course. We have the greens tested regularly to ensure proper fertility is accomplished. With the greens being sand based, nutrition can become deficient easily and quickly relative to a soil based system. The fairways and tees are tested annually on the same holes to ensure nothing gets out of control. With our lack of good growing media and our abundance of thatch we are growing grass in a unique situation.

Decisions made on fertility of the golf course course can be just as important as planning your plant protection program. Even though the fertilizer we have applied will do little for color or growth now the pay off will come in the spring when healthy grass will green up quicker and be more vigorous. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS

justinr@therimgolfclub.org