WGCC North Course after a torrential downpour in August of 2008
Have you ever played a round of golf after summer thunderstorm? If it's been dry, everything drains fairly well and within an hour or so after the rain stops, most of the water has been absorbed in the soil.
If it rains a few days in a row...the water becomes a nuisance, because it affects the playability of the course.
If the rainy weather lasts for a week or so, it becomes problematic, because it impacts the long term health of the turf, particularly the greens which are mowed at less than 1/8".
As most have experienced, the weather in Northern Ohio the past week or so has been extremely wet. Our on course weather reports indicate seven rain events over a 14 day period for a total of 3.43 inches of precipitation. This weather has us implementing contingency plans so that we can minimize turf health issues that could arise in July and August.
Problems resulting from play and regular maintenance on soils that are saturated, may not be immediately recognized. If wet conditions persist for too long, it's easy for the greens soil to become compacted and resulting in long term problems. Saturated soils affect the playability, aesthetics and overall turfgrass plant health the following ways:
Playability
- Balls plugging in the fairways
- Slower ball roll speed
- Longer rounds of golf due to having carts on paths more frequently
Aesthetics
- Off color turf (yellowish) because of poor carbon dioxide/oxygen exchange,
- Effective height of cut is lowered because mowers sink into wet soil, causing scalping (see picture below)
Agronomics
- Compacted soils have reduced air space causing an anaerobic conditions
- Moist soils and warm weather are a great combination for increased turf disease incidence
- Available nutrients are reduce by flushing through the soil
Discolored, scalped turf during the summer of 2007
Even though our spring aeration went just as planned in April, it is important we continue to focus on the most challenging part of the season agronomically...July and August.
As part of the focus, Today we "vented" the South Course greens. With a weather forecast that includes more rain the next few days and warmer temperatures (high 80's) this weekend, we took advantage of the opportunity.
Comparative view of vented vs. non-vented surface on putting green
Close up view of green with venting holes in comparison to dime
Venting is basically poking holes in the soil profile with 1/4" solid tines (about 4" deep) on an standard greens aerator. This allows good exchange of oxygen/carbon dioxide in the soil profile which creates an environment conducive of good root growth, which will improve plant health, which will create a high quality putting surface.
After we vent the greens, they are rolled with a standard greens roller, mowed and are then ready for play. Heal in time will be two to three days, with minimal impact to ball roll smoothness or distance. Typically this process is done two to three times a summer.
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Posted by: Retro Jordan | 10/09/2010 at 05:42 AM