Beating the Heat

We have finally reached the end of the hottest July on state record. I was informed today that our average high for the month was 97 degrees and Epply Airfield reported only .01" of rain. Although we have our thin and dry areas the course has hung in relatively well, especially when you consider that Red Feather and Black Bird are less than two years removed from renovation.

The irrigation break that occurred three weeks ago took its toll on #1 and #2 Black Bird greens. In an effort to build some safe guards against this happening in the future, we will add some isolation valves to the irrigation system over the winter. These will allow us to continue to provide water to those holes in case something like this happens again.

There are a few things we have done to ease the stress on the course. The most obvious of these measures is the cart path only rule. I know this is a huge hassle for most golfers but it really has helped out. I cant express how grateful I am for the patience you have all shown.

In an effort to relieve the greens of as much stress as possible we dusted off the walk mowers and started walk mowing greens during the week. This takes the weight of the riding units off of the greens.

We have also started tank watering hot spots in fairways and tees. Even with the best irrigation systems you will find areas that get too much or not enough coverage. We have found that hand watering these areas provides the best results.

My assistants Jeff and Nate have put in countless hours over the last three weeks and they really deserve a hand. I couldn't tell you the last time they put in less than a 12-hour day. I have yet to hear a complaint out of them either. Thank you guys and and thanks to the rest of my crew for hanging in there.

The extended forecast doesn't give me much hope of a reprieve any time soon. All we can do is keep plugging along and wait for some nice fall weather. Football season is creeping closer. 

Drawing Winner

Denny Wilson has been selected as the winner of a $20 gift card to to the Indian Creek Pro Shop. You can pick up your gift card at the pro shop counter.

#4 Gray Hawk Greens Complex Construction

#4 Gray Hawk before construction started.

#4 Gray Hawk as of today.

 

Both bunkers have been moved much closer to the green. The front bunker wraps around the green quite a bit. To give you a point of reference, the pile of dirt to the right of the back right bunker sits where the center of the old bunker sat. 

You can also see the beginnings of two low mow collection areas. One is located behind the green and one to the left of the green. 

Not shown here is the new black tee box that will be added to this hole. It sits behind and to the right of the blue tee box.

#1 Gray Hawk

CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE

A view of the work from the red tee box. The right fairway bunker and right green side bunker have been rough shaped and the left bunker shaping is set to begin.

A view of the greenside bunker from 70 yards out.

Installing a drain basin.

Long Summer Days

This picture sums up these last few weeks. A cart full of worn out irrigation heads and empty water cups.

Heat Taking a Toll on Golf Turf

Heat taking a toll on golf turf
July 21, 2012

Though golf turf is still performing fairly well in spite of heat and drought, cool-season turfgrasses simply cannot survive the extended heat. As one local superintendent quoted, ”Temperatures like this is why they grow zoysia just an hour or two south of here.” The reason cool-season grasses cannot survive extended heat is physiological. Cool-season grasses reach maximum photosynthesis near 75F air temperature and drop off sharply at higher temperatures. Conversely, respiration or energy consumption of cool season grasses increases with rising temperatures. At elevated temperatures, cool-season plants are in energy deficit where they are using more energy in respiration to stay alive than they are producing in photosynthesis. All grasses can survive this energy imbalance for a given period by using carbohydrate storage accumulated earlier in the year when photosynthesis
was higher than respiration.

How long they will survive this energy imbalance is complex and depends on many issues such as duration of elevated temperatures, frequency of cool nights, species, cultivar, previous maintenance, mowing height, traffic, etc. Often when these plants are weakened, it takes one small stress to put the plant over the edge or the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back. Small stresses include slight drought stress, minor disease, traffic, a light dusting of topdressing, insect feeding, etc. The bright spot this year for golf courses is the drought and relatively low humidity has limited most of the damaging diseases and allowed superintendents to manage irrigation to keep turf dry. Annual bluegrass is the weakest turf species during the summer, and is always the first to die. Annual bluegrass on golf courses is currently yellowing and I’d expect it to start to thin and die in the very near future given the current forecast of the next four days above 100F in eastern NE. Fungicides and previous applications of trinexapac may help delay the decline, but it is difficult to avoid the inevitable thinning of annual bluegrass in a year like this. Perennial ryegrass on tees and fairways can also be one of the weaker species, and weakening from the heat is often exaggerated by pythium, brown patch, or potentially gray leaf spot. Fungicides may be effective at preventing widespread damage on perennial ryegrass.

As mentioned in a previous Turf iNfo (http://turf.unl.edu/pdfctarticles/juneheat.pdf), following are practices to minimize stress on golf turf:

• Continue to manage irrigation to keep turf as dry as possible while staying away from drought stress. This will maximize soil oxygen to maintain roots, while also providing ample soil water so the plant can cool itself.
• Syringe annual bluegrass in middle of the day. This works on turf with compromised root systems (annual bluegrass, seedlings of other grasses, or turf affected by white grubs or summer patch.
• Continue preventative fungicides to minimize additional stress.
• Roll greens whenever practical to maintain speed instead of mowing. Continue mowing as needed, but be sure turf is well-watered to insure no extra damage.
• The drought will concentrate egg-laying of masked chafers and/or Japanese beetles to irrigated turf areas.
• Watch for breaks in your insecticide applications.
• Switch to solid rollers instead of grooved rollers on all reel-type mowers.
• Aerify as needed with solid narrow tines to increase water and air movement. Insure the areas are wellwatered prior and consider this during cloud cover or in the cooler parts of the day.

Zac Reicher, Professor of Turfgrass Science, zreicher2@unl.edu, turf.unl.edu

Kentucky Bluegrass

How long will Kentucky bluegrass or tall fescue survive when dormant?
July 21, 2012

The most common question we are answering now is about how long lawns can go without watering and still survive. Either because of drought or perhaps to conserve water, cool-season grasses can be allowed to go dormant in extended droughts. Once Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) goes fully dormant from drought, the rule of thumb is to water ¼” of water about every four weeks to keep the crowns hydrated and to help insure survival. Upon return of cooler temperatures and increased rain/irrigation, KBG should regreen with only minimal thinning assuming no traffic during dormancy. Traffic during dormancy may damage crowns and increase thinning upon recovery. Excess heat that we are experiencing should likely not significantly affect KBG during dormancy.

Turf-type tall fescue (TTF) will go dormant much later than KBG under similar conditions. This is because TTF is deeper-rooted than KBG and accesses water deeper in the profile. Tall fescue actually uses significantly more water than KBG. Tall fescue has poorer drought survival than KBG and thus we usually recommend to irrigate often enough to prevent tall fescue from going into complete dormancy. Given the extremely dry conditions, it’s likely impossible to prevent dormancy in TTF. Therefore, we recommend applying ¼” of water every two to three weeks trying to limit damage during dormancy. We’re still unsure how well TTF will survive in summers like this, but the
expanding acreage of TTF use over the last few years will give us a better idea after this summer.

Regardless of the species, keep all traffic (including mowing) off dormant areas. Even foot traffic will potentially damage the crowns and decrease survival.

Zac Reicher, Professor of Turfgrass Science, zreicher2@unl.edu, turf.unl.edu

$20 Gift Card

On August 1st, all members of the site will be entered into a drawing for a $20 gift card to the Indian Creek Golf Shop. Sign up by using the "Join This Site" icon on the right side of the page.

Syringing Turf

Those of you who have dared the heat to play golf over the last week have surely noticed all of the watering taking place in the afternoons. This process is known as syringing where we apply small rates of water to help cool the turf canopy.

On our greens, the process is performed by hand with hoses. Unfortunately, due to the size of the fairways we are unable to perform this process by hand. Instead, we employ the overhead irrigation system. We try to run each head between 6-9 minutes, depending on the environmental conditions of the area. This process usually takes place between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. when daytime temperatures are at their peak points. While it is easy to get carried away with the amount of water applied,  the most important thing to keep in mind is too much water is far worse than too little. Apply too much water during the heat of the day and wet wilt becomes an issue.

Many golfers have asked me if I understand that large portions of the water being applied are being lost to evaportation. Evaporation is exactly what we want to happen. The process of evaporation is an endothermic reaction which is a chemical reaction that absorbs heat from its environment. In order for the applied water to evaporate, it must first absorb heat from the leaf blade and turf canopy. This absorbtion of heat provides a cooling effect much like the cooling effect we feel when sweat evaporates from our skin.

Unfortunately in the heat we are experiencing, the cooling effects don't last long which makes multiple syringe cycles a reality. This forces us to run water while golf is going on and I understand that can be a hassle. I thank you all for your patience while we try and survive this weather.

A syringe cycle on 4 Black Bird Fairway



Ill-Timed Irrigation Break

Around 3:30 last Friday afternoon, we found a large irrigation break behind the green on #3 Red Feather. The break was on an 8" mainline which forced us to shut down the pump station and left us without the ability to water Red Feather and Black Bird until the problem could get fixed.

The first real issue this posed was it prevented us from hand watering and syringing the course on what was a very hot and dry afternoon. The second issue we encountered was that repair parts of this size are not easy to find on short notice, especially on a Friday afternoon. For a while, there was a chance that we were going to have to overnight the parts in which would have rendered us waterless through Saturday afternoon.

The effects of that particular scenario on the golf course would have been catastrophic. We would have experienced wide spread turf loss. We were extremely fortunate that the renovation contractor, Duininck Golf, was on site. They had the equipment, manpower, and the ability to access the parts we needed.

Excavation of the break began around 5:00 p.m. The area we were digging in was full of irrigation and power wires making the dig more tedious. Once exposed, removal of the broken parts went fairly quickly and assembly of the new parts began. When working with large pipe and iron fittings, assembly and installation processes are labor-intensive and time-consuming. It was around 1:00 a.m. when the thrust blocks were installed and back-filling could start. By 3 a.m., we finally had the irrigation system fully charged and watering.

A normal irrigation cycle takes between 8-9 hours and begins at 9:00 p.m. On Saturday, morning we had to try and get what we could watered in 4.5 hours. I had to prioritize which areas needed water, so I decreased the water on Gray Hawk as that is the course that will be shut down in a week for renovation. I also cut the water back in the rough on all 27 holes. This allowed us to get all 27 greens, tees, and fairways watered early Saturday morning.

We made it through fairly well considering the circumstances. The primary issues we experienced were not the result of the shortened water window Friday night and Saturday morning. We were affected the most by the loss of hand watering and syringing capabilities on Friday afternoon. As a result, we have some hot spots on the course but considering what could have happened, we fared well.

Duininck Golf and my assistants Jeff and Nate deserve alot of the credit in helping us get through this. Without the hard work of the Duininck Golf crew, this would not have been fixed in the time frame it did.

In 13 years of working on golf courses, this was, without a doubt, the worst scenario I have experienced. To have a break of this size and loss of water on a day during a summer with historic heat and drought, the results could have been catastrophic. There were moments on Friday evening that I genuinely thought we might lose large portions of the course. Fortunately this wasn't the case.

Although the break is fixed and a major catastrophe was avoided, I can't help but be a bit dejected today. Prior to Friday afternoon, I was extremely pleased with the way the course was handling the weather. It looked good and was playing well. We had successfully planned and managed the course this spring as to avoid the issues we had last year. This event on Friday set us back and I cannot shake that frustration.





July 13th Weather

Current Conditions: 6:15am
It is currently overcast and 76 degrees. Winds are calm. Humidity levels are around 78%.

Forecast:
Expect mostly sunny conditions with highs in the mid 90's. South winds should remain light throughout the day. There is a very slim chance of precipitation during the afternoon hours.

Irrigation Blow Out

   

The video shows an irrigation blow out caused by an air relief valve malfunction. What is normally an easy fix was made slightly more difficult due to the proximity to the irrigation satellite. I was initially concerned that the flow of water into the satellite would damage the power supply board. Fortunately we got the leak fixed and the satellite seems to functioning properly.



July 12th Weather

Current Conditions: 5:45am
It is currently mostly clear and 62 degrees. Winds are calm. Humidity levels are around 90%.

Forecast:
The heat will start creeping in today and stick around for the foreseeable future. Expect sunny conditions with a high in the lower 90's. South winds should remain very light. There is a very slim chance of showers during the overnight.

July 11th Weather

Current Conditions: 7:15am
It is currently mostly sunny and 64 degrees. Winds are calm. Humidity levels are around 80%.

Forecast:
Expect sunny conditions with temps approaching 90. Southeast winds will blow around 5 mph.
This will be the last relatively cool day for the a while. Temps are expected to rise over the next 7 days and there is no real sign of precipitation for a while.

July 10th Weather

Current Conditions: 8:30am
It is currently sunny and 73 degrees. North winds are blowing around 3 mph. Humidity levels are a comfortable 57%.

Forecast:
Expect sunny conditions with temps approaching 90 degrees. Northwest winds should remain light blowing around 5-7 mph.

Pump Station Malfunction

The photo below is of the upper putting green and chipping complex. On the night of July 3rd, we had a drop in pressure in our Gray Hawk pump station and it led to terrible irrigation coverage on our practice facility and #2 Gray. In the current heat wave, it only takes one night of missed water to see this kind of stress. Fortunately, the pumps did their job and restored pressure, minimizing the damage to only a few areas. The stress on #2 Gray Hawk was much less than what you see here.

Ugly as it might be, the green is still very much alive and well on its way back. In fact, it is probably the best rolling green on the course right now and its appearance is somewhat fitting as we approach the British Open.

Manufactured Air

During periods of high heat and humidity like we have been experiencing, air movement is critical for turf health. We attempted to create our own winds by using the shop fan. It might not be the classiest set-up, but it does makes a difference.



July 9th Weather

Current Conditions: 7:00am
It is currently sunny and 71 degrees. North winds are light. Humidity levels are around 71%. It feels great outside this morning.

Forecast:
Expect mostly sunny conditions with temps in the mid 80's. North winds will pick up just a bit blowing around 9 mph. Should be a great day.

July 6th Weather

Current Conditions: 6:00am
Currently it is sunny and 73 degrees. Winds are calm. Humidity levels are around 81%.

Forecast:
The last day of this extended heat wave might be the worst of them all. Expect sunny conditions with highs in the low 100's. Heat index values will easily surpass the 100 degree mark. Southwest winds should reach speeds of 20 mph.

Silt Layer

The weather we have encountered this year has been historically tough, but to this point, we have survived in decent shape. As we begin July, I think it is fair to expect the weather to remain warm which could present us with some challenges on the course.

I would like to revisit a topic I touched on earlier in the year when I was discussing aerification. As you can see above, we are battling a silt layer 3"- 4" below the canopy in some of our greens. The origin of this layer is unknown to me but my guess is there was an erosion event, either wind or water, during the original grow-in in 1991 that carried surrounding silt onto the putting surface. Over the years, the turf canopy has been pushed past this layer through topdressing. Unfortunately, the fact that this layer sits at the depth it does makes it tough to remediate quickly.

The only way to attack this layer is through years of aggressive core aerification, a process we ramped up 1 1/2 years ago. Progress has been made, but the heat and humidity over the last two weeks has exacerbated the effects of this layer. At the moment, the biggest problem we are facing is that the water we are applying through irrigating is getting trapped between this layer and the turf canopy. These wet soils lose the ability to cool down overnight which is keeping soil temps above levels adequate for root health. The wet soils also make the putting surface soft and spongy and prone to mower scalping.

Keeping adequate moisture levels throughout the entire profile depth is tough when most of the water is unable to percolate past this silt layer. Needle tining is typically the best tool to fight this problem during the summer months, but unfortunately this year, the effects of needle tining have not lasted as long as we had hoped. We will most likely begin needle tining on a weekly basis in areas affected by this layer. In addition, we may also increase the frequency of our topdressing routine to help protect the crown of the plant from mower scalping. Due to the high temperatures, this process must be approached carefully as to not cause additional turf stress.

The best medicine right now would be a drop in day & night temperatures and humidity levels. This would allow the soils to dry and cool down to levels conducive for root survival and putting quality. 

July 4th Weather

Current Conditions: 8:00am
Currently it is sunny and 87 degrees. South winds have picked up and are blowing between 13 and 20 mph. Humidity levels are bearable at 47%.
Forecast:
Expect sunny and hot conditions with highs approaching 100 degrees. Winds should remain similar to their current conditions.

Hot Spot on a Green

The following picture shows a small hot spot that a hand waterer missed on a green on #1 Black Bird. This is a mistake that we don't like to see.

The spot is quite ugly but should come back shortly. It might take a spot application of a wetting agent to help re-wet the soil.

July 4th Soil Temps

You can see that our 2" soil temps have exceeded 80 degrees. This is not a good scenario for root health. Hopefully we can hang on until this hot weather breaks.

July 3rd Weather

Current Conditions: 6:15am
It is currently sunny and 76 degrees. East winds are light around 3 mph. Humidity levels are around 76%.

Forecast:
Expect sunny and hot conditions with temps approaching 100 degrees. Heat index values could easily exceed 100 this afternoon. South winds will pick up speed through out the day reaching 13 mph. The next three days will be a repeat of this one so brace yourself.

July 2nd Weather

Current Conditions: 6:15am
Currently it is sunny and 72 degrees. Southeast winds are light at around 5 mph. Humidity levels are close to 85%.

Forecast:
Expect sunny skies with a high in the mid 90's. Southwest winds will pick up to between 8 and 15 mph, with gusts exceeding 20 mph.