Weather killing golf greens

[msd3075]

I asked the pro at my club tonight what grass was on the greens, since they were the only ones still alive and looking perfect, and he said they were Champion Bermuda. He also said that he wouldn't be surprised if the other courses in the area switch after this summer, they are losing a ton of money because the greens are dead. Everyone is coming to Scothurst to play on nice greens. The fairways have some spots that aren't particularly wonderful, but the greens are perfect.

At least according to a guy I talk to once, Champion Bermuda was developed at my home course in Houston (Champions GC) with the purpose of being able to survive the extremely hot/humid Houston summers. If there is one strain of grass that'll be ok, it'll be Champion (at least according to that guy).

[Wildcat]

We've had nearly two weeks of 94-104 temps and 100-115 heat indexes here, with no rain to speak of. It's wreaked havoc on the bluegrass courses. I haven't played any zoysia courses in the last couple of weeks, so I don't know how they're doing.

When I played my usual (bluegrass/rye) course this week large parts of the fairways were burned off. The bent grass greens were still in pretty good shape, though.

[mrmiller8]

I think the point we are missing here is the economy. Clubs all over the country have significantly less of a budget than in the past and most of the time the problem with the greens could be fixed with a little money (spray, more water, Etc). The last thing the club pro is gonna tell a member is that their budget is much less and they dont have the money to upkeep their greens. Money is the issue here not weather. Its not like this is the strangest weather we have had since the 1800's. Its an upkeep and budget issue (most of the time).

[TN94z]

I think the point we are missing here is the economy. Clubs all over the country have significantly less of a budget than in the past and most of the time the problem with the greens could be fixed with a little money (spray, more water, Etc). The last thing the club pro is gonna tell a member is that their budget is much less and they dont have the money to upkeep their greens. Money is the issue here not weather. Its not like this is the strangest weather we have had since the 1800's. Its an upkeep and budget issue (most of the time).

There is a course near me where money is no issue..(all grounds work is done by local prison inmates for free and the money was set up in an account from a multi-millionaire that left the money soley for the course. Money made is pretty much profit there) and there greens are suffering. I am sure that the economy has affected this also, but we are looking at temps in my area that haven't been this hot in many years.

[Sod god]

A majority of the turf issues this summer are weather related and not the economy, although they are not completely independent of one another. Regardless of how much money you have, it is very challenging, if not impossible to maintain cool season grasses in tropical conditions.

[bwdial]

I played Twin Bridges in Gadsden, AL Monday, and they're having real issues with the greens. They are bent grass, and on most holes there are huge expanses of bare dirt. Very disappointing, but for $20 with a cart, I guess I shouldn't complain.

[mrmiller8]

It is true that weather makes it tough but when you combine courses running low on funds they are less likely spray as many times as they normally would with a decreasing budget. Not saying that the economy is the only reason why courses are struggling to keep up with the weather, but it is definitely another to factor to our playgrounds not being in good enough shape.

[BigTazz53]

I played at my fav course today and 12-14 of their greens are gone.Like putting on cracked mud.
Article I read, Courses switching to champion bermuda

[KD Epic]

Yup at my local course there were tire tracks on the green... Damn weather.

[DarkPrince]

I know that two courses in my town/neighboring town have had HUGE issues in the last few weeks. Lake Lawn Resort apparently has lost large portions of greens, and Evergreen Golf Club just started having biiiiiig problems too. One of my coworker's dad is the greenskeeper at both Lake Lawn and Whitewater Country Club, so hopefully it doesn't spread to my home course too :/

[hurley9192]

In Dallas, we've had even the most prestigious and least played course lose some greens. Our greens are holding up well...just around the edges has browned out some. We have bent grass, which is perfect most of the year, but suffers in high heat. Bermuda tends to be perfect now and then is worse in the winter.

[MikeLowry5]

I played Palmetto Dunes Fazio Course last April and they just resodded all of their greens to "Diamond" Zoysia. It's a very fine textured zoysia and provided a very good putting surface.

So do they turn golden brown in the winter like what I would consider a traditional zoysia?

[MikeLowry5]

Birch Creek in Union has Bent Grass greens and they are non-existent right now. For the most part you are putting on sand.

The zoysia fairways are in the best condition they have been in however the fescue rough looks about like everyone's yard in St. Louis during August, oh to be in SoCal.

[TN94z]

Well, we had another club lose it's greens last week. They have mowed temp greens until they get them back. One of the nicer clubs around have removed their greens and are replacing with champ Bermuda. I may end up joining there next year.

[MrKadash]

You guys in Tenn, Missouri, NC, Ky, Va, etc., are in a catch-22 predicament. Your area, known as the "transition zone" by turf managers, is incredibly hard on Bent in the summers and Bermuda in the winters. Courses in northern states benefit from Bent due to the cooler summers, and courses in the south love the heat for Bermuda. This has been a brutal summer for most including bent courses up north due to 70+ degree nights and high humidity, providing for prime conditions for devastating turf diseases known as Pythium, Anthracnose, and Summer Patch. This is where economics influence course conditions. While man cannot combat mother nature totally, the more moneys available to spend on a good preventative chemical program, plus added funds to pay grounds crews for mechanical applications, the better off those courses will be.

[Shooter McGreenkeeper]

if your not sure if your turf is being mangaged correctly, ask them for soil test results.

if the total K (potassium) in ppm is less than 100, you are asking for fungal pathogens and heat stress
they should NOT apply Nitrogen during these periods. e.g urea / ammonium nitrate

pH ideally 6.3, many greens become acidic over time, as there is an export of nett cations taken away in the grass clippings...

[Mattplusness]

The courses around here (were) in some of the best condition I've seen, but around this time in Michigan, greens and fairways get aerated, but great shape.

[TN94z]

You guys in Tenn, Missouri, NC, Ky, Va, etc., are in a catch-22 predicament. Your area, known as the "transition zone" by turf managers, is incredibly hard on Bent in the summers and Bermuda in the winters. Courses in northern states benefit from Bent due to the cooler summers, and courses in the south love the heat for Bermuda. This has been a brutal summer for most including bent courses up north due to 70+ degree nights and high humidity, providing for prime conditions for devastating turf diseases known as Pythium, Anthracnose, and Summer Patch. This is where economics influence course conditions. While man cannot combat mother nature totally, the more moneys available to spend on a good preventative chemical program, plus added funds to pay grounds crews for mechanical applications, the better off those courses will be.

Exactly. We are in a bad spot. Although, I would rather have Bermuda that is not so great in the winter than what happens when the Bent gets bad around here.

if your not sure if your turf is being mangaged correctly, ask them for soil test results.

It's funny you mention this as we were talking about it 2 days ago. Two of the courses that have lost their greens were pretty much the fault of the "greenskeeper." I put that in quotes because neither of the 2 guys knew anything about taking care of greens. At one course, the "greenskeeper" got promoted from mowing fairways to the job....I knew more about greens than him. The 2nd course was pretty much the same thing...promoted from within and knew nothing about greens. It's ridiculous that these courses would put all of the money they had in their greens in the hands of just anybody. They paid dearly for it though...