#14 Fairway

#14 Green






















 









As I sit to write this very informative Blog post about Evapotranspiration and the effects it has on our turfgrass, it is raining.  I am not sure if I am blessed or cursed, a teaching moment turned into a lesson on timely rain.  Evapotranspiration(ET) is the total loss of moisture in the plant through the processes of evaporation and transpiration.  Many factors influence the ET rate, including; temperature, humidity, soil conditions, light intensity, wind, plant cultivar, traffic, fertility and cultural practices.  These, among others, dictate how much water is loss in the plant on any given day.  My challenge is to replace that water every day.  This challenge is an uphill battle in the early Spring where humidity is low, light intensity is high, we have high winds and high traffic.  These conditions are mirrored in the Fall.  Mother Nature tends to outrun us sometimes and sometimes we get the best of her, that is why I love the "give and take" of growing grass.  The brown spots on the golf course are not unhealthy, they are simply a sign of the ET rate exceeding the amount of water being absorbed into the plant.  "A Little Rain goes a Long Way"

#16 Fairway

Pro Core 648

 

 

 

Our new Pro Core 648 will be in action this week.  After a couple of weeks of hosting many guests during three of our major tournaments, we are going to give our greens a little "breather".  We use 7 inch long "pencil tines" to vent the greens.  There are many benefits to this process, such as; getting air to our roots, increased percolation, reduced compaction, venting of any built up gases and it helps in reducing the possibility of our greens "sealing off".  Everyone of these benefits help reduce and prevent Black Layer.  We are proud of how the greens performed for our recent tournaments and we look forward to a successful end of season.  

#9 Fairway

There is a nasty rumor running around that Bermuda grass does not "stripe" like the northern grasses.  In an attempt to make our guests feel at home, we are "burning in the lines".  This consists of mowing the same direction for a number of days to enhance the stripes.  We will continue this practice throughout this tournament week in the hopes of adding that extra touch for our guests.