|
|
|
|
|
|
July 11, 2014 Scouting Report
A week of perfection almost was how we could describe this week. For
those of you who had healthy turf starting the week - the end of the
week should have been a great finish despite some rain. Blue skies and
excellent temperatures really made for the best growing week we have
had so far this year. Courses that were suffering from some of the heat
and stress of the previous week began to clear up and return to
excellent conditions in the Chicagoland area. Further south there were
some stressful conditions early in the week but people are looking
forward to next weeks summer version of the polar vortex as the early
part of the week temperatures are predicted to drop back to highs in
the 60's in Chicago while highs in Carbondale the highs are predicted
to top out in the mid to upper 70's - glorious!
The British Open is next up for many of us to look at and the talk of
brown is better will continue, however it is always easier to do this
on sand based soils in weather conditions that are not humid and in
temperatures that don't reach the 90 degree mark... EVER. For us
particularly in the northern part of the state it is something to
always keep in mind when thinking about new grass surfaces and long
term sustainability of them. One summer doesn't make a lifetime of
putting surfaces unfortunately. Further to that, there is a course
rotation for the British Open and so these courses can take ten years
off before the next Open which is why they can push their greens to
extremes unlike daily play courses - it's not like we can open for one
week of the year! Enjoy the viewing but remember links golf only makes
up 5% of the golf courses across the pond!
Disease pressure has dissipated somewhat this week, though insect
damage did start to show up as courses began to dry out. It seems that
bluegrass billbug has made an appearance as a couple of locations
failed the tug test. Further to that, adult Japanese beetles have shown
up all over and the seedcorn beetle was also found towards the end of
the week. Finally field day season has reached us, for the very latest
in research results they are a great tool to help you make decisions
for that early order program that is surely going to sitting on your
desk soon.
Click
here to view the July 11, 2014 Scouting Report
As always if you have a question or query please do not hesitate to ask
and you can call or email.
Ed Nangle PhD
Director of Turfgrass Programs
Chicago District Golf Association
Office: (630) 685-2307
Cell: (630) 423-1925
www.cdgaturf.org
Follow us on Twitter @TurfResearch
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
