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August 7, 2015 Scouting Report
The week that was left a mark on some of us that will be seen for years to come while a majority of courses as they read this line are thinking what is he talking about?? The storms that hit the northside of the city last Sunday left a mark in specific locations that left damage which will require time and patience in abundance. Bryn Mawr CC lost 100 trees in what looked to be a microburst while no one else came close to this type of damage. While a majority of the courses also commented that the 1” of precipitation that fell seemed to immediately disappear and that the conditions were still very dry. The ‘disappearance’ of the rainfall can be linked to the fact that evapotranspiration rates were as high as 0.25” of water per day late last week – that pattern has generally not changed this week as winds have blown disturbing the boundary layer around the turf canopy and temperatures have been more than warm enough to drive transpiration for cooling of turfgrasses.
Once the cleanup of debris occurred this week, conditions rapidly turned to ideal as surfaces became firm and fast and once again bentgrass surfaces showed their true qualities and speed and smoothness were not an issue. Poa annua surfaces may have required more hand watering and possibly some courses raised mowing heights in an attempt to reduce stress – one of the problems of dealing with poa in the summer is trying to keep it alive! Roots on poa plants seem to be just about hanging in though summer patch has turned up and may be putting a final nail in the coffin. Reports of billbug larvae have also surfaced and with the dry weather we can expect to start seeing some damage from either digging or a distinct lack of roots which have now been eaten thus leaving foliage no way to draw water from the soil profile.
Finally – the turfgrass field day is coming up on September 10th and with speakers coming in from around the region it promises to be an exciting event with plenty of opportunities to see the latest research. Further details will be posted next week on the CDGA website, but if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.
Click here to view the August 7, 2015 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 |
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