Scouting Report for August 10

~~The following is the C.D.G.A. scouting report as posted by Derek Settle, PhD. Don't forget to follow the link!~~

August 10, 2012 Scouting Report August is Nice: Recovery, Physiological Decline Dissipates, Type 1 Fairy Ring, More Summer Patch, Bad Poa triv, Peter's Dollar Spot, Tim's Bluegrass cvs. Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle Recovery. So now we can say it, because it is over (peak midsummer heat). July, 2012 will be remembered as one of the worst summer months for growing things like turf - ever. It turned out to be the hottest July ever, as well as the hottest month EVER for our entire country (since 1895). Week to week, what we saw and felt on golf courses was bad, but it was much worse in other situations where automatic irrigation is not the norm. In Illinois, the phrase "total crop loss" was heard. Our farmland in central and southern Illinois would witness odd looking cornfields which were stunted and wilted on a backdrop of powder dry, hard soils having developed large, deep cracks. For city dwellers it was watching our lush urban landscape take a big hit - Chicago's golf courses just survived one of the most extreme summer seasons ever (1988 hot with drought; 1995 hot with humidity). However, often forgotten is that this summer of mayham represents 3-in-a-row. Our two preceding summers were also out of control (2010 and 2011 hot with floods). Such super-hot weather is maybe only seen once or twice in a lifetime - we hope! It makes managing plant health both challenging and memorable. But it's over. As I write, an entire morning of cool air follows a day of cool rain. Our extended forecast is for more of the same. If you happen to manage cool-season turf... this turn of events is just what the doctor ordered. Yes! Click here to view the August 10, 2012 Scouting Report. Enjoy every morning of jacket wearing this weekend = a summer scorched landscape is now on the mend. Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program

Clarification

I wanted to make a few points of clarification in regards to yesterday's blog which, it would seem, has caused a bit of confusion. First and foremost I would like to apologize for posting the wrong dates.  Our intention was always to follow the same schedule as posted, but to do so starting with the first Roundup spray on August 27, not August 6.  That said, no work will be started until the Board of Directors meets on August 22 and has a chance to discuss the parameters of the project.

Second, I made a poor choose of words by using the word "renovation".  I recognize now that this word is loaded, and brings with it a scary connotation. The two areas being targeted, the short fairways on eight and eighteen, are in need of improvement. Our goal is to show you what the process would be to convert our fairways to a pure bentgrass stand. All of the work will be done in-house, under the grounds budget. It should be kept in mind that the two areas that would be treated represent less than a half acre of the 30 acres of fairway on the golf course (1.7%)

We on the grounds want the same thing as you: the best possible playing conditions and healthy turf. Our fifty year-old fairways simply cannot stand up to the newly renovated fairways that surround us here in the southwest suburbs.

Respectfully submitted,
Elliott Dowling

Hopes of a Renovation on the Horizon

Next week we will begin what we hope will be a course wide renovation. For now, our work will be limited to the approach fairways on holes eight and eighteen. This coming Monday, August 6, these fairways will be sprayed with Roundup, and then roped off. Play will be allowed in both areas until further notice, but carts will be off limits for sometime following this application.. The following Monday we will give them another dose of Roundup, and again carts will be off limits. Tuesday and Wednesday, August 14 and 15, we will seed both fairways.  As always, we will keep you updated.

For now I would like to draw your attention to a video recently posted on the G.C.S.A.A. website. The video discusses Black Wolf Run's journey to the 2012 Women's Open and features an interview with Bob Vavrek, the head agronomist for the Midwest Region of the U.S.G.A. Mr. Vavrek is also the agronomist who came to visit the course a few weeks ago. While the entire video is interesting, I wanted to point out the comments on how their fairway renovation has given them an edge in dealing with years like these where Superintendent's are trying to manage turf in a furnace.

This is an exciting development and we will be keeping you in the know on our work as much as possible.

See you on the course!

Elliott Dowling