Scouting Report for September 21

~~The following is the C.D.G.A. scouting report as posted by Derek Settle, PhD. Don't forget to follow the link!~~ September 21, 2012 Scouting Report It's Fall: Residual Dollar Spot of Bentgrass and Summer Patch of Bluegrass, Animals/Grubs Rough Up the Rough, and Tim says Cultivar A B C D E F G Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle Midweek, a light frost on Chicago's blades of turf. I would take a look at my weather archives only to discover we hadn't been that cold since the 3rd week of May. So now the growing season works in reverse as we lose day length by about 3 minutes a day - it all happens too quickly. To be clear we had wished for our first fall day of September 22nd months ago. For most (those in the growing season trenches of 2012) that wish was about mid-July when extreme weather events had brought us to our knees both mentally and physically. Olympics weren't just on TV because we were living it! It was record pace stuff - an early green up in March segue into extreme summer drought/heat and later meteorologists would report clocking the hottest summer month ever in the United States. If you ask some they will say we were just fine. Actually we had begun to panic, but of course we can never publicly say so. Nevertheless by about late summer (regardless of year) both human beings and plants seem to say, "What summer?" Our human mind is forgetful and plants in the landscape are just amazingly resilient. Still we should know otherwise - the watchful superintendent continues to monitor and report surface water levels are still quite low. But alas we are now well progressed into our end of season project phase. In a week a certain camera was focused less on being a scout in the name of integrated pest management (IPM). Click would follow the hum of engines that propel heavy equipment to renovate areas. Click would follow the silent germination and emergence of turf. Yep, it's fall. Click here to view the September 21, 2012 Scouting Report. Enjoy your cool, with a dash of a little wet, weekend. Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program

Scouting Report for September 14

~~The following is the C.D.G.A. scouting report as posted by Derek Settle, PhD. Don't forget to follow the link!~~ September 14, 2012 Scouting Report Cool Nights Mean Normal: Dollar Spot, Rust, White Grubs, Sod Rolling Up (animals search for said grubs) and Tim says Festuca arundinacea Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle This week, temperatures were both warm and cool. Plants said Huh? Actually it meant our season was acting right again for a change as the calendar is now pretty much between summer and fall. Our jaws would drop wide open when lows dropped to 47° twice in Lemont - we've now experienced our first really cool period since June. It's a real joy when nights hold the mercury to 50° or less. The surprise/enthusiasm if you manage turf? Well if jackets are on, the trend of FEWER issues will only accelerate. Rewind. Just a week ago the landscape looked and felt like a lot of trouble. Midsummer had briefly returned to 5th gear when our nights remained warm and humid. My Everything word last week meant all major fungal diseases of turf were banging their pots and pans - should've said Yikes as eyes get real big seeing nuclear dollar spot. But it's September and so fast-forward to normal. Normal would be dealing with moderate levels of foliar rust and dollar spot affecting Kentucky bluegrass roughs. Normal would be root damage from things like annual white grubs. Normal would be waking up to see the amazing sod rolling ability of hungry animals - grubs!?! Normal would be catching up with paperwork. Ahh, normal. Click here to view the September 14, 2012 Scouting Report. Enjoy normal and what is to be a beautiful weekend of weather! Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program

Seedling Update

September 16, 2012

Germination is well underway on fairways 8 and 18 with the first wave of green leaf tips finding the sun and more on the way. Mild weather and a steady supply of rain have meant that irrigation from our system has not been needed as much as we originally anticipated. This is a mixed blessing however: while mild temperatures mean less moisture lost from the soil, they also mean lower soil temperatures and less heat for the plants. Remember that our time frame for a full scale re-seeding of fairways would be undertaken three to four weeks sooner than this project was, in order to provide maximum heat and sunlight for our seedlings.

I have been asked on several occasions why the turf killed with Roundup prior to seeding was not removed prior to seeding. While it may appear counter-productive, this layer of material serves multiple vital functions. This layer forms a barrier against erosion should we receive heavy rain or wind, and predators who would make a meal of our precious seed. It also holds moisture and keeps it available to the infant plants as they develop. Anytime you've seen seed covered with mulch or straw, (the thriving seed to the left of 18 approach is a prime example) the material was added to serve these very same purposes. To strip this layer only to replace it with another material to serve the same purpose would cost unneeded time, money, and effort.

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

Scouting Report for September 7

~~The following is the C.D.G.A. scouting report as posted by Derek Settle, PhD. Don't forget to follow the link!~~ September 7, 2012 Scouting Report Everything: Anthracnose, Bipolaris of Bent, Brown Patch, Dollar Spot, Pythium Blight, Summer Patch, and Tim's Data Says Brown Patch and Dollar Spot Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle September begins to Lights, Camera, Action. In other words this summer didn't quite stop when I said so! We would see everything in a week and along the way we just kept on learning more and more. And do you know what I decided? It appears that the MOST impressive fungus on planet earth is arguably Sclerotinia homoeocarpa or dollar spot. In just a few days we saw it's developement double in untreated research plots on our creeping bentgrass greens at Sunshine Course in Lemont (30-40% blighted area became 60-80%). Furthermore, any creeping bentgrass varieties which lacked genetic resistance to dollar spot were observed to light up like a Christmas tree. Only it's not December though Santa Claus early sounded really good to most of us back in July. Still, golf courses remain on a relatively smooth road to recovery as roots continue their deligent downward return to home (a moist and nutrient-rich rootzone is waiting). "Good health" are recent reports of greens and fairways and it means core aerification can begin on schedule for many (nothing promotes root growth/penetration more than poking holes). We continue to round what feels like the last quarter lap of the longest marathon ever run and continue to be tested. Our brains, experience and artistry has gotten a workout in 2012. I cannot remember seeing more fungal disease varieity in a week...I just relearned turf plant pathology 101, everything in 4 days! Click here to view the September 7, 2012 Scouting Report. Have a nice cooler feeling weekend. I for one will be listening to the roots grow! Derek Settle, PhD Director of Turfgrass Program

Aerification Update

Nelson aerifys one fairway.

As aerification week comes to a close it is in now way hyperbole to call it a success. In spite of repeated rains and temperatures in the nineties, the greens were deep-tined, topdressed, dragged and fertilized. Cores were pulled on every tee, the cores were broken up via drag mats, and the tees were fertilized. The time consuming process of aerifying fairways began yesterday with holes one, two, nine, and the main body of eight. This process will continue throughout the next week and amidst play and only one fairway will be worked on at a time. Should you find your ball surrounded by pulled cores, simply clear enough area around your ball for you to swing and have at it.

The eighteenth fairway and number eight approach fairway were seeded Wednesday and Thursday! I must remind everyone that both of these areas will be closed to carts until further notice.  This is being done for the safety of our seedlings; players should also be aware that both of these areas will be irrigated every hour on the hour. Seedlings have very little root structure, and must have near constant access to water to survive. Remember that our irrigation program runs heads in a progression from green to tee. So if you're facing the green, standing over an irrigation head and there's a head on in front of you, you have less than five minutes to decide whether you'd like to stay dry.

See you on the course!
Elliott Dowling

 

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