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Pete_Pittock

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Poa greens and extreme heat
« on: July 29, 2009, 01:53:03 PM »
Portland (OR) golfers have to be wondering this week. Our all time high is 107 (3 times). Monday was 102, yesterday 106. Today is forecast for the same or higher, Thursday still in triple digits. We have set two all time record for highest low temperature. Humidity is higher than normal.

What can we expect when we get back onto the golf course?  I assume they are watering the heck on them.
McBride, you're lucky CECC cost per round was too high.

Ian Larson

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Re: Poa greens and extreme heat
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2009, 02:08:08 PM »
Hopefully they're not "watering the heck out of them" and only syringing them lightly and frequently throughout the day till about 5 pm. If they turn the taps on at night and soak them in prevention of burn the next day they will be setting themselves up for failure. With that heat, that humidity and soggy soil profile....they're incubating any pathogens hanging around. Having a soggy green will also heat up quicker than a dry green, facilitating wet burn. The key is to keep them dry and only syringe ( light mist with only direct water on localized dry spot) very frequently, alot of times that's hard for a super to wrap his head around. They always want to do what feels natural and that is overwatering as insurance.

Ray Richard

Re: Poa greens and extreme heat
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2009, 10:40:46 AM »
I agree with Ian. Overwatering is a bad thing.

I'd be careful of early-season wilt especially on windy days with low humidity. If the plant gets stressed in the spring, it will be unable to handle the stress of high humidity in the summer..

Phil_the_Author

Re: Poa greens and extreme heat
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2009, 11:53:25 AM »
Ian, for those of us that don't know, such as myself, could you explain what is meant by "Syringing" the green?

JSPayne

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Poa greens and extreme heat
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2009, 12:10:56 PM »
He mentioned it in his above post.....syringing = light, frequent misting by hand to reduce the canopy temperature, but not so much as to saturate the soil.

My rookie irrigators last year got freaked out when we got in the 100s for 5 days straight and soaked perfectly fine, beautiful greens. Three days later pythium blight (a fungal disease) broke out in mass and took a lot of turf with it. We had to apply expensive chemicals just to get it in check. Luckily, the disease mainly annialated the poa, which we're trying to keep out of our bentgrass greens, so it might have actually done us a favor in the long run, as the bent eventually filled in all the dead poa spots. But it sure didn't look that great when it was happening.

WARNING to all homeowners out there.....the same thing can happen to your lawn, and did to mine during that same heat spell last year, so beware of soaking your home lawns as well. If the grass is green or even a tad tan, don't worry about it. If you step on it and it doesn't spring back up, then put a few extra minutes of irrigation on it.
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing it's best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." -E.E. Cummings

Dan Herrmann

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Re: Poa greens and extreme heat
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2009, 12:59:12 PM »
Phillip,
My course in SE Pennsylvana has bentgrass greens.  The course was opened in 2003.

Our head greenkeeper (he doesn't like the term "super") and his senior staff are out there all the time checking canopy temperatures, soil temperatures, solar radiation and the like.*  If they see something they don't like, they pull out the hose and start (syriging) watering the green surface by hand, something several times per day.

Like JSPayne said, overwatering is baaaad.  We used to have a seasonal guy on the crew that thought he was syringing, but was actually drowning the grass.  You could tell the greens he drenched because they were the ones with the disease.

It's a lot of work, but they've been tremendously successful.

* - They keep all the daily numbers in a database so they can spot trends before issues arise.

Bill_McBride

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Re: Poa greens and extreme heat
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2009, 01:25:41 PM »
Portland (OR) golfers have to be wondering this week. Our all time high is 107 (3 times). Monday was 102, yesterday 106. Today is forecast for the same or higher, Thursday still in triple digits. We have set two all time record for highest low temperature. Humidity is higher than normal.

What can we expect when we get back onto the golf course?  I assume they are watering the heck on them.
McBride, you're lucky CECC cost per round was too high.

Just back to Pensacola from a week in New Braunfels which we mostly spent tubing the Comal River which made it bearable.  The daily high never got under 104o.  Did get in one round of golf with son David, joined by GCAer Wyatt Halliday - thanks for coming out in that pressure cooker, Wyatt.  We played the Bandit, and confirmed once and for all that there is little if any "Redan" in their sixth hole that is named "Redan."  ;D

Portland in the 100's is not fun.  Lots of places (like our condo) don't have air conditioning.   :o

What IS the poa doing?  In Virginia it got like cauliflower when warm days started, then disappeared pretty quickly.

Raymond

Re: Poa greens and extreme heat
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2009, 10:08:11 PM »
Bill,

I sure miss playing CECC on a regular basis. For everyday walkiing a golf course CECC is hard to beat no matter the weather.

We tubed the Guadalupe in New Braunfels a few weeks ago but it was sooooo low and slow it took us forever. Was the Comal any better. We were thinking of heading back in a few weeks but since the rain hasn't developed we had pretty much given up that idea. Next time you're around Texas/Houston give me a shout, I'd love to meet up.

Ray

Bill_McBride

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Poa greens and extreme heat
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2009, 10:37:22 PM »
Bill,

I sure miss playing CECC on a regular basis. For everyday walkiing a golf course CECC is hard to beat no matter the weather.

I miss Portland and CECC a whole lot.  Not only is it a really good test of golf with great greens, it also has a super staff, enthusiastic members who are real golfers (4 hr rounds max) and a wonderful practice facility.  Hope to get out for a round next summer.


We tubed the Guadalupe in New Braunfels a few weeks ago but it was sooooo low and slow it took us forever. Was the Comal any better. We were thinking of heading back in a few weeks but since the rain hasn't developed we had pretty much given up that idea. Next time you're around Texas/Houston give me a shout, I'd love to meet up.

We were staying 3 blocks from the Comal and had heard how low the Guadalupe was, so stayed on the Comal.  It was deep enough to have a lot of fun.  There is no greater bargain than a $10/day tube at Corner Tubes with free parking and shuttle service.  We had a great time. 

I expect to be back in Houston to visit our son and his family in November, most likely Thanksgiving.  Maybe we can get together a GCA outing -- you, me, son David, Steve and Ms Sheila Lang, Kyle K, Nuzzo, Mahaffey, Tiger Bernhardt, Wyatt Halliday -- unless LSU is playing somewhere for those last two!