With this heat wave I've noticed something disturbing,

[Patrick_Mucci]

the grass is green.

I would have thought that the predominant tint would have been that Brownish-yellowish-greenish tint.

I've also noticed that I'm not getting much roll.

My lawn, which doesn't get watered and doesn't have much traffic, is brownish-yellowish-greenish.

Are memberships at fault ?

Do Supers have to be defensive due to membership perspective and expectations ?

WHY aren't we seeing the grass at it's natural tint given the weather conditions ?

[Dan Herrmann]

Patrick,
I've seen a lot of those brownish tint out here.  Greens are syringed/watered as needed (they measure temperature and moisture content several times per day), but the rest of the course is pretty darn dry.

[Bill McKinley]

Patrick,

I've noticed the same here in NE Ohio.  Our main issue is that our greens are clay based and the soil is really compacted.  Before we got the heat, we had hardly any rain in June, and some cool nights and the turf was a really nice shade.  Now in early July, we got almose 2 inches of rain early in the week and with the high temps and high humidity, the water isn't leaving the greens as quickly as we would like.  These conditions are PRIME for diseases in greens so the supers around the area have to keep water on the greens to cool them off and so help counter act diseases.

I would imagine a course with sand based greens that has no drainage issues in the greens can keep things firmer and "browner" when the temps are this hot, but when the soil is so warm throughout the day and night, it's hard not to give them so more water.

But, looks like the temps are going down this week so I'm looking forward to that!!

[Keith Phillips]

The good news at Montclair is that the balls are bouncing down fairways almost as much as when you are caddying as a youth!  The (potential) bad news is this heat wave is a bear for all local Supers, and it will be a challenge to keep the poa alive while maintaining firm and fast conditions!

[Michael Herrmann]

Almost exact same thing here in SW Ohio.  Our club also has clay based greens, and on top of that our super has been under the gun this year based on bad green conditions in July-Sept the past 2 years.  We were doing pretty good overall up through about the first week or so of June with nice firm and fast playing conditions.  But this heat wave and terribly high night time dew points has forced his hand in keeping both the greens and fairways awfully soft.  I played last Sunday around 8:00 am and I would swear they put a good half inch of water on the course.  Tee shots damn near backing up in some spots.  It's frustrating to have it play so soft but I can sort of understand that the super is trying hard to protect his job.

One thing we are doing this year for the first time is topdressing every Monday with dry sand and the mow height of the greens will be unchanged all summer long.  Probably too early to tell how much of a difference that has made as the heat has pretty much trumped everything the past 2-3 weeks.

Patrick,

I've noticed the same here in NE Ohio.  Our main issue is that our greens are clay based and the soil is really compacted.  Before we got the heat, we had hardly any rain in June, and some cool nights and the turf was a really nice shade.  Now in early July, we got almose 2 inches of rain early in the week and with the high temps and high humidity, the water isn't leaving the greens as quickly as we would like.  These conditions are PRIME for diseases in greens so the supers around the area have to keep water on the greens to cool them off and so help counter act diseases.

I would imagine a course with sand based greens that has no drainage issues in the greens can keep things firmer and "browner" when the temps are this hot, but when the soil is so warm throughout the day and night, it's hard not to give them so more water.

But, looks like the temps are going down this week so I'm looking forward to that!!

[Jason Thurman]

Michael, I'll second that. I work out of Cincinnati but move around all over Ohio, and stopped in at Weatherwax in Middletown yesterday. The rough was almost completely dormant. Crunchy and brown. The fairways and greens, though, were soggy. Tee shots were plugging if you striped them down the middle, but ran for yards and yards through the rough.

I bladed a 3 iron on one hole that hardly even got off the ground, but it zipped over 200 yards through the rough and settled pin high. The type of shot that in normal conditions you find 50 yards ahead.

[Jim Tang]

I played two public courses in Chicagoland since Wednesday, both pretty solid tracks, and each were soft, green and had a spongy feel in the fairways.  I was pretty shocked by that, as I would have thought everything should be brown and fast.  I wonder how much water you have to dump on a course to achieve that look and those playing conditions in weather like this?

[Greg Chambers]

I played two public courses in Chicagoland since Wednesday, both pretty solid tracks, and each were soft, green and had a spongy feel in the fairways.  I was pretty shocked by that, as I would have thought everything should be brown and fast.  I wonder how much water you have to dump on a course to achieve that look and those playing conditions in weather like this?

Too much

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

Pat,

I would fire your greenskeeper immediately! Where is the outrage?

Is Mountain Ridge not challenging enough for you unless it plays as if the grounds are concrete and the greens linoleum?

But seriously...

NJ has had plenty of rain in my estimation this year so far. I have had several out of staters visit lately and exclaim that they never realized things were so lush in the Garden State. The, just broken this evening, heatwave has been a mere diversion from an otherwise easy year for golf course maintenance. Up to two weeks ago I was cutting my lawn like crazy to keep up with the surging grass.

Perhaps your house lies in a dry microclimate between short hills?

[JLahrman]

Michael, I'll second that. I work out of Cincinnati but move around all over Ohio, and stopped in at Weatherwax in Middletown yesterday. The rough was almost completely dormant. Crunchy and brown. The fairways and greens, though, were soggy. Tee shots were plugging if you striped them down the middle, but ran for yards and yards through the rough.

I bladed a 3 iron on one hole that hardly even got off the ground, but it zipped over 200 yards through the rough and settled pin high. The type of shot that in normal conditions you find 50 yards ahead.

I used to play Weatherwax all the time. They have a ton of really good holes, but it was always a bit overwatered in the summer.

There are only a few changes that need to be made to turn that place from good to really good:

- Less water
- Remove all the trees down the left-hand side of the fairway on Highlands #7, and put in bunkers instead.
- Do the same thing on Meadows #9, and clear the trees on the right hand side back a bit too.
- Get rid of the ridiculous patches of rough in front of the greens on Woodside #4 and Meadows #4.
- Find a way to get the greens on Woodside #5 and Valley View #9 to take.

I haven't played there in four years, hopefully they've addressed a few of those things.

And oh yeah...less water.

[Peter Pallotta]

I wish Joe Hancock still posted here. I went to visit him and the course he owned and operated in Grand Rapids, and later read an essay he wrote about his maintenance practices there. It was a blue collar public course that got a good amount play, but Joe had been weening the grass off of water for years and years -- and I think that was the reason the grass would go brownish and the course would play fast and firm when the weather got like this, i.e. because Joe had gotten the roots so deep and the grass so sturdy that he didn't have to turn the taps on and turn the course into mush at times like these just to keep it alive. In other words, it isn't the current membership and/or current supers who are to 'blame', but so too the memberships and the supers stretching back years and decades.  But I guess now no one wants to be or can afford to be the member or the super who has to start a long Hancock-like process to get the turf to where it should be.

Peter

[noonan]

Miami Valley in Dayton is not nearly that soft. The fairways are still firm...and the greens are not that soft either

They have let the greens grow a little but are still quick enough

The city courses here are almost a total brown out tee too green ...but the greens have been watered heavily

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat,

I would fire your greenskeeper immediately! Where is the outrage?

Is Mountain Ridge not challenging enough for you unless it plays as if the grounds are concrete and the greens linoleum?


Why did you erroneously assume that I was referencing Mountain Ridge ?
My comments were based on play in Long Island, Westchester and NJ

But seriously...

NJ has had plenty of rain in my estimation this year so far. I have had several out of staters visit lately and exclaim that they never realized things were so lush in the Garden State. The, just broken this evening, heatwave has been a mere diversion from an otherwise easy year for golf course maintenance. Up to two weeks ago I was cutting my lawn like crazy to keep up with the surging grass.

When balls hitting the ground leave pitch Mark's and don't go more than a foot or two, it's not from the rains in early June.
When grass is green with little or no rain over the last few weeks, it's not because of the rains in early June.

Perhaps your house lies in a dry microclimate between short hills?

?

[PCCraig]

Everything is getting pretty brown up here in Minneapolis-St. Paul. This past week the cities reached 100* two days in a row for the first time...ever. (According to the Paul Douglas weather blog that I follow). The greens at my place have gotten slower (higher cut and no rolling for the last week or two), but otherwise the ball is bouncing and rolling like crazy.

[Mark McKeever]

the grass is green.

I would have thought that the predominant tint would have been that Brownish-yellowish-greenish tint.

I've also noticed that I'm not getting much roll.

My lawn, which doesn't get watered and doesn't have much traffic, is brownish-yellowish-greenish.

Are memberships at fault ?

Do Supers have to be defensive due to membership perspective and expectations ?

WHY aren't we seeing the grass at it's natural tint given the weather conditions ?

Pat, you're missing out!  Schuylkill is dry, firm, and fast!

Mark

[jeffwarne]

Try maintaing your yard at 11 on the stimp and having a lot of traffic and see how well it holds up at 100 degrees

[C. Squier]

Try maintaing your yard at 11 on the stimp and having a lot of traffic and see how well it holds up at 100 degrees

+1

I'd imagine firm and fast is a tough balance at 85*. I can't imagine keeping it that way at 100*. Just be glad we're not getting a ton of rain with this heat, we'd be seeing the same thing that shut down a bunch of Philly courses a couple years ago. My club dodged that bullet in Chicago because our super let things go a little furrier than normal while most other area clubs lost a material amount of turf. My vote would always go to turf health first, playing conditions second.

[Anthony_Nysse]

Gentleman,
  Because of the last 2 awful summers, there have been several products come out that actually have the ability to block harmful UV rays, while giving hte turf a nearly artificial appearence. The grass LOVES these pigments and they are loaded with phosphites! In fact, Scott May, former Superintendent at  Manufacters, developed Turf Screen and it cant even be kept on the shelves right now. It's has REALLY helped Supts fight off disease, localized dry spots and maintain turf health. Ask him about it-Several sproducts are called Turf Screen, Par, Foursome and Signature. All have UV prevention abilities.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jeff & C,

The problem you and others have is that you're too young.

You have no experience and no recall on how fairways were maintained in the 50's and 60's when summer fairways were almost always brownish-yellowish-greenish and played fast and firm.

Thanks to automated irrigation, and TV, memberships have come to conclude that "color" is the most important goal/asset for fairways, greens and tees, rather than fast and firm playing conditions, thus the grass has become dependent upon considerable volumes of  water.

Only a drought with restrictions or a dramatic increase in the cost of water will quickly  change the "green is paramount" mindset.

Jeff,  my lawn endures the neighborhood  kids constantly playing lacrosse, football and soccer.
It hasn't been artificially watered in decades, getting it fast and firm wouldn't be a problem if I was preparing it for next season.

[Doug Braunsdorf]

Pat,

  I haven't played up north in NJ during June or July, but I can tell you Greate Bay is playing firm as well.  We're getting fliers from the rough, and on many of our holes where one can run it in, I've found the play has been to club down one and run it on. 

I had Jason Mandel out on Thursday and the staff was syringing certain spots of the course, not all.  We had a good time and enjoyed the firm conditions. 

A ball from the fairway, say, with a short iron will leave a small pitchmark and you would be able to hold the green.  Long iron, hybrid, or fairway metal may release through the green. 

We have a few "backboards" in our greens (5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 18) that I would like to see a little firmer or quicker, but otherwise, course is playing great.  Come down.

[PCCraig]

Jeff & C,

The problem you and others have is that you're too young.

You have no experience and no recall on how fairways were maintained in the 50's and 60's when summer fairways were almost always brownish-yellowish-greenish and played fast and firm.

Patrick,

You remember playing golf on F&F conditions in the 50's? How old are you?

[Mike Nuzzo]

Anthony
Do you think sunscreen for grass is a good thing?
Cheers

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jeff & C,

The problem you and others have is that you're too young.

You have no experience and no recall on how fairways were maintained in the 50's and 60's when summer fairways were almost always brownish-yellowish-greenish and played fast and firm.

Patrick,

You remember playing golf on F&F conditions in the 50's? How old are you?

PCraig,

Let's put it this way, I"ve been on Medicare for over five (5) years 

[Ryan DeMay]

Anthony
Do you think sunscreen for grass is a good thing?
Cheers

Mike,

Not to steal Tony's thunder but, I'll add in my two cents.

Any product or device that can lower canopy temperatures of turf, especially as ambient air temperature escalates above 90° F, is a good thing in my opinion.  Heat stress and drought stress are two mutually inclusive events, wherein we can have one or the other, and sometimes both conditions at the same time.  For instance turf that has deep roots and adequate soil moisture (i.e. not under drought stress) but, is being exposed to ambient air temperatures of 90° F plus and canopy temperatures upwards of 100° F (under heat stress).  Turf Screen and some of the other products mentioned create a physical barrier that serves two main functions:

• Reflects certain wavelengths of light energy that limits the amount of heating within the plant.
• Reduces the effects of UVB ray damage to plant tissue, very similar to what happens in our own skin.

By using these products during periods of extreme heat, superintendents can effectively reduce the burden of heat stress on the turf.  While there is still a lot of work to be done with these products, the results that superintendents are seeing throughout the country are pretty amazing.  The caveat here is that these products are not a cure all or a silver bullet.  Doing the right things culturally throughout the year and leading up to a hot stretch of weather are much more important than simply applying one of these products.  They look like they will be another well conceived tool for superintendents to use when things get hotter than normal.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Ryan, et. al.,

Rather than chemical additives, wouldn't the grass be better off if it was weaned from its dependence on excessive volumes of water ?

Volumes required to keep it green ?