Fairway plugging progress

We have written before about our efforts to plug Bermuda grass from our nursery into the fairways. This year, we are doing the process again; however, we have far less area to cover this year.

We believe that some of the programs we have instituted to help the Bermuda grass fend off and recover from Spring Dead Spot (SDS) are working. We compare pictures from previous years, we take notes about the first day we mow each year, and other indicators. We can also determine some of our progress by how many or how few areas of actual SDS remain later into the season.

This year we have seen fewer spots remain than in years past. We just recently wrote about how we had seen some success plugging Bermuda grass from year to year. We also originally broke the idea two years ago, which is detailed here. We are continuing the process this year. However, this year, we only need to do certain holes, rather than across the entire golf course. Thinking back on the weather in May, it was cool, cloudy, and wet, which are three of the worst conditions for Bermuda grass. Our Bermuda grass proved this point. It was lackluster, flat, and thin in several areas. In the last two weeks we have seen the best, and truly only, good Bermuda grass growing weather all year. The turf responded accordingly. Most thin areas have resolved themselves, the turf looks and acts much more vigorous, and good growth has started. Due to this, many areas that were weak from SDS have already recovered.

The SDS areas on holes 5 and 11 are the worst and we will be focusing our efforts here first. We will follow the same procedure as the past and fill in as many areas as possible with healthy grass from our nursery. We will also be adding another test product on both of these fairways that will provide another experiment to go with the others detailed here.

Staying aggressive against SDS is the only way to combat the disease. We will continue our compost, our chemical applications, our cultural practices, and test products to help the Bermuda grass. In the end, putting healthy grass in these areas is the last resort. However, we are seeing progress and as always, once the weather cooperates, the Bermuda grass is off and running.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

In addition to repairing your own ball mark on every green, please repair at least one other as well.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org