Winter weed spray

We have begun our winter weed treatment program. We are making spot treatments on tees and fairways.

As we discussed in December, we wanted to wait a little later into the winter to begin spraying weeds. Although the Bermuda grass has been brown and visually dormant for a long time, it can actually take much longer for the very deepest parts of the plant to harden off.

The blue tinted areas are where the
spray was applied. You can see
large areas where there is no blue
that no chemical was necessary.

Although the temperatures can swing wildly, the actual main driver of dormancy is soil temperatures. And the soil temperatures do not fluctuate like the air temperature. The soil temperatures have been steadily dropping since the fall and we are now well into a safe time to begin our applications.

Last week we started our tee and approach applications. These will take place over several weeks because we must do it with a backpack sprayer. The tees are too small and confined to work with our big 300-gallon sprayer, especially considering that anything that gets sprayed will die. We can’t take the chance of accidentally spraying the rough around the tees.

We also started and completed the spot spraying of fairways. This process consists of driving our large sprayer up and down the fairways, but only spraying where weeds are present. This is a very targeted and efficient application, which uses a very limited amount of chemical.

Prior to the Bermuda grass damage sustained in the winter of 2017/2018, we were nearly weed free in all Bermuda grass and had not made a winter weed application in 2 years. Starting with this winter’s treatment, we are working to get back to a clean slate.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not try and remove a flag stick that is frozen into the cup. Turf damage may occur.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org