Frost and seed head review

Now that spring is officially here, we thought it was a good time to review some relevant topics.

First- Frost delay. We had some very nice golfing weather last weekend that was preceded by very cold mornings. This inevitably leads to many golfers lingering around the clubhouse, practice areas, and pro shop. It is important to remember that during a frost delay, the entire Grounds are closed. If there is frost in one place, it is everywhere. If the course is closed, the practice areas are closed, including the driving range tee. Also, the clubhouse lawns have frost on them and will be damaged from foot traffic. Here is a past post with more information on frost.

Second- Seed head control. Our greens are predominantly Poa annua, annual bluegrass. It can be the worst grass- a weed in most other situations. It can be very intolerant of heat and stress. It can also be the one of the best grasses- it can provide very firm and fast putting surfaces. For us, the turf performs very well, but not perfectly. One if its Achilles heels is the seed head production in the spring. The plant is an annual as the name suggests, so each spring a new seed is produced. These seed heads are unsightly, and very troublesome for putting in particular. There are several strategies and chemicals to mitigate this flush of seeds, and in fact the first step actually starts in December of the year prior. We then work through early spring timing our applications based on Growing Degree Days (GDD). Here are two related posts for seed head control: GDD model and seed head control test.

We are happy to be into spring and ready to get the growing (and golfing) season underway.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

When parking your cart at a tee or green, please keep all 4 tires on the path

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

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org