Bermuda grass green up

It seems like the last several blogs have all started with a recap of how changeable the weather has been. And that changeable weather has played tricks on the Bermuda grass some more. Overall, the Bermuda grass is very healthy and will get its green color back, but last week’s cold night (26 degrees!) postponed any quick start to its growing season.

Breaking dormancy for any turf is a process that can’t be rushed. More importantly, it can’t really be controlled either. We have a few tactics that we employ, more so in the fall than in the spring, to help aid the Bermuda grass, but Mother Nature is in charge and we must adapt.

Watching the Bermuda grass green up each season can be fast and slow at the same time! Sometimes it feels like the fairways and tees will never be in mid-summer form when enduring spring days of 50-degree highs and mid 30’s overnight. Then suddenly, just like this year, we hit a few upper 70 or higher degree days and- boom- the Bermuda grass seems to fill in overnight. Recently, the USGA published a short time-lapse video of Bermuda grass greening up in spring in North Carolina and it helps to illustrate the process the turf goes through and that it is not always a linear process. You can watch the video here: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/64/issue-07/spring-greenup--a-turfgrass-transformation.html

After watching the video, there were a couple of things that stood out to us. First, high traffic areas don’t green up nearly as fast as other spots. Especially areas just off greens where foot traffic concentrates walking on and off greens. There are a couple of areas that aren’t even fully green within the timeframe of the video, even in a considerably warmer climate than ours. This is very similar to several of our trouble spots- like 3, 14, and 15 approaches. While traffic isn’t the only issue, it is clear from this video that it is a significant factor.

A photo looking back down 10 fairway

The second key detail we noticed from the video relates to drainage, which we got a glimpse of from the rainstorms that occurred during the video. Areas where water puddled or was slower to drain or move off the surface are places where green up was slow again. In the video, some of the same areas that had concentrated wear were also slow to drain. This relates to compaction stemming from the increased traffic. We can draw similarities from the course in the video to Bretton Woods again relating to drainage. The same trouble areas in the approaches are areas where water has been slow to drain. Even if the area is sloped, the soil is poor enough that it becomes waterlogged and can’t dry down. This is especially bad during the winter months, when freezing temperatures can kill overly hydrated Bermuda grass.

Over the last several years, we have worked to install drainage in these specific locations- 3 approach was done a few years ago, 14 approach 2 years ago, and 15 approach was completed this past fall. Although the drains haven’t solved the issue- we still have repair work to do in all these areas- it has improved our chances of Bermuda grass survival. We have also started a deep aeration program aimed at these spots in particular using our vertical aerating machine  which will help open the soil down much deeper than regular aeration. The Verti-quake is literally a very slow machine- we must drive just under 1 mph- but it is also a slow process to change soil structure, so it doesn’t cure conditions overnight, but coupled with our compost program , we are on the right track. (Note- the blog post discussed the Shockwave, but we purchased an identical machine from a different manufacturer called the Verti-quake)

Although the Bermuda grass has a yellow hue right now, it won’t last all season. As daytime temperatures and soil temperatures climb up to their summer peaks, the turf will naturally regain its color. And we will be working alongside making sure we are helping in any way possible.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please keep carts on cart paths for the entirety of par 3 holes.

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

Golf Cart tips

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org