Look who decided to show up - Summer

80 degrees could be argued as the perfect temperature not too hot but enjoyable unless that is the temperature at 5:15 in the morning as was the case today. Summer has arrived in all its glory hot and humid weather with dewpoints above 70 and night time temperatures to match. The recent weather scenario is a very scary one for a golf course superintendent as the disease pressure is very high and the turf especially poa annua is beginning to struggle. Cool season turf normally recovers from the heat of the day at night but when temperature are above 70 degrees at night the plant struggles to produce the necessary carbohydrates to recover. Water management is at a premium this time of year as too much water will increase soil temperature and create a hot bed for disease activity so hoses are used throughout the day to keep enough moisture to prevent wilt but not saturate the root zone. The one benefit of humidity is that areas in our rough where we do not have irrigation especially on bunker banks stay moist and green. As the humidity drops but temperature stay high these rough areas will begin to go dormant and turn brown. We have less of these areas as we have added irrigation through the years but many are still prevalent.

The crew and I would like to thank the ladies division for providing lunch and dessert for us on Friday July 5th. The crew was provided Italian heroes, fried chicken, homemade side dishes, watermelon and homemade desserts. The crew and I are very appreciative of the generosity from the ladies as a full stomach made the hot afternoon a little more enjoyable.

Irons are used on many shots here at MGC and most of the time divots are created both on tees and in the fairways. During the hot summer months many of divots that are replaced will not heal so we ask that you fill the divot with the mix provided on the carts to help establish new turf in the weeks to come. If you are a walking golfer without a divot bottle please make all efforts to  replace the divot even though it will not survive a smooth playing surface will remain. Please do not use the divot mix in the rough as the mix contains bentgrass seed which is not a desired turf species for our rough.

The flooding rains on Monday washed out many of the bunkers including the ones with liners but the following picture show why liners are important. The bunker without the liner allowed rocks and silt to enter the sand where as the bunker with the liner kept the sand contaminate free.

Rocks and Silt Contamination

No Contamination-Liner