Turf grass 101 - Soil Temperatures and Turfgrass Recovery From Damage

I was having a conversation yesterday about the weather this year, and it made me realize that there are a few basic principles at play with vole damage recovery, and general turf density throughout the course that would be good to explain.  In general we have about a 2 month growing season in Truckee. 

Weather and Temperatures This Year Historical averages

Putting Green late April, 2011

This past epic winter had 5 1/2 months of continuous snow cover.  November 24th, Lahontan received 3 feet of snow, and the course was not completely clear of snow even upon opening May 13th.   Lahontan was the first course in the Tahoe area to open, and was one week delayed from its scheduled opening of May 6th. Once we did open it snowed 3 of the next 5 days. The May mean temperature of 42 was 5 degrees below normal. The average high was 55.  For June the mean average temperature of 52 was 3 degrees below normal, and the mean low at the golf course maintenance weather station site of 36 is a temperature that creates frost on 75% of the course. July was 2 degrees below normal, with an average mean low of 40; Jack Frost showed up 12 days in July. Typically Golf Course Maintenance are the only ones on site at 5:30am when frost is occurring, so it makes sense that in the course of my conversation yesterday I was met with skepticism when mentioning that it has been cold, and frosty in the mornings. You get the point, the temperatures have been much below normal for Truckee which has the distinction for being one of the coldest places in the United States; and Lahontan being in the Martis Valley, is the coldest part of Truckee.  Well, let's just say it is one cold frickin' ride up to the practice area to start my day, making me keenly aware of when it is warm, and when it isn't.

Turf grass Response to Temperature Temperature and Turf Growth
We are now going to talk about soil temperatures, and the plants growth response. In the simplest terms, the grass found here at Lahontan predominately grows its below ground parts (roots, rhizomes) below 55 degrees.  Above 55, shoots, and leaves grow best. Grass seed generally does not germinate, and grow below 55 degrees soil temperature. Soil temperatures this last week taken at 7am, at a 3 inch depth are still below 55. The correlation between growth and temperature is well documented.

Greens rooting seen July 26th, 2011 

There is a reality to these temperatures, and that is: things just don't grow quickly here. Damaged turf takes time to recover, and in no way resembles the rates of growth at elevations below 5,000 feet. The seed, and soil that we are applying to the damaged areas will germinate and grow, but it is not surprising that very little has happened in the way of recovery so far this year.



 Kevin

Tournament Prep "What is That?"

Our most attended event is the Men's Invitational.  Three days of 27 hole shotgun starts, two of which are on 27 holes at 9am.  To get green speeds of 11.5 or more, provide firm and fast conditions, and do it in the hours provided between frost, tournament play, and night time irrigation takes a lot of planning weeks ahead of time.

A quick overview of the highlights:

1) Growth regulators on fairways, and greens are applied before hand to limit growth.  This is a 3 week application interval so the timing needs to be right from the first application of the season, so to not interrupt other tournament events such as the Ladies' Invitational, or the Tin Cup Tournament.
2) Irrigation of fairway, and roughs is relatively heavy the 4 days prior to play to limit the need for hand watering during tournament play, due to limited hours. This starts right after the Ladies' Invitational.
3) Wetting agents, and soil conditioners are applied 1 week prior to assure that the water that is applied penetrates deeply, assuring that the surfaces dry out during the tournaments.  In the case of the Mens' Invitational that is spreading gypsum, and acid injected through the irrigation system. Fairways, and heavy traffic areas are aerified the week before  to assist with water penetration, and alleviate compaction.
4) Fertilizer applications are limited to achieve green speeds, but need to have ingredients that provide health and color to stand up to the foot traffic of play, and the equipment traffic of rollers and mowers.
5) Scheduling of people is critical so that every job is done, and there is no delay to the start of the tournament.  For example. 34 acres of fairways takes about 5 hours to mow. In the morning we have 3.5 hours which means that we need another 1.5 to 2 hours somewhere else in the day to complete the task.  Tournament play is 9am until 5:30pm (if play finishes on time).
6) Topdressing, verticutting, and spiking greens.  This is a regular practice that is critical to good ball roll.  It can not be stopped all together without sacrificing the quality of the course for other events, so timing is everything.  All these practices are dependent upon the amount of growth occuring, so this shedule is the most variable. Cool weather  + growth regulators = little sand or verticutting, and increased spiking and rolling.  This is best left as a day or 2 out decision.  I think of this every day. Groomers or verticutters, topdressing, water interval, fertility and growth regulator schedule are all considered together. True art, and very little science in my opinion.

The other tasks that will happen each day of the tournament.
Mowing. Tees / Greens / Fairways / Approaches / Perimeter Rough / Intermediate cut.
Course Set Up. 3 cup cutters and greens care (think un-repaired ball marks)/ 3 tee set up and prep.
Irrigation. Hand water morning catch up, and afternoon cool down.

So, it will all work out fine logistically, however when you deal with 40 people doing split shifts, with equipment that has to operate without breakdown, and with a high degree of precision, then throw in mother nature (think frost), it can be a night mare if you don't have your stuff together. A small change in plan or the overall schedule is a BIG deal, because everything works in concert.

I have a great crew, adequate equipment, and I love the need for efficiency that goes into these events.  It is thrilling to have everyone planned out, trained, and all your fertilizer, water, and chemical applications go off as good as they can. It is the highlight of my job, and I thrive on these out of the norm days.  My most memorable experience in tournament prep was scheduling the daily work at the Charles Schwab Cup the first year it was at Sonoma.  This was the first time that the Sonoma staff had done anything like that, however for me, my experience planning events at Lahontan made it relatively easy.  I brought in a few key Lahontan staff members to train the Sonoma staff, and everyone did a great job.  One of those key people was Nelson Trejo, who remains to this day as the Shop Manager at Sonoma. An indispensable part of that operation, as there is only one Nelson.



Kevin