Pythium Out Break

Due to perfect weather conditions the last few weeks we had some pythium develop on the course.  Hot days and nights with high humidity is ideal for the development of pythium.  We had preventive fungicides in place but the conditions were so favorable that we had some break through over the week end.  If you look closely you will be able to see the disease throughout the property.  Unfortunately rye grass is very susceptible to the disease and under the right conditions it can wipe out an entire golf course in just a few days. We were able to get out on monday and spray for the disease, it appears to be in check at this point.

Storm Damage

The storm that blew through on Friday had strong winds that knocked many limbs and sticks down.  Lightning also struck a tree on hole 7.

 This is what we dealt with Saturday morning.

This is what is remaining and should be cleaned up by the end of the week. Thanks again for the cooperation.

Due to the rain today we will not be running carts the rest of the day. Standing water high temperatures and carts do not mix. Thanks for the cooperation and as always your understanding.

Extreme Heat

With the extreme heat water management is more important
than ever. We will be watering less at night and more syringing
during the day to help keep the plant cool.  This also allows us
to keep surfaces dry and firm.

Below is a letter from Dr. Vargas of Michigan State relating to the
tempertures this week.

The hot weather is here and more importantly so are the warm nights. When the nighttime temperatures stay above 68 F, diseases like anthracnose and crown rot anthracnose, brown patch and Pythium blight become a problem. If the warm nights are accompanied by heavy rain showers, then summer patch will also be a problem. If you have not made preventive fungicide applications for these diseases they should be made now. If any of these diseases are already present, curative fungicide applications should be made before the diseases become worse. Remember, if the disease is present, systemic fungicides need to be applied so they can enter the plant and stop the fungus from destroying more tissue. Also, these hot temperatures will stop root growth and cause any roots already present to suberize. This means the turfgrass root systems will not be functioning very well. This is the time to bypass the root system and foliar feed the turf. Needless to say, these hot temperatures will require a lot of hand watering to keep the turf alive. Good luck to everyone and try to stay cool.

Dr. Joe Vargas

MSU Turf Team

New Pump

Yesterday our front pump along the driving range was replaced.  We use 2 pumps to irrigate the property this one was last replaced in 1994. Below are some pictures, you can see the damage to the pump caused by our poor water quality.

 This is the actual pump that sits at the bottom of the well on 70 feet of column. You can see the blackening from the sulfur water.

 This is the pump intake and what is left of the screen.

 This is what the intake screen used to look like.

This is the new pump being lowered into the pump house and down the well.  After a few finishing touches today we should be back up and running at full capacity.

Monday Maintenance

Due to the very dry conditions of late we solid tined greens today, followed by the hydroject machine. The aerifiction allows us to relieve some stress, compaction and vent the greens for a few days. The venting will allow CO2 to escape and some well needed O2 to hopefully enter the root zone.  The holes are very small and should not affect ball roll.

 This is the green after we solid tine.

 This is the hydroject that uses high pressure water to create a very small hole. We also inject wetting agent at the same time allowing the green to be more receptive to irrigation water. The holes will be anywhere from 6 to 8 inches deep, but are not very visible.  Under the current drought conditions and our poor irrigation water we will due this 2 to 4 times a month.

We followed all of this with a light topdress.  We topdress every week with light sand, this allows us to keep greens firm and as smooth as possible.