Winter Update

The record breaking winter of 2014 produced widespread turf loss throughout the Northeast and Canada.  Here at Huntsville we suffered significant damage to three of our greens; # 4, # 5 and # 6.  So far, the winter of 2015 is proving to be just as cold and brutal as last years.  February was particularly bad as we did not go more than 2 consecutive days without at least a trace amount of snow and broke several low temperature records.  One morning we had a temperature of -13 degrees on our weather station.  Needless to say we are quite concerned about the health of our greens and are looking for ways to avoid a repeat of last spring.  

With that in mind, we have been closely monitoring the conditions of the greens.  Around the middle of January we discovered an ice layer under the snow on several of our greens. Once the ice layer formed, we knew that the clock was ticking.  Our greens are a mixture of Bentgrass and Poa annua.  Bentgrass is very cold hardy and can easily survive 120 days under continuous ice cover.  Poa annua, on the other hand, is very susceptible to ice damage.  The rule of thumb is that Poa annua can only survive under ice for 30 to 45 days.  

In mid February we pulled samples of turf from the greens that had the ice layer.  The samples were then brought inside and placed in a window sill for observation.  Within a few days the plugs greened up and began to grow.  This was an encouraging sign but we were still concerned. 

Using a cordless drill to remove a plug from the green.

Plugs inside for observation.

 

The plugs a week later.

On Monday March 2, with warmer temperatures forecasted for the weekend, we made the decision to remove the snow from greens # 4, # 5, # 6, and # 9. Using a snow blower, we removed snow that in many places was over 2 feet deep.  It took some work but in the end we prevailed. What we found was that while some areas of the greens had ice a few inches thick many areas had little to no ice.  By removing the snow and exposing the ice to the warmer temperatures and sunlight I feel that we will see most of the ice disappear.  

Beginning to remove snow from #5 green.

The snow was deep.

The finished product.

If the ice layer persists, our next step will be to apply a black dyed sand to the greens.  The black sand absorbs sunlight, heats up and speeds up the melting process.  

Although it is far too early to determine if we suffered any turf loss, I am optimistic based on what I have observed so far.  Going forward we will continue to closely monitor the greens and take whatever action necessary to avoid turf loss.  Keep your fingers crossed and pray for an early spring.

Preparing for Winter

Last year's winter proved to be one of the longest coldest winters that we have experience in this area in quite some time.  As a result we lost some turf, primarily on greens 4, 5, and 6.  I wanted to share with you some changes that we have made heading into this winter that will hopefully reduce the likelihood of this type of damage from occurring again.

First you need to understand what leads to turf loss in the winter.  The main causes of turf loss in the winter include; crown hydration, low temperature kill, desiccation, fungal diseases and ice sheets.  Let's examine each of these and find out what we have done to help prevent them from causing damage this winter.


Crown Hydration.

In the fall grass plants prepare themselves for winter by moving water out of their cells (de-hydrate).  This process commonly referred to as hardening off.  If plants did not go through this process, the water in their cells would freeze, expand and rupture the cell walls causing the plant to die.  Some grasses, particularly Poa annua, when exposed to warm temperatures are quick to re-hydrate their cells.  If the warm temperatures that caused the plant to re-hydrate are then followed by a period of cold temperatures the cells could rupture.  This typically occurs in the late winter or early spring.

If you allow grass plants to set in above freezing water during the day as the snow melts and then expose the plants to cold night time temperatures you greatly increase your chances of turf loss through crown hydration.  Anything that can be done to prevent water from running onto the green and then getting it off the green as quickly as possible will help reduce the chance of this type of damage from occurring.

First we looked at how we might help the water get off the greens quickly.  When inspecting #4 and #5 greens we could see that the collar in front of the green was at a slightly higher height than the green surface.  Caused by years of applying sand topdressing to the greens, this sand build up in the collar was essentially creating a dam.To fix this we stripped the sod in front of the greens, re-graded the soil and then replaced the sod.

Lowering the front of #4 green

We also performed a deep tine aeration on greens 4, 5 and 6.  We used a special aerifier that used solid 1/2" diameter tines that went down 10" deep into the green.  Our plan is to leave these holes open so that as the snow melts the water will run down into these holes and keep the crowns of the plants from sitting in a pool of water.

Deep tine aerifying #4 green

Next we looked at preventing water from flowing onto the greens.  The 5th green and the 6th green both had areas that could be improved so that less water would run onto the greens.

On the 5th hole we installed a drain line and catch basin to the left of the green.  Our hope is that this new drainage will catch water coming off the hillside and direct it away from the green

Installing drainage on the hillside above #5 green

Likewise on the 6th green we identified an area where water from the cart path was moving down onto the green.  To correct this we added some mounding along the cart path which will divert water away from the green.

Preparing to add mounding along #6 cart path

Low Temperature Kill and Desiccation

Just as the name suggest low temperature kill is caused by exposing the turf to extremely low temperatures particularly when the weather changes rapidly and you get a drastic drop in the temperature.  Bentgrass can tolerate temperatures down to -30 degrees while poa annua can only tolerate temperatures down to -10 degrees.

Desiccation can also lead to turf loss and is caused by cold winter winds blowing across exposed turf leading to the plants to drying out.  The best insurance against both these types of damage is a good layer of snow.  Snow is a great insulator and the temperature at the surface under the snow will typically be right around 32 degrees even on the coldest days.

Unfortunately snow is not always present in the winter so to help protect the turf from these two forms of damage, late in the year, we apply a heavy layer of sand to the greens.  This layer of sand covers the crowns of the grass plants and acts to insulate the plants.

Topdressing greens with sand

Fungal Diseases

Fungal diseases that occur in the winter are generally called snow mold.  There are two types of snow mold, gray snow mold and pink snow mold.  Gray snow mold requires extended periods of snow cover while pink snow mold can occur with or without snow cover.  Both types of snow mold can cause extensive damage over the winter.  To prevent this we apply a protective fungicide late in the year to the greens, tees and fairways.

Spraying for snow mold

Ice Sheets

While snow is beneficial to the turf in the winter, ice is bad.  One of the hardest decisions to make in the winter is when and if to remove ice from the greens.  The rule of thumb is that Poa annua can survive 60 days under continuous ice cover, while bentgrass can tolerate 120 days.  We will closely monitor the formation of ice on the greens this winter so that we know how long the ice layer has been on the greens.  Even after knowing how long the ice has been on the green, the decision to remove the ice or not remove the ice is not an easy one.  Sometimes the process of removing the ice can do more harm than good.  Also once the ice is off the greens you then expose the turf to low temperatures which could also lead to turf loss.  Never the less, we will keep a close eye on things and cross that bridge when we need to.

One way to help prevent ice from remaining on the greens for long periods of time in the first place is to allow more sunlight to reach the greens.  If you look at the greens that were damaged last year you will notice that they all share the same characteristic of being surrounded by dense trees.  Without sunlight reaching these greens during the day the ice tends to last much longer on these greens than it does on other greens.  To help correct this we have removed several trees around these greens but more will likely need to be removed in the future.

Tree removal to allow more sunlight to reach #6 green

As you can see we have taken several steps to help prevent loosing turf again this winter.  However there are no guarantees. Ultimately we are still at the mercy of Mother Nature.  Hopefully with some good preparation, some close monitoring and a little luck we will make it though the winter unscathed and be ready to go next spring.

Road to recovery

The road to recovery has begun.  On Friday April 25th we over-seeded the 5th green with creeping bentgrass.  The following is a description of  the process we used.

The first step is to prepare the green for seeding by using a special tool called a Job Saver tine. These tines make small shallow holes in the green that hold the bentgrass seed.

Aerifying #5 Green with Job Saver tines

Holes made by Job Saver tines

 Next we seeded creeping bentgrass into the open holes.

Seeding with bentgrass

 Once the seed is down, we apply a layer of sand to the green and then work the sand into the holes with a drag brush.

Topdressing with sand

Brushing in the sand

After the sand is brushed into the holes we roll the green, irrigate and cover with a tarp.  The tarp will act like a greenhouse to help heat up the soil.  For bentgrass seed to germinate we need soil temperatures in the 60 degree range.  With the right environmental conditions bentgrass usually germinates in 5 to 7 days.  We still have a ways to go but these are the first steps in getting the greens to recover.

Holes filled with sand and seed

Tarp covering green

Winter Update

As winter continues to linger there is a growing concern among many superintendents in the northeast as to what effect this winter will have on the turf. 

Snow cover is good for the golf course.  Snow acts as an insulating blanket that protects the grass from the extreme low temperatures and harsh winter winds.  Ice on the other hand is not good.  Ice covering the turf prevents CO₂ gas from escaping into the atmosphere.  Prolonged exposure to high levels of CO₂ can lead to turf loss.  As a rule of thumb bentgrasses can tolerate up to 120 days under ice cover while Poa annua can only survive about 45 days.  Because our greens at Huntsville are a mixture of bentgrass/ Poa annua and we are approaching 45 days under snow and ice coverage, my assistant Casey Sheehan and I went for a walk around the course to inspect the greens for possible injury.

Our first stop was the 8^th green.  This green was covered with about 3 inches of snow and a 1/2” thick layer of ice.  We removed the ice and looked at the turf underneath.  Everything looked good.  Most importantly, when we uncovered the turf, we were not meet with “the smell of death”.  “The smell of death” is a term superintendents like to use to describe the odor that dead turf gives off under ice.

Next we proceeded down to the 4^th and 5^th greens.  These greens had about 5 inches of snow covering a 2 inch thick layer of ice.  The thick ice and melting snow made it a little harder to see the turf but from what we observed the grass still looks good.

We also took a small sample of the green and brought it back the maintenance building for observation.  If the grass greens up and starts to grow, we will know that the turf is still healthy.

There is much debate about the best way to deal with ice on a green.  Some superintendents choose to remove the ice.  However there are two problems with removing the ice.  First, the process of removing the ice itself can cause significant damage to the green.  Secondly, if you remove the ice and expose the turf to warm temperatures and then get a period of low temperatures you can lose turf through what is known as crown hydration.

Based on what we have observed so far, we have decided to leave the snow and ice in place and continue to monitor the health of the greens.  If it is determined that the ice is causing problems then at that point we will take the necessary steps to prevent further turf loss.

Some parts of the golf course have already lost its snow cover.  All of these exposed areas look good.  We have not seen any ice damage and there is no sign of snow mold.  Snow mold is a fungus that can attack the turf in the winter.  We treat for this disease preventativly in the fall and I am happy to say that those applications seem to have been effective.

With warmer temperatures in the forecast, we hope to loose a lot of the remaining snow cover and prevent any ice damage from occurring.

Happy Valentines Day


We had about an inch of snow last night.  Here are some photos I took of the golf course this morning.

Front Entrance



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