With We Live, Without We Perish

Without it we cannot thrive, our metabolic process is disrupted, our cells lose rigidity, respiration and temperature increase because we cannot cool ourselves; that very important thing we cannot survive without is water.  The same principles are relative to the grass that is vital to the quality of the property as well as the overall playability of the course.  With a lack of water, plants much like humans begin to lose their turgor pressure, which helps to keep the plant structure rigid.  This is accompanied by the breakdown of chlorophyll, the primary pigment used to produce food that is vital to survival.  You factor in the heat of the summer, with a lack of water, you get a recipe for disaster.  The plant is using more food than it is producing, while the cellular structure slowly begins to degrade because an essential need is lacking.  This eventually will lead to death if not remedied in a timely manner.

Now unlike the human body, too much water can also cause issues and in many cases it can be more detrimental than too little water.  The plant can expel excess water through their leaves much like we can via sweat glands, however with excessively wet soils the likelihood for disease is greatly increased.  Excessive wetness also does not bode well for foot traffic, hundreds of golfers a day walk on the small greens whose leaf blades are succulent with too much water.  Thus imposing damage from compaction and the twisting of spikes.  One also has to take into account that water holds heat very well, so when the sun heats the earth, which then incidentally heats the air the soil can get to extreme temperatures.  The soil will generally be a few degrees warmer than the air, so in that regard with too much water we can essentially cook the roots eventually leading to their death.

So it is our most pressing duty to maintain a healthy balance that will promote plant health, while also providing the golfer with a great playing surface.  You may have seen employees out walking the greens and probing them with a purple utensil, this small tool is a very valuable piece of equipment that allows us get a reading on soil moisture.  With these meters we are able to determine at what percentage the greens will wilt, and which percentage deems it wet, allowing us to make decisions on if, when, and how much water we need to put down.  This also allows us to focus on only those spots that are dry, rather than watering spots that already have sufficient moisture.  We also have soil moisture sensors that are actually buried in a number of greens on the course.  These sensors relay information such as soil temperatures, soil moisture, salinity and a number of other indicators back to us, to allow us to make a more informed decision when considering to water.

Hand held soil moisture meters that are used by employees when checking greens to help
determine whether or not water needs to be applied.

We have a couple great tools at our disposal to help in our pursuit to maintain great playing surfaces, however with that being said it's difficult to substitute a good eye.  The men handwatering are trained to identify physical characteristics of the plant, which helps to ascertain drying spots much easier.  As the plant begins to wilt, it will transition from green to a sheen of white (at which time your footprints will remain visible), then from white to purple (signaling the breakdown of chlorophyll), and if not dealt with in a timely fashion from purple to brown/black (aka. dead turf).  All this can take place in a matter of hours depending on the weather, so it is crucially important to have a great team, equipped with the right tools out there to stave off any significant wilt.  So if you find yourself wondering what the guys probing the greens and waving their hoses around are doing, remember they're keeping the greens is great shape for play.  Also, now that we're heading into July and August I'm sure you'll see them on a more frequent basis.

Presence of footprints during the initial stages of wilt.

Turf that experienced heat stress, leading to a brown thinning stand of turf.

Can Brown be the New Green?

The US Open has come and gone, and the hosting course looked fantastic, if you're in the minority who see brown as the new green.  In a day and age when a well manicured golf course is the norm for member expectations, Pinehurst has reverted back to a more retro and rustic look more akin to the early nineteen hundreds.  From a longevity standpoint, it's a fantastic management approach with water restrictions only getting more stringent, and the cost off maintaining larger parcels of land becoming increasingly expensive.  Pinehurst has removed approximately 55 acres of rough, switched to a single row irrigation system, and has strong varieties of grass (bentgrass) capable of withstanding extreme summer conditions.  It was mentioned that their water usage has been reduced by 70 percent, an extraordinary amount especially at courses that use a municipal or city water supply.  That's incredible savings, no matter what part of the country you're from.

To give you some perspective to the resiliency of bentgrass, Pinehurst has greens of the same variety as our bentgrass greens (3,6,11,16,18) that withstand a substantially hotter climate.  Bentgrass is very efficient grass that requires little water to remain healthy, or at least within a tolerable health range.  Thus you can push these greens to the brink, yielding firm and fast putting surfaces that many golfers would rather not experience.  It's a very interesting approach to course maintenance, reducing water inputs, using the most efficient varieties of grass, and adding acres of no maintenance naturalized areas to become a more vigilant steward for the environment.  There are also benefits stemming from becoming more environmentally responsible.  For instance drier conditions help reduce disease outbreak, because most diseases are fungi that require sufficient moisture to encourage growth.  Also with improved varieties of grass such as the newer bentgrasses, you can stretch your chemical application window much further, thus saving money as well as reducing inputs on the golf course.  As with everything I'm sure there are cons to the transition as well such as initial cost and disruption to play, the question would then have to be do the pros outweigh the cons?  It's a very interesting proposition making the change, it makes great sense.  However where issues arise, is the reception by golfers and members.  It begs the questions are members ready for a change to a course that's not lush green, and one that offers aesthetic value they're not used to seeing?

Pinehurst before renovation with a nice lush green appearance.

Pinehurst following the renovation displaying a more rugged and dried out look.  Looking for more roll on your drives,
this is what you want.

Weather is to Friend as Enemy is to Weather

The course has been playing fantastic through the beginning of June, with true putting surfaces, tight healthy fairways, and great weather to enjoy the game of golf.  The recent weather has been ideal for providing great playing conditions, and at this point we're hoping the weather stays in our favor.  Mild weather makes things more enjoyable for both the golfer as well as the turf.  Sound agronomic principles and there timely implementation are necessary to maintain highly manicured turf. Fertilizing, irrigation, mowing and topdressing all help produce great golf conditions.  However, the one variable we have no control over that has as much to say about the condition of the course as anything is the weather. The greens department has really been working quite efficiently this season, and through the beginning of June the weather has been fantastic for plant health.  So the combination of hard work and favorable weather has provided great conditions with healthy turf, fantastic playability, and great resiliency and vigor.  You can expect the work ethic of the greens department to sustain energy and consistency throughout the season, the same can't be said for the weather unfortunately.

With mild daytime temperatures and cool night temperatures, the plant has the ability to build more carbohydrate (energy) reserves than it uses (this is good for the grass).  As the weather gets hotter and more severe in July and August the dynamic flips and the plant begins to burn more carbohydrates than it can produce (the grass gets weaker).  Did you ever wonder why the U.S. Open is played the second week of June every year?  One of the reasons is that the turf at nearly all of the U.S.Open sites is at its strongest and able to tolerate all the mowing, rolling and moisture stress necessary to produce the extreme conditions.

Temperature is the driving force in this process, root zones thrive in a soil temperature range of 50-65 degrees, but during the peak of the summer when soil temperature reach upper 80's to mid 90's the roots lose their ability to function properly, and they begin to die leaving us with a root zone relegated to the upper inch of the soil.  Not to mention nighttime temperatures during the summer don't offer much relief to the plant, because many times they fail to cool substantially.  Everyone can relate, it's 70 degrees out with a cool breeze so deciding to go for a run is a no brainer, however at 95 and humid you're tired thinking about running and excited about the prospect of air conditioning.  A bit dense of an information download but, it's important to know that during the stressful time of the season courses across the country back off the accelerator a bit to maintain a healthy stand of turf.  That doesn't mean the conditions aren't great, it simply means that necessary precautions are taken to preserve the health of the turf, and as a result you don't have your fastest greens of the season.  So if you find that in the heat of the summer the greens aren't as quick as in May/June or September/October, it's our adaptation to the harsh weather to prevent turf loss, while still providing you with the best conditions possible.  If you're interested please check out the link below to gain more insight.

Summer Stress...It's a HOT subject

A look at the third green.

Looking at the 6th green from the fairway.

The picturesque 15th green from the fairway.

To portray how the turf feels during different times of the year, imagine the turf on the left feeling pretty good in May, while the turf on the right is feeling less than ideal in August.

The Best Offense is a Good Defense

Not a glamorous week, but a very productive one with far reaching implications.  Many vital chemical applications were made, targeting pests that could potentially cause many adverse effects to the overall health of the turf.  Throughout the season the course is for a lack of better words under attack, be it from insects, diseases, temperature, and moisture stress, and this typically rages on until the weather breaks in the fall.  Now, apart from sound agronomic practices, particular chemicals and products are our last line of defense when keeping the wide variety of pests at bay.  This week many of the products applied were root absorbed or soil sprays, thus the irrigation system was used in earnest to assure the product was washed through the turf canopy and into the soil profile.  Without ample water to wash the product into the soil profile, the chemical is essentially rendered useless, and it becomes a fiscally irresponsible application.  So if you find conditions aren't as firm as the weather would lead you to believe this week, rest assured we were using the irrigation system to properly apply very important chemicals.  We at the greens department also wanted to put your minds at ease.  We know spraying has a particular stigma within the golfing community, and while most portray the chemicals as agents of death many are rather innocuous.  Most chemicals applied on golf courses are the same chemicals applied to staple agricultural crops, not that that is great.  However, to put things in perspective many of the chemicals when in solution are less toxic than your household Windex product.  Rest assured we don't make applications light-heartedly, safety before all else is our priority.

The fairways were also fertilized using a granular material this week in order to provide a sustained nitrogen source into the middle of the summer.  We will likely experience a flush of growth in the near future, but it should help to rapidly heal the verticut lines on fairways, and really sharpen things up leading into our member-guest tournaments.  This granular application was also watered in to prevent foliar burn.  Fertilizers are essentially salts, so when they sit on the leave blade water exits the leaf to help dilute the salt.  In doing so the leaf dries out and becomes discolored and could potentially die.  Same concept as having salt on your skin or in an open wound, it pulls moisture out and dries things at a pretty rapid pace.  In all, the greens department is poised leading into the busy month of June, and we hope you're enjoying the playing conditions.