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.