What can you say about the winter of 2013-14? Lots of snow?
Heavy winds? Freezing
temperatures? To sum it
up...Unbelievable! This winter is the
worst on record since 1977-78, with no end in sight. Now I know what the golf community is
thinking, "The superintendent is loving the fact that he gets a little
more time off." Quite to the
contrary, I am wishing and hoping for good weather just like the rest of you. I would be much happier out on the grass just
as you, the golfer would. I want to see
green grass just as much as the next guy, that way I would put all my worries
of winter's wrath to bed.
The reason I have winter worries is that the grass is a
living, breathing, entity that requires air to breath. Try to imagine yourself being covered in an
avalanche for 130+ days...What are your chances of survival after that period
of time? Not great. That is what the greens have gone through
this year. With Mother Nature bearing
down on us in November and not letting up until...well...the next few weeks
maybe. The key to coming out of winter
free and clear of problems is a sound fall program of aeration, top dress,
properly timed fungicide application, and properly applied fertilizer at the
perfect time.
In October, as many of the members will recall, I managed to
aerate the greens with a hollow core tine, which means that we pulled a plug
out of the green. We also filled the
holes as best we could with an off site sand top dress. This sand is a medium/course sand that allows
the holes to fill up, while allowing great air circulation in and out of the
holes, so the root zone has good respiration.
As well the removal of this core allows us to get rid of thatch that
snow mould fungus lives in for most of the year, lessening the severity in
which it will attack the turf.
Application of a fall fungicide is then applied in early to mid
November, this has to be done at an ambient air temperature of 6 degrees C or
higher with no rain in the forecast for at least 2 days. This ensures that the plant will readily
uptake the fungicide through its leaf blades, and get it into it's system. Imagine, having to take penicillin by spray
on like spray sun block for an internal infection. Then the most important of all, the
food. Winter feeding is done, believe it
or not, in mid October with a granular product.
This product needs to break down in the soil and release food to the
roots to uptake and transport to the rest of the plant. Trees do the very similar thing, that's how
we get maple syrup, by tapping into the tree's food source, anyone for turf
grass syrup...In fact the sap inside the grass is very saccharine like sap of a
tree, and full of carbohydrates, that's why we carbo-load the turf in the fall,
while it is still actively growing, so it will be able to feed all winter
long. As well I add a little boost when
I spray my winter fungicide application by mixing in a soluble food source with
a growth regulator to slow the turf down, and slow the growth cycle.
Springtime is coming, and we will do our very best to get
the course in great shape for the upcoming golf season. Just remember that the grass doesn't come out
of hibernation right away, and we need to prep the turf like any other day in
the summer. The crew of guys I have need
to cut, fertilize, top dress again, and again to help fill in the aeration
holes from the fall. We also will roll
out the minor bumps of being frozen and thawed.
Just as you would be coming out that avalanche after 130+ days, the turf
will need to be put through an intensive care unit of management, so please be
patient, Mother Nature will hit us with spring soon, and I assure you that
myself and my crew will hit the ground running to make sure that your
experience at The Link's of Piper's Glen is the best one possible.
