Friday, May 30, 2014
Finally!
Here is the weather we have all been waiting for. The temperatures have finally hit the 20's and things are really starting to grow. We have just finished spraying all the fairways for weeds and are moving on to the rough. Over the next few weeks we will be doing a few different practices to the golf course, we will be fertilizing the rough and fairways, tees are going to be solid tine aerated, and we will be spiking the greens to help water infiltration and oxygen exchange to the roots. This is a very pivotal time for the course as we have shifted gears from very wet to very dry in the matter of a few weeks. The greens have started to firm up, and with this the greens will need to be doctored along with a few extra cultural practices. Spiking is a non invasive form of aeration to aid with water getting into the rootzone and allow for oxygen in so the roots can breathe.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Winter in Southern Ontario
Wow, what a crazy winter. This past 6 months has been a roller coaster of weather events. We have seen 20 degree swings in temperature overnight, we have had record low temps, and record high snow falls. Torrents of rain followed by 2 days well below freezing, and the spring still hasn't arrived.
On the plus side of the coin, our golf course handled the winter very well, with turf loss limited to fairways and the odd tee, and very little issues with the greens. Heat and sun is all we lack now, but I am sure that is coming soon. If I can judge Mother Nature from the last few months she is going to go from 0-60 in one fell swoop.
On another note, I just want to share a few things with you here. There have been some of my counterparts in Ontario this winter who have seen the absolute worst that Mother Nature has to offer. On older greens consisting of poa annua turf grass the winter was not good at all. The cause was non preventable, as the heavy ice layers under insulation of snow caused this type of turf to suffocate and perish. I have linked an article I hope you will read to understand the frailty of our turf in certain situations and have a little bit of understanding towards what the golf course itself goes through in an extreme winter such as this past one.
http://canadiangolfer.com/g4g/2014/04/25/ontario-courses-with-poa-greens-struggle-to-deal-with-cold-weather-carnage/
On the plus side of the coin, our golf course handled the winter very well, with turf loss limited to fairways and the odd tee, and very little issues with the greens. Heat and sun is all we lack now, but I am sure that is coming soon. If I can judge Mother Nature from the last few months she is going to go from 0-60 in one fell swoop.
On another note, I just want to share a few things with you here. There have been some of my counterparts in Ontario this winter who have seen the absolute worst that Mother Nature has to offer. On older greens consisting of poa annua turf grass the winter was not good at all. The cause was non preventable, as the heavy ice layers under insulation of snow caused this type of turf to suffocate and perish. I have linked an article I hope you will read to understand the frailty of our turf in certain situations and have a little bit of understanding towards what the golf course itself goes through in an extreme winter such as this past one.
http://canadiangolfer.com/g4g/2014/04/25/ontario-courses-with-poa-greens-struggle-to-deal-with-cold-weather-carnage/
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