Agronomy Department and Course Weekly Update
January 26, 2016
It has been busy over the
past few days, despite the “Snow” storm that crippled Atlanta ! The team was able to paint our
greens/driving range tees/driving range targets, cut miscanthis on #4 and
continue spraying our Pre/Post Emergent herbicide application. They
accomplished all these tasks during breaks in the weather. The Pre/Post
Emergent spray is approximately 75% completed and depending on the weather this
week, we should easily have it wrapped up by next week. Once all the spray is
completed and the grasses are trimmed up we have leaf removal and #12 creek
dredging on our agenda. These jobs are a challenge as they require heavy
equipment on the turf, so, it is absolutely necessary that we wait until the
turf is dry before we start. The staff understands the importance for both leaf
removal and creek dredging and the impacts to playability and aesthetics;
therefore it is on the top of our priority list.
I have spoken a lot about the
“why’s and when’s” in regards to greens covers. When deciding to pull covers,
we study the forecast, network with peers and look at our current weather data.
Our typical rule of thumb is the
following:
1) 25 degrees or colder for two
consecutive nights
2) Soil
temps less than 40 degrees
3) Daytime High less than 50
degrees
However, soil temperature duration
is the most crucial element in dealing with greens covers. Our protocol is to
check AM and PM soil temperatures daily; this allows us to know how soil
temperature reacts to weather patterns. As an analogy, you would not expect a
steak placed in the freezer for 10 minutes to become frozen solid because the
duration of the exposure is too brief. We will always make the right call to
protect our greatest asset, our MiniVerde Greens.
If you have any questions,
please feel free to email me at kmacdonald@valleycrest.com
and for more information follow us on Twitter @stivescc_vcsup and the Blog: http://vcgmstivescountryclub.blogspot.com/
See you on the course,