Ice, Is it A Problem?

It is hard to believe a year ago we had the range open and the grass was green and we were 4 days from opening the golf course. Last March was the warmest March on record and actually on average was warmer than April. Unless we have a sudden heat wave that will not happen as the golf course is still covered in 1-3 feet of snow with deeper drifts. Yes that is feet!

Even this year it is hard to believe the golf course was clear of snow in early January with temperatures in the 50's. This was followed by rain and snow and rain and snow and snow and rain and more snow. I could go on but I think you get the picture.

The best winter for the grass you play golf on is mild like last year or cold and stays cold. Frozen, dormant and under snow is the best way for greens, tees and fairways to go through winter with no damage.

We do have some dreaded ice on the surface throughout the course but especially on greens and fairways. In the low pockets it formed during the January rains but most of the water drained away from that storm. The 1-1.5" layer of ice formed in mid February when rain on top of snow was followed by cold temperatures.

Ice can be a problem as we found out a few years ago when we had substantial damage from ice. But ice is not always a problem but just a natural part of winter. When ice kills grass it is usually in two main ways.

Suffocation - A solid clear ice over turf can kill poa annua in as few as 45 days through suffocation and bentgrass in 60 to 120 days depending on the level of dormancy. The greener the grass the quicker it dies under ice. Brown grass is good grass in winter!

Crown Hydration - Any damage we have in Fond du Lac is usually caused by crown hydration where the plant is green and full of moisture due to winter rains or melting snow followed by a sudden cold snap before the plant can get rid of the water in its cells. This actually causes the cells in the plant to burst and kills the plant.

This can also occur when the turf is covered by ice and the ice actually magnifies the suns rays causing a greenhouse effect. The grass starts to come out of dormancy and takes up water. At night the water under the ice freezes and the grass is weakened. If this happens day ofter day the grass will die. It is referred to as freeze thaw damage.

This year we have a layer of white ice across most of the golf course. So far it is nothing to worry about but a quick meltdown will help us get through spring without damage.

To speed up the process we started removing the snow off the greens last week so the ice would melt faster and this weekends rains would run off the putting surface without being held up by the snow. This late in the winter we would prefer the grass was exposed rather than covered in snow.

The greens I cleared this week had an average of 12" of snow but any swails where we need the water to run had 24 - 36" of snow that would have stopped water from running away and cause ponding and solid ice puddles as we go through the freeze thaw cycles.

Finding key drains allows water from melting snow or rain to reach the drains.

This one on hole 11 was under 2' of soft snow and 2' of hard packed snow that

would have stopped drainage.

Toro 3280 with Erskine Snowblower.

The heat doesn't work but it gets the job done.

 

The snow on the middle of 5 green is almost to the top of the blower.

 

 

Removing snow this deep is a slow process and often it takes a hour to get from one green to the next due to the ice under the snow. This week we cleared our problem greens 5, 7, 10, 16, 19, 21 and 24 where we no the snow would stop water from running off. The forecast yesterday was saying 1 to 1.5" of rain for tonight so time will tell what the golf course will look like tomorrow. That much rain should melt a lot of snow if we can keep temperatures above 40.

Think spring and we hope to see you on the links soon!

Winter Education

One of the highlights of being a golf course manager in the north is the offseason allows for more than equipment and building maintenance and that necessary evil called paperwork. It is a great time to tune up our minds and learn new ideas and hear about current research.

Every 5 years we need to brush up our knowledge on pesticide applications, products, safety and regulations as we study for our Pesticide Applicators Certificate. That can be a bit boring after the 2nd time but is a necessary item. On top of that we are lucky in Wisconsin to have strong organizations that offer outside education each year.

Starting the offseason is the Wisconsin Golf Turf Symposium a two day session entering its 47th year. The symposium is unique because it takes one topic and breaks it down for two days. This years topic was "Whats In Your Tank? and it covered the variety of items that can be applied to a golf courses to promote plant health. Herbicides, growth regulators, fertilizers, fungicides, insecticides, amino acids, wetting agents to name a few. New research focuses on using less products and how proper applications of select products with proper timing can reduce overall pesticide or fertilizer use with better results.

New technology in herbicides has developed products that can not only take crabgrass out of turf it can take bentgrass out of bluegrass or bluegrass out of bentgrass. The new buzz is a product called Poa Cure from Korea that so far has shown to take the dreaded poa annua out of bentgrass greens, tees and fairways successfully. Trials are still ongoing but this product shows promise to do so without damage to the bentgrass or reducing overall turf quality. It is expected to cost $2,500 per acre annually but may be worth it considering it will reduce other plant protectant inputs and water use while providing better playing conditions.

In January the Wisconsin Turfgrass Association hosted a Research Day when 11 researches at the University of Wisconsin Madison presented their latest research. It is valuable to see results locally rather than nationally because the soils and climate are similar to ours. The groundbreaking presentations were by professors and graduate students at the university.

In February the granddaddy of all trade show / educational conferences is hosted by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and the National Golf Course Owners Association. The show moves around but is always in the south to reduce weather concerns. This years show in San Diego was smaller but still large with 13,192 attendees and 517 vendors occupying 172,900 sq.ft. of trade show space. The trade show is a great opportunity to see vendors of every golf product imaginable from cash register systems to shovels and clubhouse design firms to  equipment manufactures. The real benefit of the show is the education and this year offered 89 free seminars taught by educators and researches and 105 seminars for an extra fee.

Some of the sessions I sat in on included:

• The Benefits of Rolling Greens - Research is showing that rolling properly made sand profile putting greens doesn't just increase green speed and smoothness. Regular rolling is shown to reduce diseases and moss while increasing soil moisture holding capacity and good bacteria levels. Recommendations were to roll daily while mowing less than every day to balance plant health and green speed.
• Women in Golf - The speakers taught different ways to not only attract women golfers but keep them as long time customers. Women control the time and finances in many households and have a major impact on the economy. It also focused on all beginning golf programs and the barriers to enjoying the game as a newcomer.
• How to protect and promote our online brand - New "apps" are available to consolidate social media platforms while tracking what others say about the facility. Discussion also included how to increase website search capability.
• New technology to monitor turf conditions especially during stressful weather - Soil probes, portable weather stations and infrared thermometers are common on golf courses to promote plant health and to determine when to syringe or lightly apply water during summer stress periods like we had last summer. A light pass of water can reduce surface temperatures of greens or fairways from 100+ to 80 and allow the plant to survive the day.
• Advocacy In Action - This session discussed the challenges golf and the ag industry are having with the EPA and the work in progress to fight back and in some cases ask for help from congress to reduce those challenges from all powerful agencies.

Dr. Chris Williamson Entomologist at UW Madison discusses

Insect Research

The Wisconsin Golf Course Superintendents Associations host their meeting in early March with the State Chapter in Fond du Lac with a half of a day of education and the association business in the afternoon while the Northern Chapter in Wausau with a full day of education on various topics. This year the state chapter focused on leasing vs buying capital equipment and the use of water or how to use less water. The northern chapter focused on how to prevent and recover from winter damage along with new plant health research.

And finally this year one of our vendors Reinders Brothers in Menomomonee Falls has a trade show / education day in Mid March at the Waukesha County Expo. Reinders is our vendor for Toro, Foley, True Turf, Progressive and many other lines of turf equipment. They also have Toro irrigation and carry fertilizer and turf protectant products. One of the highlights each year is the sessions taught by Dr. Joe Vargas from Michigan State. He presents some of the latest research on pythium, summer patch and other turf diseases.

Overall the mystery topic of "plant health" is discussed over and over. 25 years ago when greens were mowed at 1/4" and fairways at 1" the plant had less stress on it. Currently greens are mowed daily at under 1/8" there is a greater chance for serious diseases and environmental stresses reducing quality. Fairways are mowed around 1/2" and increased use of golf carts and the traffic stress they bring has added disease and environmental stresses they face. The lower the height and higher the traffic causes plant health problems and puts a premium on proper irrigation, soil profile and plant protectant use.

Just like for your own health there are plenty of snake oil salesman in turfgrass proclaiming their latest product will provide a panacea. By following university research we are able to separate fact from fiction and only spend funds on products that are needed and work.