May Flowers?

April was an interesting month weather wise and not many people will be sad to see it leave.  An incredible amount of rain fell leaving the area threatened by floods and cowering with the next prospect of bad storms.  Fortunately, the Country Club of Paducah sits atop one of the highest pieces of property in the county and is not subject to floods like some of the other courses in the region.  Two weeks ago the National Weather Service warned that this weather pattern might persist for a month.  With a projected 3 to 5 inches over the next couple of days, there does not seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel.

What does all this moisture mean for the turf?  In an ideal situation, soil is 50% solid and 50% pore space.  That pore space is then filled evenly with half air and half water.  That provides the best growing conditions for plants.  In reality, compaction (traffic by equipment or people) reduces the pore space to somewhere in the mid forties which is why aerification is necessary.  When the ground gets saturated like it has been lately, the air in the pore space is filled with water causing plants to look like they are drowning which they actually can be.  Plants do not only take in air through the leaves but also through the roots in the soil.  When there is nothing but water, the roots can not breathe and start to suffer.  Since spring is the major root growing season, having a period where the roots can not grow optimally but may actually be declining is not a great situation with the summer stress period looming. 

Another negative in saturated soil is its propensity to compact easily with traffic especially the native soils that tend to have fine clay particles.  They react just like molding clay would and when they dry, the pore space that has been lost does not come back without mechanical disruption or a freeze/thaw cycle.  Fortunately our greens growing medium is sandy and drains extremely well.  The rest of the course though needs to be protected as much as possible while still maintaining some semblence of a golf course.  Our mantra is to "do as little harm as possible".  That is why I have refrained from mowing fairways since the 21st and rough has only seen mowers one afternoon since then.  The turf is getting long especially in the rough but heights of cut can be raised and worked back down to normal when conditions allow.  If equipment is sent out and ruts are made, that damage will linger for a long time.  Sometimes the operation has to happen such as spraying of greens and we have to live with the damage that the sprayer makes in the rough or around the greens but generally caution rules.

Right now besides the grass getting tall and the weeds flourishing, my main concern is for the bunkers.  They are suffering mightily under the deluges.  With each heavy downpour more sand is washed and contaminated with the underlying soil further compromising the bunker's drainage capabilities.   Additionally, the contaminated sand needs to be removed and thrown away increasing the amount of new sand that needs to be added.  While the new sand has better drainage and staying capabilities, it is expensive and takes labor to get into the bunkers.  On several holes the sand has washed so badly that the gravel surrounding the drain pipe has been exposed and mixed with the sand and clay.  On #17 the wash was so extensive that about 10 feet of pipe was completely exposed and had to be removed, cleaned out and reset in new gravel.  Once the gravel becomes mixed with the sand it is very hard to clean and the only real remedy is to remove all the sand.  This a tough situation, but rest assured we are trying our best.

On a cheerful note, the greens continue to roll smoother each day despite the fact that we have not been able to topdress and rolling has been mimimal.  The growth regulator Primo is slowing growth, tightening the turf, and creating a plant that has less resistance to rolling.  The trick has been to stay on schedule with the applications and if the weather patterns continues that may become the limiting factor.  Will May's flowers be as abundant as April's showers?  I have no clue but know that whatever is thrown at us by Mother Nature will be dealt with.  See you on the course hopefully needing sunscreen.