Urbandale Golf and Country Club

Soil temperatures and how they affect growth

2012-02-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

We are about a week away from the 1st of March and soon we will all be getting Spring Fever if we haven't already. I'm beginning to slowly monitor soil temp. conditions on the course, and I wanted to take a little time to inform you on what these mean as we move closer to Spring.

First, we have a thermometer ( similar to a meat thermometer ) that is place in the soil at a 4 inch depth. We go to a four inch depth because that is where our average root zone is located. We leave the thermometer in the ground the next month to monitor our soil temp as the frost line disappears. The next thing thing we watch for is for soil temps to begin to climb to around 50 deg. since that is the magic number that bluegrass and ryegrass begins to grow (55 for bentgrass). At the same time microorganisms in the soil become active making nutrients more readily available to the plants to be absorbed through root uptake. This is when we start to see our turf and plants begin to grow as the days get longer and soil temps begin to steadily warm.

This is a current map of what our soil temps sit at county wide.

Hopefully this little bit of info helps you understand a little bit of the science that goes into "waking" up our turf from it's winter slumber!!!

Garrett

Less than 2 months until Opening Day!!!

2012-01-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

Since I last posted we have received some much needed moisture in the form of snow, sleet, and rain! It was nice to see the snow cover on the turf the last couple weeks as it is helping to keep the turf covered from the harmful winter winds. We still have the month of February to get through, but what looked like a rough winter has taken a turn for the better!

With this being said I wanted to share a few photos to help everybody look past the last few weeks of winter and get you excited for the 2012 season at UGCC!

Aspen and Vail say Hello!

I hope this helps a little bit with the winter blues!

Garrett

Winter Maintenance

2012-01-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that we are half way through January and we have seen but a trace of snow so far this winter. We need the moisture badly, but at the same time this winter has given me ample opportunity to get out and do some major tree pruning.

I wanted to take a little time to inform you what golf course superintendents do during the winter that sometimes goes unseen.

Some of the general duties include: snow removal, winter play setup, landscape cleanup, tree pruning (removal), along with many other duties.

I spend time every December with our chemical rep to make advance purchases for the upcoming year, which gives us the opportunity to get our chemicals at the off season prices along with great discounts for early orders through the company. I also am able to get a great discount on flags, flag sticks, cups, and rakes by taking advantage of the early order system.
The rest of the month I spend taking equipment apart to take the reels in for reel grinding At this time I also perform annual fluid changes and scheduled maintenance. This year has been exceptionally nice to work in the shop, but at the same time I was able to purchase and install a wood burning stove to heat the maintenance shed. With all the trees and limbs we gather throughout the year this gives us an abundant supply of "free" heat.
Now that we are almost through the brunt of winter, I will spend the rest of the time painting tee markers, yardage markers, hazard stakes, etc. By getting these things done in the winter we are able to spend the Spring tending to all the needs on the golf course and thus making better use of our time.

Reels removed from fairway mower

Wood burning stove

New chimney for wood burner

I want to thank everybody, that has been out this winter to play the course, for staying on cart paths and also using the temporary greens. Our greens are in great shape and I know you will enjoy how well they will come out of dormancy this spring. See you soon!!!

Garrett

What a dry winter can bring. Please wish for some snow!

2012-01-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

This is some info put out on our Iowa turf page from Dr Nick Christians at Iowa State University

WATCH OUT FOR WINTER DAMAGE.

Nick Christians

January 2, 2012

While this mild winter has been great for holiday travel, it will probably not be good for golf course superintendents. Surprisingly, it is the hard winters that are generally good for the golf course. Snow cover and cold temperatures through mid to late winter protect the turf from desiccation and the golf course emerges in the spring in good condition. It is the open, mild winter with windy conditions like we are getting today that results in drying of the turf (especially bentgrass) and causes damage that can persist well into the spring and even to early summer.

The last few winters have been anything but mild. The white Christmas has been the standard for the last few years and heavy snow cover has been common in many areas of the Midwest. Winter desiccation has been rare and we tend to forget about it. Unless the weather changes soon, this will be one of those springs where severe desiccation is common. In my experience here in Iowa, it is the northwestern part of the state that gets the worst damage because that area lacks tree cover and is exposed to the northwest winds of winter.

So what can you do about it? Greens covers are part of the answer and those of you who covered your greens a few weeks ago should be fine.But, there are many uncovered golf courses in the state. Fairways and tees generally go uncovered and these areas can be badly damaged even on courses that cover greens. Winter watering can be useful if you can do it. When I worked in Colorado years ago, winter winds would kill bentgrass greens and tees if we did not get some water to them during mild winters. It was too cold to charge the irrigation system. The courses had water trucks and it was typical to spray water over the greens every couple of weeks to keep them hydrated.

Topdressing is another way of protecting greens. In the 80’s and 90’s we did some work on this. I will post some information from that work in the next few days. The last couple of weeks I have had some questions on whether it is too late to topdress in January and if it is not, how much topdressing should we apply. I don’t know the answer to those questions. If the mild weather continues, we will try to get a quick trial together at the research station to look at these issues. I’ll keep you informed about the work during the spring.

Winter desiccation on bentgrass.

Watering in the winter in Colorado.

The effect of simple topdressing on bentgrass.

Area that was protected by a cover during a mild winter.

Welcome

2012-01-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

I will be posting information about the golf course and educational tips for your home lawn to this blog!