Old Man Winter

The weather extremes that we have experienced this winter seem to resemble your typical Costco variety pack- two very very dry and cold snaps (temperatures in the teens and low 20's) in early December and early February and everything in between has been filled with torrential rains (over 8 inches in February, beating the average by about 5") followed by a string of bluebird days lasting two or three days before reverting back to either the cold or rain, another cold snap or just a plain old gray Seattle day.

The point being, from the standpoint of growing conditions for Poa annua, we have been all over the board with a little bit of really good weather and some really bad weather.  Most of our Poa seems to be handling these extremes changes just fine.  However, the turf that experiences any form of shade from surrounding trees and houses or has a North-facing exposure has thinned out to the point where they are quite fragile.  

As I have discussed in previous posts, Poa is a fantastic grass to grow in this part of the country and it is possible to do so due to our moderate climate.  However, we do experience weather extremes that are outside the comfort zone of Poa (very cold and very hot) once in a while and it is natural that we will see the consequences of that.  The cold snaps we experienced this year have been a little different than past years being that we got so cold without any sort of insulation from a snow cover which we usually have when when we drop to these kind of temperatures.  The high winds we experienced during the two cold snaps didn't help either as the wind and cold temperatures work together to suck out all available moisture in the plants due to the exposure.  

The good news is that we are now entering the time of the year that has the weather which defines our region as a breeding ground for Poa annua which is moderate everything.  Moderate amounts of rainfall, moderate temperatures (40's and 50's) and improved sun angle and photo-period (longer days vs December/January).  We have been treating thinned areas with care and judicious traffic control (as you currently see on #6 and #11 with stakes and the temporary green on #14).  You as a golfer can also help by carefully choosing your paths as you walk on, off and through our greens.  Try to avoid any thin areas, choosing the thicker, healthier turf for your pathway.  

On top of our careful traffic management tactics, we have been implementing a few key cultural practices known to promote vegetative growth of Poa annua and overall plant health.  With these practices in place, we expect to see turf recovery progress a lot faster over the next few months compared to earlier this year because the weather will start working more and more in our favor as time goes on.  

Here are some pictures taken last week of the 14th green which is currently on a temporary green.  This green has a primarily Northern exposure, meaning during the winter months when the sun angle is low, it gets an extremely limited amount of sunlight and heavily filtered morning sun due to the trees surrounding the green.  Additionally, when morning sun is limited, the area is slower to rise in air and soil temperatures, slowing growth and prolonging the exposure of turf to frost and cold snaps.  As you can see from these pictures, the turf on this green does not get much help from Mother Nature during the winter.  This alone, sets this green well behind most of our other greens in terms of turf health and recovery from winter induced stress.

Early morning sun being filtered by the trees behind the green.

This picture shows how drastic the shade is on this green.  Looking across Bear Canyon, you can see that the tees and fairways are being bathed in the sunlight while the green is quite the opposite.

Another shot that shows the expanse of the shade line that extends well into the fairway from surrounding trees.

                             

Meanwhile, we continued to work on adding more drainage to chronically wet areas around the golf course.  The latest project was completed last week on the 15th hole.  We tackled the wet area just right before the last set of fairway bunkers on the right as you approach the green.  

Location of the most recent project, just right before the last set of fairway bunkers on the right.

Drainage expert extraordinaire, Derek Costa.

We put 560 linear feet of pipe in near mostly at the interface of the fairway and rough line and up into the rough.  This brings our overall installation total for winter 2014 to 1,740 linear feet so far.  We do not plan on stopping the drainage projects just yet- as we still have a lot of winter left before we have to shift gears back to the mow and go routine.  Today we started a quick little project on the south end practice area just to firm up the new approach a bit and the surrounding mounds near the chipping green.  

In the home stretch, last trench being dug!

One of the rare sunny days we had in February.  It is amazing how much more can be accomplished when the sun provides a little motivation for the crew.

This particular area had quite a bit of woody pulp under the sand cap.  Decomposing wood naturally absorbs water and most likely contributed to the extra saturated conditions found in this area.