Record Heat

SATURDAY JUNE 29th

107 DEGREES 

SHATTERS

RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE

OF 103 DEGREES!

Good golly it is hot out there. Along with this record high temperatures came low humidity. The low humidity may sound all good but growing turf in an area that is normally high in humidity is not good, it's kind of like you have to change your whole management strategy in maintaining moisture in your turf just to keep it from burning up. Sure, when you cut grass at 2" high-not that big of a deal.

When maintaining turf as low as 1/8" to 1/2" height, especially the 1/8" height of cut on the greens the low humidity is sucking the moisture out of that plant like you removing the liquid from a drink with a straw. So, it's absolutely critical that moisture levels are checked and maintained throughout the day hours. So if you see us hand watering or sprinklers going; please understand we are doing what have to do to keep the needed moisture required for the plant to survive in heat conditions as we are currently experiencing.

Thank You

Willy Plowman

Golf Course Superintendent

Golf Cart Repairs

 The golf course maintenance department no longer has anyone employed that volunteers there time to work on golf carts on there own time. I went to google and found these repair shops that were in this area. Besides these that I listed, there were several other locations as well located in South Houston, Nasa, Clear Lake City, Texas City, Conroe, Cleveland.

LoneStar Golf Cart Repairs
3147 Ave. J
Pattison, Texas 77466
281-723-2531
located just north of Brookshire

Alberts Golf Cart Repair Service
802 Summer Park Dr.
Stafford, Texas 77477
281-499-3707
located near River Bend Country Club

CBC Golf Cart Services
203 Ulrich St.
Sugar Land, Texas 77498
281-494-1164

Golf Cars Of Houston
11219 North Fwy.
Houston, Texas 77037
832-448-5340


E&E Golf Cart Services
8839 Noah Landings Dr.
Houston, Texas 77064

150 temperature degree rule

I'm always preaching the 150 temperature degree rule and since the last week of May we have been there. The fairways are shaping up nicely and roughs are growing. It sure does help when temperatures make or exceed the needed amount.
 What is the 150 temperature rule? Add the night time and day time temperatures together and you want them to equal 150 or better. That combination temperature makes ideal conditions for turf to grow in and it's amazing the difference in the turf comparing to April and May. Here's a few examples;
Low 55 Hi 80 = 135 degrees--not good
Low 60 Hi 85 = 145 degrees--turf will begin to green up and grow slightly vertical
Low 65 Hi 90 = 155 degrees--turf is now beginning grow and recover from winter time damage.
Low 75 Hi 95 = 155+++--turf is now well on its way to growing.
 In April and May the temperatures were well below normal. When we aerified greens in April, three days later the night time temperatures dropped to the upper 30's-NOT GOOD!!! Then a week later another front blew in dropping the lows to the 40's. So it took nearly four weeks to recover from that aerification. The average temperature for March was 64 degrees and April  was 73 degrees and May was 82 degrees. So far in June the average temperature has been 89 degrees, yea buddy that's growing conditions. That's what makes turf grow warm temperatures!!!! I wish I had a magic wand to make it all perfect but folks the bottom line is I depend on Mother Nature, she's in control.
 On top of all that, Thursday June 20th we applied 10 tons of fertilizer to the tee tops, tee slopes, roughs, fairways, and green slopes. That will help in thickening up the rough and making that golf shot a little more challenging. Thank you to all of you who communicate with me and understanding why course conditions are prime at times and at other times why course conditions are not prime.

Thanks
Willy Plowman
Golf Course Superintendent

Greens aerification

 Monday, June 24th we performed the unthinkable, the most unloved part of our business. Yes, that means the greens got aerified. This is our second of the three to happen. The next scheduled aerification is in mid-August.
 This particular aerification, we went with a lighter top dressing base just so we could begin mowing the greens quicker than we usually do. in fact, on Wednesday we sent the mower out to start mowing the greens and man did the greens smooth out nicely.
 We also applied .75 pounds of Nitrogen to help in speeding up the recovery. By Wednesday I could already see the greens changing color to a darker green plus I could see where the holes have already began to recover. On Monday July 1st we will top dress again to help us get a smoother putting surface.
 There is a disease present on the greens at this time it is called Fairy Ring. Fairy Ring is extremely difficult to control and also it is extremely expensive to treat. On Thursday June 27th I will be treating these circles and will be watering them in right away. Then in two weeks I will retreat with a second application and then two later I'll retreat a last time. There's $6000.00 sprayed in fungicides in  six weeks, OUCH!
 Overall, feeling good about the aerification, my goal now is to get the greens recovered and get a smooth rolling surface. If, needed additional top dressing will be applied.

Thanks
Willy Plowman
Golf Course Superintendent

Fence lines

 Many of you may have noticed a blue color on the ground along homeowners fence lines. This is an area that gets pushed aside due to the lack of labor. Then finally we just have to cut back in mowing the course and move a couple of employees into weed eating fence lines.
 A couple of years ago I had started spraying Round Up with a Pre-emerge block on the back side of planters along the fence lines. This is a win win deal for homeowner and for our department. For the homeowner, it keeps the invasion of bermudagrass from the golf course moving in the planters. For our department, it cuts back on the amount of time weed eating fence lines. So it's a win win deal!!!
 This year, I have started spraying many of the entire fence lines. Basically if the homeowner is not going to keep the fence line weed eated on the golf course side, then likely I will spray it with the Round Up. I do know several of the homeowners who do maintain both sides of the fence and those areas will not be sprayed.  So far holes #1,2,3,8,9,10,13,14,18 are fully completed, holes #4,5,7,11,12 are partially completed. Then holes #15,16,17 are next.
 Keep in mind, Round Up will not kill Roses, evergreen plants, trees, even flowers are safe as long as they are not directly sprayed. There's many planters I have sprayed for several years now that no effects have taken place. I even simply lifted the flowers off of the ground while sprayed under them then gently placing them back and results have been good. I would never intentionally spray a plant in your planter bed or spray your lawn to kill it. I try to be as careful as I can while doing this spray, however I will tell you I'm not perfect, so sometimes I do spray some of your grass. Relax, it will recover.
Thanks
Willy Plowman
Golf Course Superintendent