July Verticutting Complete

After the rain delay last week, we got the previously scheduled verticutting of fairways and approaches completed yesterday.  As I stated a few blogs ago, players are able to see that this cultural technique can improve your ball placement in the fairways.  Below are some pictures of the end result.

The seasonally cooler temperatures and 3.4" of rain last week were a welcomed break to another grueling Texas summer. The only area of turf on the golf course that is showing any signs of detriment is the greens.  The greens showed signs of stress this past weekend with what were relatively moderate temperatures, for July in Texas.  The reason bentgrass did so, even though it is not grown in its desired climate, is it has in most hot and dry times here the ability to harden off.  When it has times of cooler temperatures for 3 or 4 days it has the inherit trait to revert back to its genetic code and become more susceptible to higher temps.

We can confidently speak to this point since we use moisture meters.  Areas that were showing signs of heat stress were well above their normal threshold.  The great thing about moisture sensors is that it puts a number to the visual sign.  It is factual, not a guess.  I feel based on my commentary that the signs of stress you see on the greens is superficial.  I expect the few, small areas to heal quite quickly and no longer be visible. It is quite an unusual phenomena that I have been witnessing for the past 8 years and wanted to share some of my experiences with the membership.

Verticutting in Fairways

Heat stress on Greens.