Welcome to my blog!
It is my intention to give the readers a better understanding of what we do to maintain The Farms Country Club's 18 hole championship golf course and grounds.


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

What Happens When It's 100 Degrees?

We water everything we can over and over and over! There are several things we do to help the turfgrass survive the intense stress. Mostly, light frequent watering helps get the turf through the hottest time of the day. We constantly scout for isolated dry spots by using soil probes. The soil probe takes a small diameter core from an area and the trained staff diagnoses the amount of water needed for the application. Using too much water can be just as bad as not enough.
Night watering mostly provides moisture to the soil profile. Daytime watering is used to cool the turf down and remedy the isolated dry spots.
Hand watering with hoses is the most efficient and beneficial way to combat heat stress. The water goes exactly where we want it.
When temperatures reach the extreme, like today, we may have as many as seven people working on irrigation. Today there are two men on patrol. They scout the course and direct four men with hoses. The seventh man is driving a 160 gallon water tank and takes care of the landscape plantings.
In addition to the labor force, we use several different wetting agents to help get the water into the soil. Wetting agents are applied several different ways. Direct injection into the irrigation system, pellets used inside proportioners on the one inch hoses and/or spray applications. In essence, wetting agents break the surface tension and allow the water to penetrate. They make water "wetter".

A Quick Syringe On 2 Green Buys Time Until The Hose Crew Can Get There

Alan Syringes #6 Green

Andy Syringes #18 Green

It's Easy To See Where We Don't Have Sprinklers On Hole #4