On to the good stuff! There is quite a bit of snow mold disease in our rough and on fairways. It looks ugly but it will be fine. A couple of mowings and a little growth and it will heal on its own. There is no snow mold on any greens or tees because plant protectants are applied before winter sets in.
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| Snow mold on banks of #2 green |
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| Snow mold on banks of #6 green |
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| Snow mold in a fairway |
How are the greens???
For the most part we don't see much damage. Assessment of turf damage is always tricky. Our best method of discovery is to take sample plugs from the WORST looking areas on greens and bring them into the maintenance facility. The samples are labeled and placed under heat lamps forcing them to break dormancy. Another indication is to actually smell the samples and see if they have a "swampy" odor which would indicate anoxic (lack of oxygen) conditions. We did not notice that odor.
We are seeing some isolated damage but the photos below give you a better picture. I am pleased with results and don't see large scale damage at this point. We never know exactly what we have until turf breaks dormancy naturally on the course.
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| Green samples day #1 |
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| Tray on left has 3 days under the lamps and tray on right is after 6 days |
If we do have damage, we are prepared to aerify and overseed accordingly. Thankfully, we are scheduled to do our normal aerification beginning Monday, April 13th. Remember, the course will be closed Monday and Tuesday while we are working.
No one is more excited than I to get the season going. Aerification is incredibly important, especially after such a turf-stressing winter.
Please take the time to click on the links below to get a better understanding of the importance of aerification...
