The Dog Days of Summer

Sunrise on No. 10 July 31, 2017

July typically provides the most challenging growing conditions we see each year at Adams Pointe, and this year proved to be no different. Temperatures in the 90s or above most days and never dropping below 70 degrees at night, combined with high dew points and humidity, little to no wind, and high amounts of foot and cart traffic, wreak havoc on the turf. Overall, we had a much better month compared to July 2016, but some areas still struggled to withstand the extremes of summer.

No. 3 Poa annua decline in fairway.

As predicted in our May 22 post, Poa annua on the course was no match for the summer weather conditions. The above picture illustrates how decline on our course tends to be contained to the Poa annua, with bentgrass in the same areas doing fairly well, despite unfavorable conditions. As noted in our earlier post, this is an annual event, the damage from which we are constantly trying to limit, and it should not be construed to mean our spring drainage project is not working.

View of clogged drainage pipe on No. 13

We had a drainage project of a different kind take place in July, as well. After observing continual saturation on No. 13 green, we investigated to find a major clog in the green's drainage. After some wrestling, we were able to remove the clog (all 30 feet of it), and the green has dried up exceptionally fast.

Clog in No. 13 drainage removed

Luckily, we finished this project before a large storm rolled through on July 27, dropping more than 5.5 inches of rain on the course. While we did not see the extreme flooding that troubled other local courses, we had enough standing water to necessitate a full course closure the following day. After a full day of pumping out bunkers and newly created water hazards in the fairways, we were able to open Friday, July 28 on schedule.

Looking down No. 2 fairway on July 27

Please follow all signage on course

Looking ahead, we have fall aerification currently scheduled for Monday, August 28. The course will be closed for the day but we will reopen Tuesday, August 29 with minimal disruption to play. Check out our Aerification Alert post for more information about this vital cultural practice.