David Ray and Tommy Murray on a recently aerified summer green with a difficult pin position.
Tim Phillips
What a great summer for growing in our Champion Bermuda grass greens on our three nines! Quail and Coyote have filled in nicely since June after killing off the poa trivialis, the winter grass used on our greens. Although running slower on the stimpmeter than some would like at roughly eight, the height of the greens that JR Kies has chosen for the summer gave maximum opportunity for excellent grass growth and expansion. The greens have been regularly fertilized and aerified plus adding generous quantities of nitrogen. Taking one Monday each week for the maintenance crew to concentrate on one nine this summer has also contributed to the improved conditions on the greens.
With the golf course in peak condition, it is unfortunate that we, living in Arizona, have two seasons for our fairway grass and the grass on the greens. Summer Bermuda grass loves the heat and hates the cold while winter rye grass hates the heat and can prosper in cold winter months. Later in September, the golf course must make its change from summer grass to winter grass on the fairways and tees. If this change was not made, we would have totally dormant grass by early December that has turned white in color and remains white until temperatures rise again and growth begins in the spring. The golf courses will close on September 22, 2013, and reopen on October 14, 2013; a sad time for our avid golfing residents for sure.
Now the plan for the Bermuda greens that have been growing so well in the summer is to not over seed them for the first time this year, if a meeting with Jimmy Fox of Evergreen Turf recommends it, and JR Kies makes that recommendation to the Green Committee. We do have until the third week in September to make a final call on this issue. This may cause some consternation to the golfers but it will give us all a smoother surface from which to putt all winter and reduce maintenance costs of water, labor, fertilizer and seed. Nor would there be any transition from summer to winter grass that usually takes three weeks after the courses are open for play.
The excessive speed we experienced on the new Roadrunner greens last winter that were not over seeded will not be repeated as these greens were put to bed at too low a height and with the first frost sucked down to a very low height. JR Kies plans to give us a speed of nine to nine and one half on the stimpmeter during the winter months on all three nines.
Stay tuned for the next step in the process.