Course Update

We've been busy since the last post.  We have had more snow, an ice storm, more rain and a few days in the upper 70's.  Weather dominated this blog in 2013 and this year is off to a similar start.  In fact yesterday we covered greens again, with plans to remove Friday morning.  Lows of 24-26 forecast the next two nights.  If there is ever an important time to cover it is now, when the greens are very sensitive to cold as they have started greening up.  This will make 29 nights the greens have been covered.  Good thing is that it is suppose to be 70 degrees Sunday!


The Ice Storm that hit us a few weeks back did a lot of damage.  Pine limbs were down all over the course and we lost a few trees.  It took a full week to get the course cleaned up and we still have a few out of play areas that need to be picked up. We plan to start burning this debris as we are going to start cleaning up the back of the Driving Range.


I have started applying pre-emerge to the course.  All fairways, approaches and tees are complete and I will begin roughs very soon.  Ronstar was my product of choice this year as it is known for being very effective on the prevention of Crab and Goosegrass.  Also in the tank is Glyphosate(Round-up) which will eliminate any weeds that are growing right now.  So I am post and pre emerging at the same time.  This will give us a clean golf course this season.


February rain total is 5.5" and we are up to 9.5" for the year.  Not the ideal start to the year.


MGA Par 3 is this Saturday and I hope to see you out.

USGA update on Winterkill

The following is provided by the USGA and it provides insight to the damage freezing temperatures can do to Bermuda grass.

Sub-Freezing Temperatures Challenge Bermudagrass Survival

Photo Caption: Winterkill is a relative term where part of a grass plant or entire turfgrass stand dies during the winter. Firm internodes that are green, white, red or purple in color indicate bermudagrass stolons are alive. Soft, mushy internodes that are brown or straw tan in color suggest that the stolon is dead. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Dennis Martin, professor & turfgrass specialist, Oklahoma State University).



Warm-season grasses, better adapted to the South, will have a tough time surviving the arctic cold that has crept across the United States. However, improvements in bermudagrass varieties such as ‘Latitude 36’, ‘Northbridge’ and ‘Patriot’ should be up to the challenge. With financial support from the USGA, plant breeders at Oklahoma State University have specifically developed these varieties to survive periods of sub-freezing temperatures.

The cold-hardy bermudagrasses are ideal for use in parts of the eastern, western and southern United States for golf course fairways and tees, sports fields, commercial grounds and residential lawns, in part, because of its excellent traffic tolerance and recuperation rate once it is damaged.

Tested for seven years at Oklahoma State University before entering a national testing phase, Latitude 36 and Northbridge then underwent rigorous independent evaluation by researchers at land-grant universities across the southern and central transition zone of the United States. At the conclusion of the 2007-2012 National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) bermudagrass trials, Latitude 36 claimed overall top honors, beating out many strong competitors.

Of particular importance is the performance for these grasses in sub-freezing, winter conditions. Percent winterkill data was collected at Oklahoma State University and Virginia Tech University (see Table 1) after the 2009-10 winter. During that winter, freezing temperatures were much below normal for the south and central U.S. (see Figure 1). The good news is that several bermudagrass varieties survived the arctic blast.