As we wait on the soil temps to rise, we are doing some work to a couple sod seams that didn't knit together as well as I would have liked on #12 and #14 green. The edges of the sod take the brunt of the damage because of a number of reasons. First, they are the first part of a piece of sod to dry out. Second, they can be damaged by the sod cutter when the sod is harvested from the sod farm due to abrasion. When this happens, a 1/4" sliver of sod becomes "crusty" for lack of better term. It's not an ideal condition for the turf to fill the void. Using a box cutter, we cut that tiny sliver out and backfill it with topdressing sand. Finally, it's knitted back together using a ball mark repair tool. While a scar is left, its a void that will be easily filled in by the Creeping Bentgrass in a couple short weeks.
After close to 4" of rain last week, lasting into Saturday morning, we were able to get the golf course mowed out today. Fairways are growing so much now, that we are going to mow again tomorrow morning. It's really rewarding seeing the golf course come together, although there are still a lot of loose ends we're trying to get wrapped up. Our soil temperatures are averaging in the low 60's; just a little bit cooler than ideal. Once the sand based soils reach 65*F, it's off to the races! It's so hard to be patient! Many younger superintendents get into trouble by pushing fertility on the turf early in the season to get it to grow. The problem with that, is once that soil temperature does reach 65*F, all control is lost and the turf develops the texture of wilted lettuce. Trust me, I speak from experience! Letting Mother Nature do the work, specifically with letting the soil temps rise, ensures healthy putting greens for the length of the season. In short, the fertility is there, it's just of matter of waiting for the proper growing conditions.
