They don't call them the 'dog days of summer' for nothing! 2025 is going to go down as one of the warmest summers on record with extreme humidity and daily gully-washer rain events! It has been a challenge for Superintendents everywhere and several that I've spoken to have said many Clubs are struggling to keep turf. Armyworms, a pest that is rarely ever seen in the mountains, has been reported on several locations and it's not even August! Many courses off the mountain, are even closing several days a week because the putting green turf is so fragile and can't withstand the traffic.
Practice tee divots are washed out again.
With the constant heavy rains, James is having to fill divots on the practice tee 3 and sometimes 4 times before we get germination. Because of the humidity, our fungicide applications on fairways and in the rough are so short lived because the disease pressure is that high. Today, we are spraying fairways again because I am seeing a lot of brown patch break through. Our rough mowers are doing the best they can but as wet as it is, it's difficult to not leave a tire track here and there. This afternoon, we'll have a team of 8 workers, armed with push mowers, mowing a lot of the rough on several holes that we simply cannot get to with heavier equipment. These are a few examples of how the weather affects the work we do and you can see how weather patterns like this require more resources. The good news is, we got this! Before you know it, fall will be here and the humidity will drop, which allows us the ability to provide the best golfing conditions!
We lost a smaller size tree on #12 during last night's storm.
If you look closely, you can see two circles in the turf. That is the beginning stages of brown patch.