Does this sound familiar? Think of #2 and #16 when you watch this video.
In extreme cases of shade, you can see the results on a tee box (below) that can't survive. This is a Par 3 golf course I recently played with my 10 year old daughter. There simply is no substitute for sun. Without adequate sun exposure, the expectation for excellent turf needs to be minimized. We overcompensate on things we have control of like drainage, nutrient management and the soil physical properties (reducing thatch, organics and increasing sand incorporation) but the key piece of the puzzle, the sun, is still missing. Photosynthesis doesn't occur, resulting in the grass plant not being able to make its own food. When a human doesn't eat, we get thin and will ultimately die. If we get sick in a weakened state, we don't recover because our immune system in compromised. Grass is the exact same way. Turfgrass fungal diseases are much more destructive on weakened turf and inadequate sunlight results in thinning greens.
I've posted a lot about the subject on our blog recently because it is really important you understand the challenges we face trying to produce great greens this time of year. We are so restricted, we have to pull back by reducing maintenance practices and increasing the height of cut on putting greens. It is visually evident on several greens (2,3,6,7,8,11,12,16 and 16) that we don't get near enough sunlight. In my opinion, turf quality is still above average but far from perfect. Thinning turf results in more Poa annua; it is a species more adaptive to different environments compared to Creeping Bentgrass, our desired turf species. Regardless, we don't want to continue our aggressive management practices that promotes fast green speeds because this will compromise turf headed into next spring and summer! I know from 15 years of experience at HCC that greens will thin slightly this time of year and will recover beautifully in the spring. We will have a great summer when the sun angle is high. Then comes fall. Sun drops lower on the horizon and thinning turf commences. I watched this 14-15 times and I bet I can predict the next 10 years! These are simply the perils of a great old golf course with mature trees and mountains and homes that block sun exposure. We are committed to doing the best we can and working around the issue, but understand, there is no such salesman who comes by with a product known as "sunlight in a bottle" that we can spray on the grass to substitute the real thing. If someone figures that out, they will be a wealthy individual.
