This season, I am trying something new in an effort to identify a problem that occurs each year with our greens. Every autumn, we experience thinning as a result of reduced sunlight to most of our greens. Greens that would normally get 6 hours or more of sun during the summer receive less than 1 hour of sun once the sun angle changes. Essentially, it's like growing turf in a cave or as I like to say, the bottom of a well. There just isn't anything we can do about that; no magic fertilizers or magic grass that grows in shade. Plants photosynthesize to make food to survive and if there is no sunlight, there is no photosynthesis and thus, no food. In addition to the annual thinning, I also noticed a heavily compromised root system on many greens. In late September, a 100cc soil sample from #15 green was sent to University of Florida (Dr. Billy Crow is one of the most well known Nemotologists in the world). Florida is home to the most severe nematode populations, so their land grant institution has spent a considerable amount of resources to help the agricultural industry and golf industry. The results of that initial sample in September last year showed populations of 3 different nematode varieties well above the threshold, with treatment required. You can see the results of the first sample. There are some, but levels below the threshold for treatment. I am going to send a soil sample monthly to monitor the populations and I fully expect them to build as the season progresses. We are going to treat greens this season on a monthly basis with a Syngenta product called Avid. It is an insecticide that has shown to have fairly good suppression of nematodes. However, it isn't as effective as Nemacur, the Bayer product pulled from the market by the EPA in 2004.