Crabgrass

As the topic has come up recently it's time to discuss crabgrass on the course this year, specifically on tees.

For starters, it's my 9th season here and in that time I have made a pre-emergent application for crabgrass on tees only in the years for 2013-2015. In 2008-2012 we weren't able to do this for various reasons but we added this as we tried to change our tee management practices. In those years ('08-'12) I had seen zero to minimal crabgrass breakthrough. In creating a plan and budget for 2016, I made a decision to forego the application with the thought that it wouldn't be any worse than '08-'12 and use those resources elsewhere. Hindsight is always 20/20 and now I know. The application was probably a waste of resources in most mild years but this is no mild year. More on that below...

It had been a near-historic year for crabgrass in Chicagoland with the perfect storm of favorable weather. An early spring warmup, followed by hot and dry temps that gave the existing turf a stressful start to summer. Next came the rains and the crabgrass took off. The soil temperatures have hovered around 80 degrees for a couple months and to put that in perspective the 2015 season never exceeded 75 degrees and that was short lived. Those are prime conditions for crabgrass, as well as bare soil like you have in par 3 tees or holes that irons are used frequently. I have seen/heard a number of conversations about the disease and weed pressure this year and the theme is that 2016 is a year to remember (or forget). I ran a poll on Twitter reaching out to colleagues in Chicagoland and the Midwest to gauge crabgrass pressure this year. Most agree that it's been a difficult year for crabgrass, even for those that applied a pre-emergent. As of the time of this post, nearly 85% of those who responded said they had moderate to heavy crabgrass infestations and some have personally told me that they have breakthrough despite applying a pre-emergent in the spring.  

https://twitter.com/bvgcturf/status/767534291131719681

At this point it's best to talk about where we go from here and not dwell on the past. Crabgrass is tough and gets stronger as it ages. It's also difficult and tricky to get rid of where there is bentgrass seed/seedlings involved. We are looking at options for curative applications but at this point in the year it might be best for us to wait for first frost. Crabgrass will die at the first frost and we can begin doing some aggressive seeding and plan for a pre-emergent application for spring of 2017.

Course Opening Update:

Course Opening Update:

Spring has sprung early this year and the Turf Care Department are beginning the process of course clean-up and preparing the course for play.  Most of the greens fared well over the winter but there are signs of stressed Poa annua.  This is mainly due to low temperature injury, despite the fact it was generally a warmer fall/winter.  The extended fall and warm start to the winter prevented the turf from truly hardening off and preparing for the coming cold.  The ridges and mounds on the sunniest greens became exposed during one of the melt events and the turf that was not prepared for winter was subjected to sub-zero temps.  Most of this is superficial and will recover once warmer weather becomes more consistent but we have taken steps to speed the recovery process.  Affected greens have been aerified, verticut, seeded and the four worst greens were covered with tarps. 

 

All this means that greens will be unavailable for the immediate future.  We are asking members to avoid the greens for a short time. It is a small sacrifice to ensure they are in the best condition possible for the bulk of our season.  I anticipate greens to be open by April 1st, but it may be sooner than that.  For now temporary greens are in play.  Cart availability is evaluated on a daily basis.  The course was drying out fine but we have received nearly 1.5" of rain between March 13th - 16th and that will set us back from allowing carts out on the course. 

There are still lots of spring clean-up items to be checked off the list.  We will begin the process of removing sticks and debris, rebuilding bunkers and putting out accessories (rakes, tee markers etc.).  The goal would be to have all of these done before April 1, but if we open before keep in mind its a work in progress and we will continue to chip away at it daily.  
Thanks,