Winter Damage 2013/2014

"There's a lot of dead grass on golf courses this spring. How come the Links looks so good?"

The winter of 2013/2014 was one of the harshest on record. Almost every golf course in the mid-west suffered some turf loss especially on greens. Reports are coming in from golf courses across the region and the news for some is devastating. A number of golf courses have lost so much turf they have decided to close  and re-seed the greens. A number of courses are playing temporary greens until the turf that is left recovers.

Record cold and snow left many golf courses with dead turf on their greens.

The turf at the Village Links came through the winter with few problems. So why did the winter weather affect some courses more than others? Was it luck?

It's mid-April and the trees haven't started leafing out. As soil temperatures rise the turf begins to green up and we find the Village Links came through the winter in decent shape.

Indeed, we were very lucky to not have significant turf loss after the record 2013/2014 winter. So why didn't we have major turf loss?

Luck. We were lucky. A number of very good golf courses with good superintendents performing state of the art maintenance practices  lost turf. Often the difference  between healthy and dead turf is so minute. A couple of degrees colder at one location or slight drainage issues at another can be the difference between success and failure.

Poa annua. We don't have very much poa annua on our golf course. Poa annua is a nuisance turf that is prevalent on most golf course in the U.S. We have been on an aggressive program at the Village Links to eliminate poa anuua since 2007. Virtually all the turf that died this winter was poa annua. Golf courses that had a lot of poa had a much greater risk of losing turf.

Top dressing. In late November we apply a moderately heavy layer of sand top dressing to the greens. This extra layer provides a little extra protection to the delicate turf on greens.

One of the reasons poa annua is susceptible to winter damage is it's shallow roots. The poa plant on the right only has roots 1.5" long. The bent grass plant to the left has 6" roots. Poa plants are easily injured when air temperatures dip below -5°.

There are several things that happened this winter that resulted in dead poa. The first was 2 periods of warm weather early in the winter followed by a 30°+ plunge in temperatures. Winter started out very cold with temperatures 10° to 15° below normal. On December 28, 2013 the temperature rose to 49°. The rise in temperature caused Poa annua to briefly start to grow. The temperature dipped to -1° two days later. The crowns of Poa plants which were gorged with water from the sudden warm-up were damaged when the freezing temperatures suddenly returned. The same thing happened on February 18, 2014 when there was a 3 day period of temperatures in the upper 40's followed by cold temperatures including -2° on February 26th. Most superintendents knew trouble was brewing. The February thaw also resulted in a layer of ice up to 3" thick on many greens. The ice layer sealed off the turf below which caused further injury. The third thing that hurt turf this winter was high winds. Most of the snow this winter had very little moisture content. It was a light fluffy snow that was easily blown around by high winds. There were several times this winter when high winds stripped the snow off the golf course exposing mounded areas. The high winds continued to blow causing the plants to 'freeze dry' resulting in further turf loss.

This is how many greens in our region looked in early March. The lighter colored spots are Poa annua and they are not looking too healthy.

By the first week of April the bent grass was greening up and it was obvious that most Poa annua did not survive.

This close up shows a few sprigs of bent grass emerging from the dead Poa plants. Many greens in the mid-west have up to 90% Poa annua on their greens. The harsh winter weather = dead  Poa greens. Yes, we were lucky.

Winter Weather

"I bet the record snow this winter is great for the golf course."

Golf course turf never benefits from winter weather but some winter conditions harm the turf more than others. This winter started off with below normal temperatures beginning in mid-October. For the next 4 months temperatures averaged 9° below normal daily highs. We have had nearly 70" of snow during the same period.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 

About the only Good we can take from this winter is the extreme cold temperatures. The cold froze the soil to a 24" to 30" depth. Deep freezing cause the soil to contract, expand and heave opening up fissures for air and water movement for healthy root growth. Extreme cold can also reduce the numbers of over-wintering larvae and grubs that cause harm to turf during the growing season.

Deep frost fractures and opens the soil just like solid tine aeration. This allows roots access to air, water and nutrients.

Extreme cold temperatures reduce populations of overwintering grubs and larvae.

The Bad. Much of the snowfall this winter has had low moisture content. Very high winds in December scoured the light and fluffy snow off the tops of bunker and green banks and many of the high spots on greens. The exposed turf was subjected to wind speeds of 40 + MPH and below zero temperatures. This combination can cause plant dessication. Turf that is exposed to these conditions for a long period of time will often die.

Turf on wind-swept mounds are exposed to this winter's extreme cold and drying winds. Some turf loss is possible.

Disease is also a concern this winter. Gray Snow Mold (Typhula: T. incarnata and T. ishikariensis) can occur when there is snow cover for at least 60 days. Pink Snow Mold (Michrodochium nivale) is more common and occurs as snow melts in the early spring. We applied a preventive treatment for snow mold in mid-November on greens and tees. It is likely there will be a snow mold outbreak on fairway turf. The good news is affected fairway turf will recover within 7 to 10 days once spring temperatures warm. 

Irregular shaped rings emerge as the snow melts. Pink Snow Mold often kills turf on green and tee surfaces. Fairway turf usually recovers quickly from Pink Snow Mold.

The Ugly. The greatest winter damage to the golf course playing surfaces comes from prolonged ice build-up. There have been 2 brief warm-ups this winter. Both warm periods came with heavy rain followed quickly with extreme cold. As a result, layers of ice formed in large patches on greens, tees and fairways. There are many areas where the ice is up to 3" thick. Thick ice can seal off the turf from the air above. Even during the winter, dormant turf contains decaying organic matter. The decaying process produces gasses which are toxic to the grass plants trapped under the ice. Large concentrations of gas can kill turf.

Layers of ice cover many sections of the golf course. This photo shows the back two thirds of 18 green encased in ice. Breaking up and removing the ice mechanically will certainly damage the turf so it is best to leave it alone. Although this situation looks troublesome, there are some cracks in the ice layer which may be large enough to let harmful gasses escape. This ice is opaque which is also a good sign. Clear ice acts like a greenhouse allowing more sunlight through which warms the underlying turf and increases gasses from decomposition. 

This winter is shaping up to be the coldest and snowiest of all time and reminds us that we have no control over Mother Nature. Whatever turf conditions exist in the Spring, we will get the golf course back in shape quickly for our golfing guests.

Micro Greens

Assorted micro greens

We are expanding our effort to supply our Reserve 22 Restaurant with produce grown at the golf course. Growing produce onsite means our chef has the freshest possible ingredients to create meals for our guests. Raising produce locally also reduces our carbon footprint since the need to ship produce supplied from traditional growers hundreds of miles away is eliminated.

This winter we began growing organic micro greens. Micro greens are the young seedlings of edible herbs and vegetables. They are harvested 10 to 14 days after germination and are only 1" to 2" tall. Micro greens have a stem, two cotyledon leaves and one or two sets of true leaves.

True leaves are emerging from the center of the stems. The pair of rounded leaves (coyledon leaves) are the first pair to sprout at germination.

 

These 'French Breakfast' Radish are ready to harvest 8 days after germination.

Micro greens have intense flavors for their size. Studies have also confirmed they contain 4 to 40 times more nutritional value than the same plant in it's mature form.

Red Garnet Amaranth is perfect as a micro green garnish. It has a mild flavor with a fuschia stem and leaves. 

 

 

 

 

 

'Mizuna Red Streaks' Mustard adds a peppery mustard flavor to salads.

We have also added 'Dark Opal' Basil and Arugula to our micro green offering. If you would like to check out our organic in-season produce and micro greens, come visit us at

Reserve 22 (630) 469-5550